The times., 1901-06-09
The Trusts and Wages.

ne man. ana perhaps the most per
suasive, plea put forth on behalf of the
trusts is that they are an advantage to
the laboring man in preventing the re-
duction of his wages, This plea, how
ever, is persuasive only by being de
ceptive. for it rests upon no substantial
basis Of merit. The argument is that
the combines. by controlling the output
can prevent the cutting of prices
through unrestricted competition with
resultant cuts in wages; that when
prices show a marked tendency to fall
it will be checked by limiting the
product.
1t may possibly be that by this
method the mere wage rate can and
win be maintained, but it is quite an
other thing to say that wage workers
as class Will be benefited. There is
| a wide difference between the rate per
| day or week at which a man is paid
| and his actual earnings If man re-
/ ceives a dollar a day and works six
| days in a week. his earnings for tEe
week are six dollars. If he only works
| three days, while the nominal wage
| rate has been maintained, his weeks 5
| earnings have been reduced ty one
! half and only amount to three dollars.
/ This illustrates the manner in which
! the wage-worker is benefited by he op-
| Grafton Of the trusts.
The limitation of production means 4
| reduction in some way of the work
ing force. Some of the operatives y i'll
be discharged, or placed upon short
time, which will necessarily diminish
their earnings. When a man is laid off
and his pay stopped in order to avoid
overproduction. it is small consolation
to him to be reminded that there has
been no reduction Of the wage rate.
Those who are kept steadily employed,
OF course, suffer no loss, but those who
have been placed on short time have in
effect had their pay reduced. While
those discharged have suffered some
thing worse than a cut in their wages
they have had their pay stopped On
tirely
But this is not all. By the policy Of
thus arbitrarily limiting production
conditions are created which make it
extremely improbable that even those
who retain steady employment can per-
manently maintain the wage rate
Prices Of all things are ultimately fixed
by the great economic law of supply
and demand The fatal vice of the
trust theory is that it ignores the ele-
ment Of demand and attempts to con
troi prices by simply regulating the
supply
When production is curtailed for that
purpose the earnings Of labor are nee
essarily reduced. The working classes
have less money with which 10 sup
ply their own needs. They Duy less at
the retail store; the small dealer buys
less from the wholesale merchant, who.
in turn, puts in smaller orders at the
factory, and this leads TO still fur
ther reduction Of the output with more
men reduced TO idleness either total or
partial. There is literally no en1 10 the
process il it be generally adop-e1 n
time a condition must Da reached in
which the mass of unemployed labor
will be so great that a cut in the wage
rates viii be inevitable. The arbitrary
fixing Of prices for any great length of
time is utterly impossible. Cor the rea-
son that no artificial combination can
at once control the supply Of the prod
uct, the demand for it. and the supply
of money in which the price is ex-
pressed.
The long and short Of it IS that the
sole purpose Of the trusts is To strange
competition and control prices for their
own benefit. When they find that the
price is falling in spite Of them. they
at once proceed TO protect themselves
in every possible way. and whenever /
deemed necessary and feasible they
viii not hesitate to reduce the wages (
of their employees. As yet the laborsrs /
have not been badly hurt because we /
have lately been in the enjoyment OF 1
unusual prosperity, and just now the !
trusts are especially Interested in PROV |
ing that they deeply love the @orkiag
man and feel the tendcrast sOlicitude
for his welfare.
Still, it is worthy If note that even
under these favorable conditions the
most serious cloud upon the Industrial
horizon at this time IS The Widespread
discomfort among the working classes
and the sharply expressed belief ca
their part that they are not getting
their fun share Of the prosperity that
abCunds. Making due allowance 1Or
the palDabIe truth that labor organiza-
tions are frequently unreasonable in
their demands, being led on by selfish
and unprincipled agitators. the fact re-
mains that there is nothing in the pres
ent condition of labor TO indicate that
il has been OF VIII be benefited by the
trusts
II is nothing less than amazing that
anyone can seriously believe that the
welfare of seventy-hve millions Of peo-
pie can be enhanced by allowing a few
individuals or corporations to control
the Industrial situation throughout the
SO far as the trusts can at
tain the end for which they are formed.
il must necessarily be at the expense
Of the mass Of the people, including
those who live upon the wages Of their
labor.
senator Depew on England.
The remarks of Senator nepat,. q