The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1896-08-29
ITS EFFECT ON WAGES
The Truth About a Contracted
Currency.
ONLY REMEDY IS MORE MONEY,
How Wages Are Reduced-Points For
the werkingman to.Consider Careful
" and Intelllgently-The Case Stated
In Nutshell.

HOW WuktS Arc heOucG0-TOlutS EOT
the werkingman to.Consider Careful
" and IntelIlgently-The Case Stated
In Nutshell.
1t would be very strange ii 1t were
true that the single gold standard,
which cheapens everything but gold
and debts. were to increase the wages
of labor, and it would puzzle the ablest
flnancier to find out the wherefore Of
such change.
1t is true that the protective tariff
does increase the wages of labor by in
creasing the cost OF living, and also
temporarily by increasing the demand
for labor. This isonly atemporary in
crease OF demand for labor, as under
the Republican tariff laws the labor
supply Of Europe can be drawn on at
pleasure, and immigration invariably
increases to meet this increased de-
mand. One thing is evident in the
matter of wages. 1t is that laborers
cannot long continue to work for less
than the cost OF living. Another is
that the wages Of labor can only be
kept above the cost of living by cut
ting off the unlimited supply of labor
that the world affords either through
restrictions on immigration or through
the action of trades unions.
OF course it is not true that the sim
gle gold standard has raised the wages
OF labor in this country. Wages have
fallen since the repeal of the Sherman
silver law in 1893 slightly more than
the average fall in prices of commodi-
ties.
From 1878, until 1898, while the
Bland law and the Sherman law were
operating to expand the currency OF
the country by from 50, 900, 00e to ST..
900, 900 per month, wages Of labor did
advance materially in the United
States from the very low wages that
the contraction OF the currency be
tween 1873 and 1878 had produced.
The Pittsburg riots occurred in 1871
and at that time the depression Of
wages was not only severe beyond bear.
ing, but was aggravated by the fact
that but few of the railroad companie.
of the country were able to pay theil
employees promptly, some being
months behind, owing to the severe
contraction in the currency and it:
disastrous effects.
A contraction of the currency Away:
reduces the wages of labor, and by The
paralyzing effect it has on industry al
so restricts the employment of labor
This was seen after the bank failures
of 1887 and 1857, when the greater
part of the currency went out OF circu.
lation on account of the bank fail.
ures.
The issue of greenbacks during the
war raised wages to a higher point than
they had ever been in this country,
even when the wages of that time are
computed in gold, and though taxes
were extremely heavy on account OF
the fact that labor prospered as it never
did before.
The laborer cannot expect, as rule,
to receive higher wages than the profit
on the product of his labor will permit,
and any general loss to the employers
is reflected in the decreased wages OF
their employees. The payment OF
their debts in dollars that have doub-
led in value and the decrease in the
price of their products, where they are
not protected by trust organization,
are losses to the employers that force
them to pay lower wages.
If the interest the employers are
forced to pay had decreased proportion
ately to other things, wages would not
suffer, provided credits remained as
good as in time of money expansion.
But the interest rate has, il any
thing, increased against manufacture
ers and other employers of labor, al
though it has decreased in forms Of
loans that are supposed to be absolute
ly safe. And credits have decreased,
these two circumstances telling against
labor, one by reducing the profits of
the employer and the other by restrict
ing his ability to give employment.
1t is true that there are trusts and
monopolies that, in spite of the gem
eral decline in prices, have put up or
kept up the price Of their products or
services with a great profit to them
selves, some of which have not thought
it worth while to reduce the wages of
their employees in the face of the OPP
position this would meet with
from organized labor. But these are
decidedly exceptional
The free coinage of silver would put
an end to the contraction of the cur
rency that has been going on for the
past three years and would tend to
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