The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-08-02
What Causes Low Wages?

LII lily ldSU paper UTleu W give
faint idea of the magnitude of the
robbery perpetrated upon the COM
munity by the traffic in land; and
while thus at the threshold of the
subject it would be better, perhaps
to discuss it's effects ON wages.
No doubt all careful students of
the currency question must admit
that fiuctuating, uncertain currency
causes instability in business and
more or less directly affects wages;
and that if our medium of exchange
were reduced to the simple form of
paper legaltender based on work or
supplies needed and used by govern
ment, and receivable for all dues to
government, it's value would be fixed
and permanent and would cease to be
disturbing factor of prices or
wages. What then? Would the mil
lennium have come? Or would
prices and wages 60 on fluctuating
artifcially, through some other I'M
necessary and removable cause?
Would not wages then as now be
chiefly determined by the number of
jobs relative to the number of men
ready to do the work? Now what
controls the number of jobs? Natur-
ally nothing would hinder capable
man from applying his willing hands
to the resources of Gods earth and
satisfying his necessities. In state
of nature, therefore, the number of
''jobs" is limited only by the number
of men wanting to work. How is it
now under the artificial restrictions
of man? Wherever civilization ex-
tends, all desirable and accessible
land is appropriated already by who
SOever was born earlier or by some
other accident of fortune got on the
ground first; therefore man must
first pay tithes to the landlords who
neither discovered, invented, made
or improved the land, and be punish
ed by fine for everything produced,
and must pay tariff prices on most
that he buys. And if men in any
numbers seek thus to employ them
selves on land the speculative price
at once Jumps so high that none but
Clearly the great majority must seek
the task masters; and these, con-
solidating and limiting their output,
and restricting sales for the highest
profit as they now do, have the work
ers entirely at their mercy; first be-
cause men must seek taskmasters,
and secondly because so many are
ready to be employed on each job.
How could the most perfect system
of currency change this fact? The
industrial monopolies understand
well this advantage when they adver-
tise through the daily press or scour
foreign countries for workmen when
their own locality already has a sur
plus of skillful and willing men need
ing work. Why is this call for SUI
pernumerary men? To cheaper
wages. Why are foreign products
loaded with tariff? To destroy or
weaken foreign industries and invite
to our country the number thus left
unemployed to cheaper wages.
The hypocritical cry of "Down with
foreign cheap laborn (meaning goods
produced by that labor was shouted
noisily to the foolish populace who
little realized that when they voted
for protection" they were not only
inviting but wellnigh forcing the
obnoxious cheap laborers themselves
to come to our shores and divide the
wages of those already here. The
pretext afforded by the tariff for add
ing the amount of the duties many
times increased to the price of goods
is also we'll understood and is seen to
add nothing to wages while it de-
creaSeS the amount OF goods which
wages will buy.
This heterogeneous swarm of immi-
grants is also urgently sought for by
other gentry. And the land specula-
tors, aided by the railroad interests,
kept immigration commissioners for
years in foreign countries drumming
up immigration. Why? To hasten
the growth of population, the rise in
land values and the increase of
spectators profits; the railroads are
trebly benefited, first by an increased
amount of transportation, by the
sale Of their valuable lands and by
the increase of men to each Job,
which lessons wages. What perfect
unanimity between all the great
money sucking powers.
The same soothing syrup, unlimit-
ed streams of immigration, satisfies
all their various complaints 1t is
wholly to the advantage of the mon
eyed classes for this influx of foreign
ers to continue. 1t is wholly to the
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