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Show Bruckarts Washington Digest Crocks Take Advantage of War To Bleed Consumers of Nation Without Justification Prices Are Boosted and People Scared Into Hoarding; Public Sentiment Is Only Force That Can Correct the Racketeering. WNU By WILLIAM BRUCKART Service, National Press Bid;., Washington, WASHINGTON. My faith in the soundness of the profit system as the basis for people to make a living always has caused me to lean somewhat to the defense of business practices when there had to be a choice between theories. Every fair minded person knows that business agriculture, manufacturing, banking, transportation or any other has had a terrific onslaught of cockeyed arguments to meet in the last few years. To me, it is a distinct tribute to the profit system that we have seen as many businesses survive the last five or six years as there are still operating. But, calling upon the reeord of these columns, I have contended without exception that there are crooks in business, and that the present administration ought to direct some of its venom at the crooks, rather than at business as a whole. And, so, this week, I want to write about this situation that has come to the surface as a result of tile burst of flame that has engulfed Europe; they have shown again the true colors of their makeup and they have taken advantage of a situation in world affairs, without any justification, to bleed the consumers of the United States. Almost with the crash of the first gun on the Eastern front, a small minority of business interests rubbed the palms of their hands together and began to count additional dollars they could gain in profits by boosting prices. And to cover up their perfidy, their treachery and their characteristics of a water snake, they have spread a counterpane of lies that will react against all business, including the growers of raw materials such as the crops of the fields. It is so easy to blame things on the war; it is being done by government officials as well as the brigands of business, but the latter class is collecting an unseen (but deeply felt) tax from all of us who buy food to eat or clothes to wear. Hoarding and High Prices Due to Greed, Crookedness have interviewed a lot of people in the field of business in the last few days in an effort to ascertain where the cheating is going on. Moreover, I have investigated a number of business practices with the thought that these would provide a clue to some of the price increases, and reasons for them, with the results mentioned in the paragraph above. There must be added, however, one additional conviction: hundreds of thousands of consumers have become frightened and have started hoarding buying excess supplies because of fright. 1 still can not believe, however, that these hoarding tactics are completely responsible for the kiting of prices that has taken place. Ruthlessness and greed, faithlessness and the ordinary. garden variety of crookedness among certain elements of business must accept responsibility; for, from these things together with the campaign of misrepresentation which those elements have engineered come the fright of the average consumer. Hence, hoarding. In my study of the price situation on the regular purchases of a household, I have sampled quotations and advertising in Washington and Baltimore. Washington is somewhat different than any other city in the United States, but Baltimore is a large Industrial area, fairly reflecting normal reactions of buyers. I have observed the prices of chain stores and traced them back to wholesalers and jobbers, and to the manufacturers in some instances. Guilt attaches to a small percentage in the retail lines, the average store. There were instances found where the prices were boosted on commodities that had been on tne shelves three months, articles that could not have been affected in anv way by any possible change in manufacturing costs, added expenses due to higher labor payments or increases in transportation and distribution. And, incidentally, there is almost no record of any increases in those items of manufacturing and distributing costs The department of commerce figures do not reflect them, nor do the reports in the hands of the department of labor rats show them. But the beady-eyebehind the counters of a small percentage of retail stores will blandly tell you these things have happened. I d Are as Thieves Sneak as Guilty Some Wholesalers There ore certain of the wholesalers who ore as guilty as sneak thieves m the night, but, like the retailers, not all of them are resorting to price increases