Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1895-11-22
CHEAP MONEY CHEATS LABOR.
Experience of This and Other Countric
with Deprecated Currency.

C'CNf MJNSY CHEATS LABOR.
Experience of This and Other Countries
with Deprecated Currency.
Undoubtedly thousands of wage earl
ers believe that somehow they would
be benefited by cheap money The most
modern form OF cheap money, as it OK.
lists i'll their childish minds, is the 30
cent silver dollar, made of this value by
coming it Mt u ratio of 1G to ! with
gold. Such persons arc either incapable
of reasoning or they have never really
applied their reasoning powers TO this
question. Neither have they learned The
lessons of history in regard to cheap
morcy and wages. A pamphlet entitled
EQUALITY Of Money and Wages has
just been published by the Reform club.
which is intended to teach the lessons
of history and to facilitate clear think
ing on this important question. Its au-
thor, MIR. Frank l.. McVey, first demon
stratcs i'll tho simplest way that de-
prociatinS currency must injuro the
wage Garner. Hero is tho way he begins
his discussion:
The operators i'll our mills and fac
tories, together with those engaged in
day labor of other kinds, constitute "A
great creditor class. They are creditors
III the sense that they advance labor AT
the end of II Gay on 4 week the amount
duo them for services performed is
greater than that owing to any other
class. But in the majority of cases the
wage Garner is dependent upon his daily
or weekly earnings, ST that the vital
question with him is rs To their imme-
tliatc purchasing power.
WHAT )ahorcr really works for are
the things which he consumes Every
thing that goes To make goods cheaper
tends 10 increase the real as compared
with tho nominal wages of the work
man. for he is then getting more goods
for tho Same money. On the other hand,
every tendency to mako things dcarer
tends 20 decrease i'll Il corresponding de-
gree the real wages of the people.
Wages arc high or low according 10 the
abundance of necessities, comforts or
luXuries ohtainablo for them p"
Mr. McVey proceeds carefully to in
| quirc into the relations between money,
prices and wages. Here is another of
his statements:
Tho prices of what wage caimcrs
have to lluy respond far moro promptly
to changes i'll the quality Of money than
do waacs--the prices ut which labor is
sold. Hence whenever money rs getting
better, though nominal wages may trnd
to decrease, wage Gamers are constantly
getting moro goods i'll exchange for tho
money they actually get for their labor,
/
though nominal wages may tend to in
crease, wage carners arc constantly get
Ting less of the necessarics and comforts
of life i'll return for the wages they re-
ceivc. Appreciation of the dollar in
which wages are paid and consequently
lower prices are therefore constantly and
certainly TO The advantage of tho wage
Garner. Depreciation of the dollar and
consequently higher prices arc always
and certainly TO his damage.
After reaching conclusions from theo-
retical reasoning he studies the expc-
rience of most of the leading countries
of the world. He finds that not only are
wages nearly always lower in silver
than i'll gold standard countries, but
that there is abundant reason why such
| should be the case. TO cite one instance
he shows by statistics and diagrams
that our wage earners during our civil
war suffered great loss in wages dino
10 the depreciation of our currency In
1860 days labor purchased only four
ilfths as much as it purchased i'll 1860.
Wages had risen only about As, while
prices had risen 90 per cent since 1861.
This Notwithstanding that the with
drawal of nefourth of our best work
ers TO serve us soldiers greatly lessened
the competition among laborers and
that both before and since our grccnback
initiation Period both nominal and real
wages have been advancing from year
to year.
Mr.. McVey closes with tho following
impartial statement.
Tile only fair and just currency to
all parties is stable one Under snch
Il currency the conditions of the future
are more easily ascertainable, legitimate
enterprise more confidently entered upon
and progress more sure. Wage earners
have no right 20 agitate for an apprecia-
tion of a currency. Neither have thoy
any reason to submit TO depreciation by
,,thers'