TRADE-UNIONS 25 



and may get more than his prime cost ; but when he is not all 

 wanted, and must sell his labour, he may be driven to cheapen 

 his prime cost to starvation wages, or wages at which he can 

 barely exist ; whereas other articles, if the profit falls too low, 

 are simply not produced. Mill points out, very justly, that if 

 time be given for adj ustment, the labourer comes into the cate- 

 gory of unlimited articles ; for though he will not avoid daily 

 producing himself by eating, he may avoid reproducing himself 

 in children, and will avoid doing so if his profit as a labourer 

 be below a certain amount. This certain amount depends on 

 what the labourer considers the minimum at which it is worth 

 while to exist. The natural price of labour is fixed in this 

 manner quite as definitely as the natural price of any unlimited 

 commodity is fixed by the cost of its production, including in 

 that cost the current rate of profit in trade. So far, therefore, 

 it would appear that, after all, granting time, we might bring 

 wages into the second category, in which bargaining avails no- 

 thing ; but there are here one or two remarks to be made. If 

 the standard of comfort be so raised that our labourer positively 

 will not work unless he has more food and better clothes than 

 last year, his prime cost is raised ; but, considering the objec- 

 tion that men have to starvation and the workhouse, it is im- 

 possible that his standard should rise, unless he has some saving 

 or fund to prevent his starving or to allow of emigration. This 

 increase in the standard of comfort held by the labourer is 

 analogous to the rate of profits expected by the manufacturer. 

 If manufacturers, as a body, determine that it really is not 

 worth while to produce goods except at an increased profit, the 

 prime cost of their produce will be increased. Manufacturers 

 could not act up to this determination unless they had savings 

 unless they combined, and unless they could prevent compe- 

 tition. The workman can only raise his price on precisely the 

 same conditions, but he is fortunate so far, that competitors 

 cannot readily be produced for any skilled employment. Ulti- 

 mately, whenever population increases at such rate that com- 

 petitors are practically unlimited, and where this population can 

 flow without check into any skilled employment, wages must 

 fall to such a point that no further competitors will enter the lists. 

 But this increase in the number of competitors, and fall in the stan- 



