The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-08-09
THE LEGAL MINIMUM WAGE

H. 1 - AAN4 AA AV
ITS POLITICAL, ECONOMIC ANE
MORAL ASPECTS DISCUSSED BY
REV. J. A. RYAN, D. D., OF ST
PAUL SEMINARY IN THE CUR
RENT ISSUE OF THE coLUMBIAD
Against the minimum wage as ad
vocated by it's competent champions
there is not a single conclusive argu
ment. Whether we view it from the
side of politics, economics, ethics, OF
experience, we find it impregnable.
The Political Aspect.
One of the primary duties of the
State is to protect the natural rights
of individuals. In the case of the la
borer these unborn rights include the
right to a living wage. When the Ia
borer is compelled to accept less than
this he is, to quote the words of Pope
Leo XIII, "the victim of force and in
justice" To protect the laborel
against such injustice by means of an
effective minimum wage law is quite
as much the business of the State as
to protect his life, limb, health, OF
property. None of these goods is
essentially more important to him thar
VIC rrynn r.
gains his livelihood.
To be sure if all, or almost all, wage
earners were able to obtain living
wages without this measure of assist
ance from the State, a minimum wage
law would be uncalled for and undesir
able. But all persons who are famil
lar with the level and trend of wages
in America know that the great ma
jority of the underpaid cannot obtai1
decent wages by their own efforts.
All expert students of the subjec
are agreed that Professor Nearing il
substantially correct in his estimat,
that three-fourths of the adult male la
borers of America get less than $3.50 ;
year, and that three-fifths of the fe
male wage earners are paid less thai
eight dollars per week. No intelli
gent observer will seriously maintain
that anything less than these figure
constitute living wages for the hea
of a family and for a self-supportin
woman, respectively, in any large cit
of the United States. And no ecC
nomic authority will commit himsel
to the statement that the proportio
of men and women who receive les
than these rates of wages is likely {
be greatly lessened through their oW
efforts or through the voluntary actio
of their employers. The State is th
only power that can achieve anythin
of this sort within a reasonable lengt
of time.
The Economic Aspect.
The economic or business effect {
fixing lowest limit of wages by la
is. precisely the same as that whic
follows the enactment of minimum
age for working children, a maximum
number of hours per day for workin
women, or minimum provisions fo
safety and sanitation in workshop
All these legal restrictions put heavie
burdens on business, and tend to il
crease the cost of production. Ths
is the utmost, from the business viev
point, that can be said against tn
legal minimum wage. Since this arg
ment has not been permitted to pr
vent human legislation on the forme
points, it should not be needed in r.
gard to the vitality important matter {
living wages.
To put this phase of the matter
another way: A minimum wage
often fixed by labor union, by agre,
ment between associations of worker
and associations of employers, an
sometimes by voluntary action of en-
ployers. If this kind of minimum
wage is economically sound a min
mum set up by law, by legal con
mission, is equally sound on bushes
grounds. If in given industry n
woman can be employed at less tina
eight dollars per week, it will no di
ference either to employers, en-
ployees, or consumers, whether ths
minimum has been established by pr
vate action or by officials of the State
There is, however, one economi
objection that deserves some considel
alton. 1t refers to an assumed effeC
of the minimum wage upon the worl
ers whom the law is designed to benz
fit. It runs thus: A rise in the wage
of workers who are now getting les
than the legal minimum Qet us al
sumo that it is fixed at eight dollar
per week for department store girls
will compel the employer to rails
prices to his customers; rise il
prices will cause lessening in tn
amount of goods purchased; a fallin
of in the demand for goods will meal
a diminution in the amount of labo
required to produce or handle tn
goods; consequently some employee
will be thrown out of work. Or If en-
ployers are unable to raise prices Il
order to meet the higher wages, the,
will discharge all those workers whom
they do not regard as worth the lega
minimum wage. In either case tn
workers viii suffer.
This argument proves too much.
hits not only the effort to raise wage
by law, but every attempt to increas
wages by any means whatever. III tn
argument is sound it proves that tn