Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-01-19 | Page 1 | Waste Condemned in Senate Speech

WASTE CONDEMNED IN SENATE SPEECH Profligacy and Ixtravagance of American Ameri-can People in Pursuing Pleasure Scored in High C'o.st Discussion. WASHINGTON, Jan. 1SN Profligacy and extravangance of the American people peo-ple in pursuing pleasure were condemned in the senate today by Senator McCum-ber McCum-ber of North Dakota, in opposing proposals pro-posals for an embargo on food products. The high cost of livtng, he said, was largely due to American extravagance, citing figures to show that Americans spend thirteen billion dollars annually for liquor, tobacco, automobiles and other amusements. "This revelry in extravangant habits," he said, "this unquenchable demand for amusements, for continuous mental intoxicants in-toxicants is undermining the sturdlness of our younger generation. The American Ameri-can people seem obsessed with the Idea that the main thing in life is amusement, paly, entertainment." An embargo on food, in view of present pres-ent prices of farm labor and articles used on the farm, in addition to land values, would be most unjust and class discrimination, discrim-ination, he declared.