APPENDIX. 99 



TABLE V. 



Much is said about the inability of the 

 American flax-grower to compete with the 

 "pauper labor" of Europe. The follow- 

 ing tables show the comparative cost of 

 the production of flax in America and in 

 Ireland. It will be seen that while the cost 

 of labor is undoubtedly higher in America 

 than in Ireland, yet this is to a great degree 

 compensated for by the greater value of 

 land in Ireland. In Holland, flax land 

 readily brings a yearly rent of 300 to 350 

 francs per hectare, equal to $25 to $30 per 

 acre, a price for which good flax land can 

 be bought outright in the West. In all 

 manufacturing processes, America has an 

 advantage in cheap fuel and water-power. 

 (The first table is taken from the Report of 

 the Tariff Commission, p. 995.) 