for plain profit. From my own inquiries and from all of the information tli.it has btcn made available to me, I am inclined to believe there are more wholesalers a larger percentage of them who have taken advantage of the perils of the times than can be Speedy Torpedo Boats Protect Nazi Minesweeper 'L f i , J li 7 THIS WEEK t; rUoi shown ,, ' !1 1 I 1 s! Public Sentiment Is Only Force to Work Effectively what will be the result of all of these things? I said early they would react on all business, good business as well as the rats. The government can not do anything about it. Public sentiment is the only force that can operate effectively, and public sentiment ought to exert its pressure. There will be a lot of talk about government control and there will and even quarter-bake- d be schemes offered in abundance all with a serious desire to break the grip of the small element that has started this wave of fright, higher prices and more fright. Of course, it is unlikely that there will be any legislation result, because as far as I can find out there is no sound and workable method by which government can reach the scoundrels responsible. Yet, there will be efforts made and there will be investigations, and the demagogues without any more Idea of what to do than your runt pig will shout and harrangue and create new doubts as to any and every kind of business practice. And having as many crackpots in places of responsibility as we now have in the federal government, you can be sure that those boys will give birth to ideas in quintuplet quantities. So, when one sums up all of the data, it is made to appear that all business honest and men had better get together and use their own type of blackjacks on the elements within their ranks that constitute a cancer on trade. And By LEMUEL F. PARTON If this means "the NEW YORK. of civilization, it might be better just to hand Herr Hitler the i in a RJ By RUTII WYETH SPEAf. GREEN and white as fresh and crisp asW, G; al. leaf. I stepped into one tha day with white walls, gree"c and green organdy curtains Ct ery thing was green and white over the stove hung a set of By work pot holders like a r bright green and white tiles of us love old quilt patterns' those who do not have tP UPP eh make quilts, here is a m0(w for your favorite designs. Perhaps you were put to be, a child under this eight.P0l star? The sketch gives the ir works now, accept a slave state, save a lot , of Civilization Will lives, pick up Not Be Ended the goose-step By a Madman futoe Spartacus to lead us into a return ( engagement. The phrase, "the contemporaneousness of the past, is, I believe. Dr. Charles Beards. Along with Dr. Beards book, "The Rise of American Civilization, it A German minesweeper, protected by two speedy torpedo boats, plows through the waves of the North has reminded this onlooker that no gun crew madman ever has wrecked the sea. The instrument at lower right is a paravane, a 'device for detecting mines. The world and that the creative and huis all set for action. Minesweepers are an important cog in Germanys 500,000-to- n navy. mane spirit has never failed. History did not sustain Lord Grey when, in 1914, he said, "The lights of the world have gone out, and I doubt if they ever will be lit in our lifetime. r VAJW Ts'scIn the spirit of these mediations, this department will, in the forth,$ coming dark days, keep a sharp eye out for lamplighters, men of creative ? J intelligence, and their names will be V whenever carried on this mast-heaV possible. For a start, heres Eduard former president of Benes, 4 X an old story in 'X 'J personality columns, but news today as a wise, calm spirit in a world of howling demagogues. 4 $? The belch of the guns in Poland a? , was answered almost to the minX ute by his book, Democracy Today and Tomorrow. Here Is what he says about the end of p anti-aircra- ft Gas Masks Stage Comeback in European Fashions IVAMAMW ' - v i'y d N Czecho-Slovaki- 1 a, 'rw civilization: We hear very L Z , xJ t ? ru j j Ms ; - Plaque Commemorates Illinois Citizens Boys Will Be Boys C. s rf v - :t i 1 1 With obvious delight, A. W. Gab-ri-o of the Grand Army of the Republic takes a few hot licks at an ice cream cone. Mr. Gabrio, 93, of Hazclton, Pa., was one of the veterans at the national G. A. R. en- Florence Gray of Chicago, student of the late Lorado Taft, one of America's most widely known sculptors, puts the finishing touches on a campment at Pittsburgh. plaque commissioned by the citizens of Dwight, III., to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Kecley institute, and pay honor to the three men who founded the organization. Tiny Takes Over Gunners in Action on Polish Battlefront V m h, P ii r-- v h tomnrrTOm.