1‘IIEST DENT S A DDHKHH — SUCTION <1. 
158 
This argument is urged, for instance, in u paper by Sir T. Karrer, 
published in the report of the English Commission on Labour of 
1808. The London County Council luid established a minimum wage 
of Oil. an hour for the labourers in its employment; and Sir T. 
Parrer maintains that to do this is to niter for the worse tlio 
condition of other workers, by diminishing the fund from which their 
wages are drawn, and thus compelling them either to remain 
unemployed, or to take employment at lower wages. 
But this is n mistake. Those who so argue forgot that the 
labourers whoso wages are raised will have more to spend, and will 
give more employment in spending it, by just the same amount that 
the Government or the taxpayers have loss left to spend, and give 
less employment. 
It is true that the quarry men and stone-workers who supply 
the statues to the Government, or the cooks and waiters who supply 
big dinners to the rich taxpayer, will lose opportunities of proli table 
employment. This the objector sees ; but what ho fails to see is the 
compensating fact that those who supply the additional demand of the 
labourers whose wages are raised will have more employment to tho 
same extent. Wluit 1 ho si one-workers and waiters lose, other workers 
will gain ; and, on the whole, there need be no diminution of employ- 
ment. Tho change, like any other change of demand, if largo and 
sudden, may cause some temporary distress in certain quarters; but 
it will be only a change of demand, and not a. diminution of it, and 
will ultimately result merely in a changed application of labour- 
power. Wlum the effects have had time to work themselves out, 
there will be fewer workers employed in supplying the wants of tho 
public or the rich taxpayer, and as many more employed in supplying 
the wants of the Government employees. In some cases, indeed, the 
very same workers may si ill go on producing the very same goods, the 
only difference being that these goods will now bo bought by A, tho 
Government labourer, out of his raised wages, instead of by B, tho 
taxpayer; and oven if tho goods demanded by A are of a different 
kind, they will bo of equal value to those which B has ceased to buy, 
arid will give an equal amount of employment in tho making. 
The effect on employment will, in fact, ho the same as if tho 
Government or tho taxpayers wore to spend part of their respective 
incomes in directly paying people to render certain additional services 
to certain Government employees, instead of paying an equal number 
of people to render services to tho public collectively or to the 
taxpayers individually. 
The Government is, in this respect, in tho same position as a 
private employer. II I make a present of money to a, friend, I am not 
thereby “ diminishing employment, n but only transferring from myself 
to him a certain power to employ others, or buy services from them; 
and this is equally true if I add certain shillings to the lowest wages 
at which I can got a man to work for mo. I shall have so much less 
to spend on other things, and he will have so much more; and whether 
that is good or had depends, I suppose, on tho question whether 
he or I spend the money more usefully- whether, that is, he or 
J, by means of it, set workers to do work that is better worth 
doing. But work or services of some sort or other this money will 
certainly be used to buy, whichever of us has the spending of it. 
