It is not philanthropy or charity that determines these prices. but simply the law of supply and demand in the whole labor market. We must expect employers of labor to try to keep wages down. There is no doubt that the great employers of labor have had a powerful influence upon immigration. stimulating the flow of labor to America. even to the extent of facilitating the coming of undesirable citizens. in order to increase the supply of labor and thereby keep wages down. The employers who clamor for high tariff protection on the pretext that it is to protect labor could really help protect labor by advocating restriction upon immigration by putting a tariff on labor that comes in. Instead of this. they use their resources and great ingenuity to get free labor. and as much as possible. from other countries. The manufacturers of New England. for instance. some fifty years ago sought to supplement their supply of native labor with the Irish immigrants. Next they brought in the CanadianFrench to supplement the Irish. Then they brought the Italian to supplement the CanadlanFrench. Now they are bringing in Armenians and laborers from eastern and southeastern Europe to add to the Italians. I am not criticising legitimate efforts to encourage desirable immigration. but I wish to show up the hypocrisy of the high protectionist pleading in the name of high wages for labor when he is really doing all in his power to reduce wages. The fact is. the average American wageearner produces from two to five times as much as the average wageearner of Europe. but he does not get on the average an equivalent compensation. For what he produces the American wageearner is the poorest paid white wageearner in the world and receives a smaller share of the value of his product.
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