Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-11-29
WAGES UNDER SOCIALISM.
It Is Time That Socialists Formulated q
Scientific Theory Of "Wages, or
Standard of Value"

ing series of sermons ON socialism. A study /
OF one Of these convinces me that while he Is |
evidently fair and honest he does not grasp the |
true spirit of socialism, and finds many OBJ |
jections to things that re not socialism, but |
which he conceiveS to be socialism. One Of the |
objections he stumbles on is this:
I'm the first place there would be a difficulty |
In devising a plan to compensate labor"
Not at all The average time consumed in |
producing article would be the price OF an |
article and the time would buy an article. AS |
labor is always paid in the results Of labor, the
value of the labor would be determined by the
price Of goods whose price would be the time it
took to produce. Even to-day we do not pay |
more for a bushel OF wheat that cost twice as
much as some other bushel. as many OF them
do. Time for time-thiS Is the law Of an eye for
an eve and a tooth for a tooth. to which Brother
Sprecher certainly cannot object
The most common and most persist
emily urged objections to socialism are
those connected with what is termed
the theory of wages or standard of
value.' It is of course, claimed by
socialists that, finally, $he absurd falla-
cies which cluster abhut a metallic
''unit," or standard" of value, would
be discarded and, under regime of
ideal socialism, labor-unit substitu-
ted for the present unit of metal, and
it is in relation to this proposed labor
unit that SO many misconceptions exist
and it is against it that SO many absurd
objections are urged.
1t must be admitted, however, that
socialists are, in a very large degree,
responsible for these misconceptions
and objections, from the fact that they
themselves do not appear to have any
clear conceptions of socialistic wage
theory and do not advocate any well
formulated ideas concerning the social
ist STANDARD of value'' which socialists
propose to adopt.
1t is true that, in a general way,
they assert that labor cost would be
the measure of price and that time
consumed in production would be the
| unit, or measure, of value, but their
theory is obscured and mystified by a
| hazy theory concerning labor checks
| and the substitution thereof for money
| for which, they assure us, there would
be neither use or necessity under a So
cialistic regime.
1t appears to me that at this juno
ture when leading and influential
| journals, such as the New York Jour
nal and Verdict, are advocating a large
degree of socialism) it is high time
that socialists did some constructive
work in the direction of clearly defin-
| ing clean cut and well-formulated So
cialistic wage theory, more especially
because before we can hope to reach
the perfect ideal of the Bellamy school
we must necessarily pass through a
more or less lengthy period of practi-
cal socialism during which, at first, a
few, and gradually more and more OF
the larger and more important indus
tries of the nation will be owned and
operated by the people, in their organ
lied capacity. as the .'state' or "gov-
ernment." Thus we shall likely begin
with the telegraph and telephone serv.
ice, the express business and possibly
armor plate and arms and ammunition
factories. Then will follow the rail
road system of the nation, the coal
mines and oil fields. etc.
Now Brother Wayland says ''the
average time consumed in producing
an article would be the price of an
article and the time would buy the
article" But railroad and postal en-
ployes produce nothing, neither dc
those employed in the telegraph anG
telephone business, while, except in the
case of railroad transportation, il
would be difficult to apportion tht
time put in by the employees in thes,
industries to the cost of any articl,
that is produced. Then, again, in ths
case of almost all manufactured arti
cles, there must be taken in accoun
the labor and transportation cost o
raw material, while, in many lines o
industry, owing to the perfection o
machinery, hand makes only SOM
one, out of many, special part of th'
finished article.
The price of an article to-day, unde
the present system, is made up of man,
component parts of which the chief ar
raw material, wages, interest, prof
and cost of distribution and placing o.
the market. Under a system of praG
tical socialism, profit and interest, ad
vertising and drummers' salaries woul
be eliminated, but the method of al
irving at price" would be the same a
now. That is to say that the price
of an article would be the labor an
: | transportation cost of raw materis
/ and labor cost of production of tn
, finished article, sinking fund for RI
pairs and replacement of buildings an
4 machinery, ETC., etc, but no interest c
j profit.
This being the case. am unable
e understand why it is that socialist
, contend that money would no longt
a be needed. / can, of course, unde
e stand that labor unit of value woul
be substituted for the present metall
one, but cannot comprehend why
labor check would have any superio
e advantages over full legal tender paps
money, with some certain division {
time spent in labor as its unit of a
count, or so-called standard of value.
The government and the public servit
would still have to be maintained an
{ salaries would have to be paid to mol
productive government officials an
: employees and. unless governmer
charged profit upon its production
the money to pay these salaries woul
have to be raised, as now, by taxation
r The opponents of socialism say tn;
e if all men were paid the same wage fl
d | day spent in labor, every man woul
s want to work at the occupation tn;
= | was the easiest, the cleanest and Il
f present standards the most honorabl
y and this is the difficulty which Il
/ leaders of socialistic thought have
d vain tried to meet, and, yet, it is easil
; met.
And why should such methe