OCR Text |
Show WAR PRICES IN TIME OF PEACE The outbreak of tho Turopean war sent kiting upward tho prices of things wo eat and wear. Many of these advances, If not most of them, wero unwarranted and unjust. They woro tho effects of speculation. Thoy represent nil along the lino nn effort of Insider!, to mako the outsiders pay a war tax, not to tho government or It Is at peaco with nil tho world but to tho outsiders themselves. Tho success of tucso machinations would Imposo on tho American people peo-ple war prices In timo of peaco. Tho President nt onco set In motion mo-tion tho agencies nt tho disposal ot tho Department of Commerco and Agriculture Ag-riculture to find whether or not there Is anything liko violation of law In connection with tho upward move ment ot prices. Meat went up. It Is charged that i tho packers created a scarcity for consumption so that thoy might put a stock In storngo for speculative reasons. They nnswer that the re celpts of killing stock at tho yards provo that tho rlso In meats grows out ot a natural scarcity. It ought to bo easy to tell which sido Is correct cor-rect by comparing tho advances in meats with tho advances In Uvo stock. Thcro may bo somo reason for advances ad-vances In tea and coffee, temporarily, temporari-ly, slnco wo bring these across tho sear but the cessation of the European Europ-ean demand ought to make both, cheaper. Tho war found sugar selling 'very low, but It doubled In price within two weeks. This is to bo expected, since it comes across tho oceans am tho great sugar beet countries of Europe Eu-rope aro all! embroiled In tho war. Wo may look for rather dearer sugar for a time. , Imported cheeses must go up, nnd tho American dealer will find his dd mand greatly Increased on account ot tho cutting oft of tho European supply sup-ply by tho wnr. Anything tho administration admin-istration can legally do tp keep down the speculative fever will commnnd tho sympathy of all, but thero seems no good reason to expect that It can do much. War makes scarcity and scnrclty makes high prices. That Amerlcnns may suffer actual starvation starva-tion on nccount of this fratlcldal struggle Is proof ot tho brotherhood ot man, at least In suffering. "No man Uvcth unto himself alone, or dleth unto himself alone." Tho man responsible for the war commltteed a crlmo against you and me and every other person In tho world. Farm and Fireside |