ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCES IN COST 13 
we do not use the word at all when referring to the forces that act 
on money prices. In considering these we shall therefore speak 
of domestic supply prices only ; or, for brevity, supply prices. The 
German domestic supply price of copper is that at which copper 
would sell in Germany if there were no international trade at all, if 
copper were produced in Germany, and if its price were purely a 
domestic matter. Itis the price which the German producers must 
get in order to induce them to make that article. Similarly the 
domestic supply price of linen in the United States is the price which 
would rule in the United States if there were no trade between the 
countries — the price which Americans must get in order to 
induce them to make linen at all. 
A cursory inspection of the figures shows that the supply price 
of copper is lower in the United States ($0.50 there, $0.663 in 
Germany) while that of linen is lower in Germany (80.33% against 
$1.00 in the United States). The American producers of linen 
would be undersold by the German producers of linen ; the German 
producers of copper would in turn be undersold by the American 
producers of copper. American copper would be sold in Germany, 
German linen in the United States. The United States would 
produce no linen, Germany would produce no copper. 
Suppose now the difference in money wages between the two 
countries to be the other way — higher in Germany. Suppose 
German wages to be $1.50, American wages $1.00. Then we have : 
In the U. S. 10 days’ lah 
Pe 2 1. S ke My 
” Germany 
Germanv 
WAGES 
PER DAY 
ToraL 
WAGES 
Propuce de 
> copper $0.33% 
linen 30.663 
1» copper $1.00 
30 linen £0.50 
Here the same movement of goods takes place. Copper is 
cheaper in the United States than it could be in Germany ($0.33% 
there as against $1.00 in Germany) and will move thence to 
Germany. Linen is similarly cheaper in Germany ($0.50 against 
$0.662) and will move thence to the United States. 
In other words, it is quite possible that money wages will be 
higher in the United States or that they will be higher in Ger-