- J f a i a, Tt i j ft t I h N i' i U x i ' i M mf. .s V f 4. k i v, V , inn v, y iii"- - P' ILL I Gen. direi If Edmund Ironsides, former of Englands over-sea- s forces, was recently named bUi. l chief of the Imperial general staff umnim to succeed General K.utiopholo iscount Gort. A Grrinan gun in action somewhere on the 1olish border. who became commander-in-chie- f ol With rear lines protected, German aircraft opened aerial combat by Britains land forces. General Ironbombing 16 Folish cities. This photo was flown to Berlin from the front sides Is affectionately called "Tiny and radioed to the United States. by British Tommiestriiaimidr-t- anli-airca- ft - e new Sewing Book No. 3! ery homemaker will want a for it contains useful ideas ; c home decorating; as well as nal ideas for things to use as and to sell at bazaars. You be delighted with this new t The price is only 10 cents paid. Send coin with name address to Mrs. Spears, Desplaines St., Chicago, d. o g p 21( Without Modes Architecture aims at eterr and therefore is the only thirg capable of modes and fashion, Sir Christo: its principles. Wren. IN DIGESTION Sensational Relief from Indigestion and One Dose Prom It ?f the first dose of this pleasant-tastie- r black tablet doesn't bring you the fastest and complete relief you hata experienced send back to us and get DOURTJS MOMtf BACK Bell-an- s tablet helps the stomach digest makes the excess stomach fluids harmless a you eat the nourishing foods you need. For c bum, sick headache and upsets so often excess stomach fluids making you feel me DOSE of Bail'll iok all over JTtHT peedj relief. 25c everywhere. 0K Despair Final Despair is the only genuine ism. Jean Paul. : Applies!-- h makes ' BUCK GO MUCH fIHB JUST A DASH IN FEATHERS. f QRseftK4lPfft!Q9 Salt Lakes NEWEST - -- JL HOTF.I "W- - ? Rw&fV ar 3 :i I h A O r or'-T- i - ' 13 rv 16 !7 vi'vS 3 3 1 sonality because "This is the nature of man and of human society. Mr. Benes is unique among statesmen in that he did not resort to any single trick of the demagogue. In fact, he expressed and displayed contempt for such artifice. Fragile in person, careless in dress, blunt in speech, he is conspicuously lacking in what is called personal magnetism. In the pre-wa- r and war years, he was a conspirator against the Austrian captors of his country. Ha was arrested as a spy six times, rcasant born, youngest of eight children, brilliantly d in law and the humanities, stubborn and tireless In his championship of the humane Spirit, Eduard Benes believes civilization will. In the end, he saved by a new leadership which will be both informed and enlightened. (Consolidated Features 'he Me ' Hotel TEMPLE go SQUARE Oppoaite Mormon Tempi in as r Highly recommended : ImmMMggaaigg 38- W ind ' Rates $1.50 to $3.00 Its a mark of distinction to SkP at this beautiful hostelry ERNEST C. KOSSITtB, MtT. WNU le j gr it 'r r t I r s it JOI - T1 wider eclu-rate- I eight oblong blocks of three angles. A layer of sheet wad is used for padding. The bac for the holder is white. The t layers are quilted together by: ing just inside the white trial, of the pieced top. Have you sent for your MO context, and he is calmly assured of the high destiny of human per- V T squares of two triangles; We could state them only in terms of world morality and justice, he said. If we are right in thus conceiving our undertak- same A sions for the patterns for the triangles used in making it fo pot holder. Piece eight Czecho-Slovaki- ings, we may be assured that they will prevail. If our hopes are not so based, they should not prevail. Without a hint of bitterness for powers recreant to their obligations to his country, or to its assailant, Mr. Benes puts his hope for freedom and democraand for cy Czecho - Slovakia in this - - often the slogan that war or revolution in Europe will mean the end of human civilization. That is a mistake. Modem civiliza- tin cannot be Human Spirit destroyed. One Will Continue can destroy in country-througCreative Work ?"e war or revolution, some of the remarkable monuments of human culture and civilization, ancient and modem; but the present organization of the world does not allow anybody to destroy human civilization. Human civilization is, first of all, the moral conception of modern mankind, although including, of course, all economic values, all achievements of technological progress, all great cultural monuments, buildings, cities, universities, libraries, museums of art and science; many of them are of inestimable value, and could, of