Show CONSUMER BEARS ENORMOUS LOAD 46 Increased Cost of Living Out of All Proportion to Wages WOMANS CLUB INTERESTED TRUSTS LARGELY RESPONSIBLE SAYS DR THOMAS The first of a series serbs of serious studios studIes to be undertaken by the Salt SaIl Lako Lake Womans club in Jn regard to the Increased cost of living JIving was given yes yesterday yesterday yesterday by Dr George Thomas of the Agricultural college of Logan professor sor of f economics and sociology in that thac institution Dr Thomas paper paver was largely of a statistical l nature arid and an amply illustrated by computed table on the cost of living His subject was Causes of Fluctuation in the thc Cost of o Living and he showed himself a I thorough thor Jugh student of the economIc of the day Dr Thomas spoke of the two great exceptions to the natural causes of 0 in increased creased cost of living the law of ren renand S and the growth of trusts By adjusted diagrams the speaker s eak r Iho cd ed how the law of rent when equitably administered is right and Just in its operation He showed how By the op operation oration of this law food products raised on the western farm lands land be ho began hogan gan han to decline in price in the enties and reached their lowest point in the nineties The fact that the United States has Increased in The past ten years to a population of f nearly ninety millions was shown to be re responsible responsible responsible again a natural increase in food products Increase I Is Enormous Tables showing the increase fn in price to be bo enormous were shown and ald tables showing the increased income were ere cre found to be out of all proportion to the others It was shown that by the op fp operation oration of the tho trusts the Income In omo of capitalists and owners was round found to tl t have increased several hundred per pei percent cent rent the Income of laborers or wage earners of the tho unskilled cla class s was found to have increased some fit fifty It Itty ty per cent while that of the salaried classes or skilled labor lanor was wa ae found to have bave increased only about 10 per cert the of living for all three classes having increased some 42 per pe cent Dr Thomas offered no objection to the trusts if properly and suggested as a remedy for the preset present prices the system of pools operated op in Germany by which the trusts are su sn supervised and a lawful profit allowed He held that a reasonable increase with consequent increase in earning power was to be expected as a conse consequence con consequence e quence of growth and that modern Ip p which have gone largely to increase the power of the trusts should naturally tend to increase the comfort of ind 2nd decrease the cost of need needed id commodities to the consumer I Progress in Colorado Every phase of the subject was ski fully and ably presented and tables weighted to show relative values were enlightening to those not famil familiar Jar lar with economic subjects The cost of butter and eggs is due said the speaker to two or more causes some sometimes sometimes sometimes times natural and sometimes in the na nature nature nature ture of trusts A part of the increase In local food products as in the case cae of potatoes is due to the carelessness of the farmers in giving up the rais raising raisIng raisIng ing of f potatoes for sugar beets or r other commodities The speaker showed what Intelligent effort in fruit raising and nd marketing has accomplished in Colo Colorado lo lorado lorado rado in the past few years awl and an urged that such effort be bo more general in Utah In an ax interview with The Herald Dr Dt DIThomas Thomas said he had touched only light lightly lightly lighty ly y on an n local conditions because he tid not care to make any charges agaInst again t the business Interests of the city without the definite facts and figures to substantiate them He said Bald that thatto thatto to deal with the local situation prop properly properly erly would require the collection cf f specific data involving considerable 4 labor and expense Dr Thomas said It is to be regretted that the prosecution tion in the present grand Jury investigation investigation investigation gation was unable to fortify itself Its lf through the medium of a special prose prosecutor prosecutor prosecutor working quietly here for months in advance |