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Show high prices. j The recent drop of To cents per huu-. huu-. !red pounds in ihr price of sugar is 'undoubtedly due to the fact that the I product ion this year, outside of two or three of the belligerent countries, is the largest on record. ' For instance, figures issued in the middle of August indicate: t hat ' 'uba 's sugar production in the present year will be somewhat in excess of the estimate of ii.HUO.UHU tons that has been the consensus of o dn ion of ; experts, and will surpass by approxi- mately ;"00,000 tois the largest previous production. Fver since the outbreak of the Furopean war sugar has been held at high prices in the United States, too j high, in tho opinion of the consumers, but the government officials wero unable i to find any evidence of an unlawful : combination. The refiners, in announc- I ing the 75 -.cent cut, asserted that the I price of sugar in this country was entirely en-tirely governed by the law of supply and demand, which has not always been tho ease and is not the case at the present time as regards some of the other commodities that figure in the high cost of living. The drop in sugar is welcome. There would be big money in the business if it should go-still lower, but we must not look for cheap foodstuffs until ifter the war ends, and even then prices will undoubtedly be higher all along the line than they were before the worUL- conflagration con-flagration started. The American people peo-ple live well in lean years if they have either cash or credit. In prosperous times, such as the couutry is now enjoying, enjoy-ing, our desires increase with our wealth and wo seem to be following the example ex-ample of the man who said he did not propose to die in debt to his stomach, no matter what happened to the grocer, butcher ami baker. But even if we should mend our ways and practice economy econ-omy the increase in population will soon bring the country to a point where the demand for foodstuffs will equal or exceed ex-ceed the supply, thus maintaining prices at a high level. This is not so bad as it looks upon the surface; for if the United States continues con-tinues to prosper and the factories and mills are kept running, the workingmen, who receive by far the highest wages paid anywhere in the world, will continue con-tinue to buy the best in the market. So, unless there are combinations to rob the consumers there will not be any very good grounds for complaining about the high cost of living so long as labor is fully employed and the pay envelopes are regularly received. If there should be an enormous food production, as in the case of sugar in Cuba, and the law of supply and demand is allowed to gov- j em prices, some articles of, food will be : comparatively cheap, but we ; see little chance for a reduction in some of the staples. |