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Show ANCIENT PROFITEERS. Tho celebrated Emperor Diocletian, who ruled the Romans sixteen hundred years ago, was death on profiteering; and, what is perhaps more to the point, he was literally death on profiteers. It appears that a condition of hoarding and cornering the markets developed in ancient Kome in year A. D. 301, which uroused the monarch to vigorous action. A writer iu tho Philadelphia Public Ledger has delved into musty tomes to present to tho world of today a thumbnail review of what the people had to bear iu those times. When Diocletian ascended tho throne und became master of the world, numerous numer-ous enterprising gentlemen set about relentlessly gouging his helpless subjects. sub-jects. Having been a poor peasant himself, Diocletian wasn't going to tolerate th.it sort of thing very long, so he took his secretary into his private pri-vate office and dictated an edict. This document is a remarkable paper; it would be a remarkable paper if written today. In part it follows: If the raging avarice, which, in utter dinreffa-rd of humane principles, continues to Increase as it has been doing by loaps and bounds, not only from year to year, month to month or even day to day, but, so to speak, from hour to hour, nay, from minute to minute if this avarice could be held in check by an ethical regard re-gard for moderation; or, if the condition of the people were such that they could bear the burden of this mad license, there might be justification in trying to wink at the situation and saying nothing. But, inasmuch as this money-making madness appears to be beyond control and is entirely heedless of the needs of the many, it has seemed good to us. the people's parent,- having a regard for the future as well, to intervene with impartial impar-tial Justice to remedy that for which we had long vainly hoped to find a relief in a common sentiment of humanity. It is our pleasure, therefore, that those prices which the subjoined summary specifies be held as the prevailing rates throughout our empire; and know all that license to exceed these prices is forbidden. forbid-den. And likewise we ordain that if any shall violate this law he puts his life in Jeopardy. After reading that he would "put his life in jeopardy," even the boldest of profiteers must have taken time to draw a long breath and ponder, since Soman emperors were known to have a most vigorous and determined way of enforcing enforc-ing their orders. At any rate, it is fairly safe to say that the emperor's schedule of prices was generally observed. ob-served. Some of those prices, reduced to dollars dol-lars and cents, form interesting, reading, read-ing, for purposes of comparison, if for no other. Thus, in what would equivalent equiv-alent to schedule 4, we find the following fol-lowing items: Pork 7.3c Beef 4.9c Ham 12c Fowls 26c Lamb 7.3c Veal 7.3c The maximum price of butter was fixed at 9.8 cents. Fish ranged from 4.8 cents a pound for season quality river fish, to 14.6 cents for "sea fish with sharp spines." A hundred oysters could bo had for 43.5 cents. "Dry cheese" was scheduled at 7.3 cents the pound. Cabbages were a particularly cheap food, tho best quality being rated at 1.7 cents for five. Five large artichokes arti-chokes cost 4.3 cents; five heads of the best lettuce 1.7 cents, and ten largo turnips 1.7 cents. With a maximum price of 1.7 cents for four large eggs, there was little need of skimping this important food. Schedule No. 10 had to do with footgear, foot-gear, and, as compared with present-day present-day prices of shoes, it is a price list calculated to make us lament that we can't go back to old Rome for a few days to lay in a supply. Here are the rates deemed just by Diocletian: Boots, first quality, for mule drivers driv-ers and peasants, per pair $0.52 Soldiers' boots 43 Patricians' shoes 65 Senators' shoes 43 Knights' shoes 30.5 Women's boots 26 Soldiers' shoes 32.6 Cowhide shoes for women (double soled) , 21.7 Cowhide shoes for women (single (sin-gle soles) 13 Men's slippers 26 Women's slippers 21 And now for the other side. While tho low prices set hy the emperor have perhaps served to paint an alluring picture, pic-ture, we must not forget that, although we could have, bought a pound of butter but-ter for 10 cents, had we lived in Dio cletian's time, wo should have had to scratch mightily to get our hands on that dime. Wages were little better then, as compared to the cost of living, liv-ing, than they are now, if, indeed, they measured up as favorably. Seventy-five Seventy-five kinds of toilers figure in schedule Xo. 7. Among them are not only manual man-ual laborers, at 10.8 cents a day, and bricklayers at 21.6 cents a day, but also writers, at 10.9 cents for "100 lines best writing" and "8.7 cents for 100 lines ordinary writing." The same schedule allows lawyers to charge, "for presenting a case," $1.09. For "finishing a case," a lawyer's fee was not allowed to exceed ex-ceed $4.35. Barbers got nine-tenths of a cent under un-der this law for every shave or haircut. hair-cut. This was munificent compared to sheepshearers ' wages, which were nine-tenths nine-tenths of a cent for each sheep sheared. Tailors were allowed 8.7 cents for trousers or a small cowl; 10.9 cents for a large cowl and 2o.l for "cutting and finishing an overgarment of the first quality." Teachers of ari'hmetic and teachers of stenography were allowed to charge 32.6 cents a month for every pupil; writing teachers and teachers of gymnastics, gym-nastics, 21.6 cents; teachers of Greek, Latin or geometry, S" cents. |