474 



PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 



commodity when placed actually in the hands of the consumer. 

 The following simple illustration may be of same help in affording 

 a clearer conception of the successive value-increment processes. 



First, let us assume that for the purpose of supplying the mar- 

 ket with loaf -bread, an acre of farm land is to be devoted to the 

 production of wheat, that the yield therefrom is assumed to be 21 

 bushels, and that 1^ bushels of seed will be used, primarily, in 

 sowing. The principal stages of value-giving increments are shown 

 as follows: — 



NOTB. — The cost at each stage is assumed to include all workers' services, including allied 

 auxiliary instruments and forces. 



Stage . 



First . 



Second 

 Third . 

 Fourth 



All stages 



At the close of Services of- 



Seedsman 

 Farmer 

 Miller .. 



The Baker and distributing 

 Shopkeepers 



Equivalence in No. of 

 " Composite Labour- 

 hours." 



No. 



5-65 

 89-35 

 17-53 

 64-47 



177- 



Woia. — It is estimated that 1 bushel of wheat will yield 42 lbs. of flour, that a 2-lb. loaf 

 contains 1 -42 lbs. of flour. It follows, therefore, that the 21 bushels of wheat raised from 1 acre 

 of land could b'^ made to produce 626 2-lb. loaves, which, at the market price of 3d., is equal to 

 7 163. 61.. and equivalent to a value of 177 "Composite Labour-hours." In otiier words, 

 ererjr 2-lb. loaf produced, absorbs -283, or fully one-fourth, of one " Composite Labour-hour." 



Minimum-wage Standards. 



Probable Effect of Enforced Begulation of Minimum-wage 

 Standards upon the Cost of Living. 



The purchasing power of nominal wages over any marketable 

 commodity or service varies widely with every variation in the 

 actual rate of pay. 



The selling price of commodities, on the other hand, is determined 

 by the average cost of composite labour-time; that means the 

 average, or composite cost of all industrial agencies engaged in the 

 production of marketable commodities and services. Such commo- 

 dities and services — of the same quality and in the same market — 

 have, for the time being, a certain fixed price to purchasers {e.g., 

 3d. per 2-lb. loaf), which is unaffected by any consideration as to 

 the affluence or the poverty of the purchaser. 



If, therefore, by any means the aggregate cost of all labour and 

 its allied auxiliary services engaged in the production of all neces- 

 sary commodities and wants, be raised, say, by 12^ per cent., it 

 V70uld then follow, inevitably, that a corresponding increase would 



