The Louisiana populist., 1897-07-16
RELATION TO WAGES.
HOW THE GOLD STANDARD
CRINDS THE LABORER.
Not Dear Money and Cheap Men, but
Cheap Money and Dear Men, Should
BE the Working Mems Platform.

The relation Of the money question
to labor and wages Is most important
one. Indeed money sustains vital re-
lation to all forms of industry. Some
theorists seem to believe that money
is not necessary to exchange of prod
ucts that it is in fact an ingenious
device by which the crafty manage to
filch the proceeds of toll. However this
may be, all will agree that to do away
with money we should have to change
our entire system of business and com.
merce. While the present system OBJ
tains money Is vital factor. 1t is no
less vital to labor than to capital. The
argument in favor of dear dollar in
its relation to wages Is a specious one.
All must recognize that the more a la
borer can buy for the dollars he earns
the better 1t will be for him and those
dependent upon him. He has been rep
resented as creditor, and as such his
interests are with the creditor class.
The patriotic gold standard editor and
orator never grew tired Of reminding
the country that the pension creditor
and the labor creditor must be paid in
good money. There was no mention
OF the bond and mortgage creditor by
these friends G.? OF the old soldier and
the day laborer 1t was shown that
wages had not fallen in the same pro-
portion as other things, therefore the
laborer was better off under the regime
OF the dear dollar than under that OF
the cheap dollar.
OF course plain history and plain OBJ
servation refuted the proposition fatty,
but there is logic that ignores facts
and scorns history. During the social
ed period Of imitation every man had
work if he wanted it, and at fair II not
good wages It was when the period
OF contraction set in that the tramp be-
came permanent reality in this coun-
try. The steady ascent Of the dollar
has measured the steady descent Of the
laborer. 1t has done the same thing
In all ages and in all countries. The
mortality tables gathered through hun
dreds of years by life insurance COM
panies are not more reliable or scien-
tific than is the above statement. Dear
money means cheap labor always and
inevitably. 1t could be proven that now
labor is exceedingly cheap, perhaps
cheaper than ever known before.
Labor organization is modern fac
tor absent in other eras. It has sue
ceeded to some extent in keeping up
nominal wages, and to that extent
worked deception which must react
upon itself. Organization of labor can
not open factories or compel the pur-
chase Of their products. 1t cannot COM
pei employment. 1t has succeeded in
securing better wages for those who get
permanent employment, To all the
rest it has been a positive damage.
Now, to find the true average wage
we would have to find the total amount
paid for wages in the last twelve
months for the whole country and d.
vide it by the number of laborers in
the whole country. Does any one doubt
that such method would show q
frightful decline in the price of labor
since 1865? In the absence Of statis-
tics permit me to give hypothetical
illustration:
Suppose the average wage for COM
mon labor is $l.50 per day. Then sup
pose that employment Is as follows:
2,000,0 900 are employed all the
| IlMe ....... .............$S,U ,UOV,V0V
100000 three-fourths the
1900, 900 one-half the time. i. 1900, 900
100000 one-fourth the time. 10000
100000 no time ............ .....
100000 men earn 81. 500, 900
Which equal rs cents per day as the
true wage. Who doubts that the actu-