The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-30
THE ECONOMISTS ADJOURN
CONCLUDING SESSION WAS HELD
 YESTERDAY AFTERNOON.

Officers for the Ensuing Year Elected
 Several Excellent Papers Read-Re-
 port of the Committee on Currency Re
 form in the United States, Contained
 Some Very Important Matter.
 The most important part of the meet ing of the American Economic associa- ton yesterday morning was the report of the special committee appointed to consider the subject of Currency Re- form" in the United States. It was read by Prof. Taussig of Harvard uni versity, and will be found in full below. The report was discussed by several of those present
 Prof. John B. Clark of Columbia uni Versity read an able paper on the topic Dynamic Standards of Wages and h. terest." The following is a very brief extract: Society is always tending to take certain static shape, much as the sea, however it may be disturbed by waves and currents, is tending toward a condition in which the surface of it would be level and the water notion less. If society were ever to reach it's static condition, the market price of every commodity would equal the cost Of producing it; and the cost itself would ha at tai, tai, over, the cost of all parts of the supply of a particular article would be uni form, and there would be no net profit realized from producing any part of the supply. Dynamic influences pre- vent society from ever reaching such a state These influences create net profits for employers; but these gains are held by precarious tenure. Com petition wrests them from employers hands and diffuses them among labor CTS and capitalists.
 The result of this is that the standard of wages rises and that the actual rate pursues it though tagging behind it in the upward movement. Every improve ment that is made in methods of pro- 'duction brings new wealth into exist ence It creates standard of pay for labor that is higher than were former standards The actual rate of pay moves upward toward the new stand ard; but before it can reach it. a fur ther improvement creates another and a still higher normal rate and the act ual wages of labor move toward this. For the good of the working classes the o,,1 ch hc ami as is possible: and this requires that the actual rate of pay should always be- by an interval, behind the upward moving standard. Employers profits depend on this interval, and the i'm provements that ensure an increase in wages are secured by the prospect of profits. To stop all legitimate profits would make actual wages conform to the static standard, but it would cause the standard itself to become nearly stationary.
 "A Fundamental Error of the Class ical Economists was the subject of a paper By Prof. Charles A. Tuttle of Wabash college. After hearing this pa- per the association adjourned until 3 o'clock, when Dr. w. F. Willoughby of the United States department of labor read an instructive paper on 'The Pres ent Study of Practical Labor Problems in France"
 He reviewed the methods pursued by the various organizations in France, which direct their efforts toward the betterment and assistance of the labor ing classes. Dr. Willoughby highly commended these societies because of the progress which they have made in this direction.
 Charles B. Curtis, vice president of the City bank of this city, read paper on Municipal Taxation as a Means of Public Control of Corporations. MT. Curtis prefaced his paper by saying that the subject was too broad to be correctly treated in a short paper, and that he would in consequence confine himself to the taxation of street rail- way systems. He said that local con- ditions determine to a great extent the manner in which the taxes were as sessed on street railway property. He cited states in which the legislatures determine the manner in which the tax should be laid and upon what property others in which the individual cities themselves had full charge of the mat ter In some cities, Philadelphia, for instance, the street railways are com pelled to pay for the paving of the en- tire width of the street on which their tracks are laid, and in others the com- panies must pay for certain width, and in still others for space outside of the tracks.
 Municipal ownership has not been att tempted to any great extent in this country, and where it has it has not been very successful. The manifest policy of most managers is one of con- ciliation and liberal treatment of the public. In many cities the matter of taxation is left to the city councils. This is especially so in the western cit ies, and the granting of franchises is re- garded with more or less importance. The influence of rural population on the matter is very great here in Connecti- cut. The street railways are treated the same as the steam railways as re- gards the levying of taxes, in that they are all paid to the state.
 Unless this is done it might be neces- sary to resuscitate the old town tax in order to pay the expenses of the state. The plan of taxing stocks and bonds of the companies is open to criticism. It is difficult to ascertain the exact value of the same in order to levy the taxes, and is consequently a very poor basis