course, be destroyed in a great catastrophe. And that would be a loss which could never be replaced. But that does not mean the destruction of human civilization. The human spirit, in its great creative power, having saved in innumerable places the results of modern science, technology and progress material and moral will continue in any case its great creative work. There is no bland optimism in Mr. Benes book. He invokes no easy formulas and sees salvation only in the collective work and intelligence of men of good will in desperate endeavors, perhaps, but sure to win in the end because they always have. At another moment of tension, when the end of civilization seemed near, I remember talking to the great Dr. Masaryk, Mr. Benes intellectual and political mentor. He curtly refused to discuss the particularized rights and aspirations of h Heres how you would look if you were forced to don a gas mask for safetys sake every time you heard the drone of an airplane engine. Gas masks are standard equipment in war-tor- n Europe, with special masks kits, complete with mask and emergency designed for babies, children and even household pets. War-tim- e rations, are carried by civilians in danger zones. half-bake- d - 4' People Are Frightened And Commence Hoarding In discussing the situation around Washington, I found another influence, or what might be called another basis for excitement. It is quite unjustified, of course, but people nevertheless were swayed by it President Roosevelt has been talking about the dangers that exist, and how we must avoid them in order to stay out of the European cataclysm. Heads of government agencies everywhere have been echoing the sentiment There can be no argument: this nation must stay out and must help to keep all of the nations of North and South America out of the stream of molten lava that is spreading through the belligerent nations. It may be a necessary evil then, an unavoidable phase of world affairs, that people are frightened and seek to hoard. The tragedy of it is that the unprincipled element I have referred to is in a position to capitalize upon such a circumstance. But to get down to cases, let me repeat that there has been no increase worth noting in wages, in the costs of raw materials. There has been no increase whatever in transportations costs. There has been no increase in overhead expenses of grower or producer or manufacturer or wholesaler and jobber or retailer. All of these may come, and probably will come some time, but they have not arrived and when anyone attempts to' justify profiteering prices, that individual should be asked to show how and where those increases have had their origin. My guess is that, for the time being at least, most of these price increases are due largely to racketeering. Cf? v r t k Holder A NEWS t D. C. among the retailers. Instances of actual sales and cancellations of contracts and refusal of deliveries and delays in handling shipments were related, where added profit accrued to the wholesaler or jobber, that almost seemed too fiendish to believe. And worse, those fellows were constantly offering new suggestions that had no basis in fact in justification of their acts. We heard every one of the alibis offered during the days of 1917. A flock And the manufacturers. of those fellows, again, not a large percentage, were found to be hiking their prices on goods already manufactured and ready for delivery. Now, I ask how on earth the prices on a finished product can be influenced by conditions that did not arise until after the work was done. The only answer I obtained to the question anywhere was that replacements would cost more, and there must be an inventory of sufficient size maintained to meet the demand. In other words, that limited group was taking the profit while the taking was good. One can not examine the situation, as now presented without considering the stock market the buying and selling of securities. It is not news to hear that quotations have boomed oil every share of stock of a corporation that may sell an added cargo overseas. I believe it is fair to state, however, that this condition is one of pure gambling, and this speculation has added to the fright of consumers whose household budgets are limited. WHOS - ! Pot and Pan That Hang WNU Service.) MERCHANT TIC ME? Your Advertisi Dollar a i a st h s f at I rri at Tt!h( 'it h buys something more 4 ai circulation and space the columns ol this PeT, er t h paper. It buys space circulation plus the favc: tra able consideration of It, leaders for this newspaf '"1 ' and its advertising patrol 19 16 4. LET US TEIX MORE ABOUT "f , |