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Show mm: -sr. ,? --T .. ,W.?.-.?;'.Wli1WWffWW M ffffj '' Ay ; x r w (x " I y ' 'r "J -U ' , v 1 ( v ) ? ' v Wis '! t - , , V-! a i 1 I ;-- t ) n 4 1 ('. S. S. .Mississippi, one of the Pacific fleet, passing through the Gaillard cut of the Panama canal. 2 Actresses in New York who look part in 1 lit' strike of the Actors' Kiputy association. 3 Nelson Morris, one of the "big five" packers whom the government charges with profiteering and violation of the food laws. HEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS All Government Forces Concentrating Concen-trating on Fight Against High Cost of Living. FOODS IN STORAGE SEIZED Test Case Against Alleged Sugar Hoarders Labor Situation Is Little Lit-tle Improved Kolchak's Siberian Siberi-an Armies in Flight Roumanians Rou-manians in Hungary Defy Allied Commission. Com-mission. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Spurred on by the welcome, if long-delayed long-delayed action of the chief executive, all available forces of the federal government gov-ernment are devoting themselves to the task of reducing the cost of living, liv-ing, and they are receiving the enthusiastic en-thusiastic co-operation of state and municipal bodies and officials all over the country. Attorney General Palmer sent out instructions and authority to confiscate at once hoarded food stocks, and large quantities of foodstuffs in warehouses were seized in Chattanooga, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fla.; Fort Sam Houston, Tex., and other places. In every case, according to Mr. Palmer's instructions, the names of the hoarders and the amounts of food seized were made public, pub-lic, for it was thought the publicity would result in the immediate release of excessive amounts of foodstuffs that have been withheld from consumption. con-sumption. The attorney general centered cen-tered his attention especially on Chicago, Chi-cago, not only because it is the greatest great-est food storage center of the world, but because he had learned the speculators spec-ulators there had been particularly and perniciously active. The Chicago packers, naturally, are the chief targets, tar-gets, because they are alleged to be ;n control of the cold-storage business, not only there but all over the country. coun-try. This they deny. Senator Mel-Cellar has Introduced a bill for federal ' -cgulation of cold-storage plants and in supporting it be told of the vast amounts of poultry, eggs and butter in storage and of th apparent exorbitant exorbi-tant profits made on those commodities commodi-ties bv some middlemen. I.ouis Swift market for their goods in Germany. The witnesses in P.oston said their margin of profit was no larger than when shoes were selling at much lower prices, and that a decline might be expected, perhaps a year hence. The British, too, are attacking the cost of living problem with vigor. The house of commons had before it a bill to curb profiteering, and after a hard fight the measure was amended so as to empower the board of trade, after an investigation, to fix wholesale and retail prices. Sir Auckland Geddes, minister of national service, said this would operate in cases where communities com-munities were likely to be bled by any combination, national or international, for the purpose of raising prices; and Andrew Bonar Law made it clear that the government had no intention of establishing es-tablishing a general system of price-fixing price-fixing throughout the country. Belgium is suffering, like most of the rest of the world, and the labor party there has suggested to the prime minister min-ister a series of measures to arrest the increasing prices of necessaries, to encourage en-courage the home growing of food and to insure the equal distribution of imports. im-ports. The party wants the government govern-ment to fix the prices of foodstuffs and to control the prices of coal and clothing. cloth-ing. Paris was the scene of some lively scrapping last week, between the food vfndors in the markets and the price vigilance committees and would-be purchasers. The committees endeav- , ored to prevent foodstuffs bought by the hotels and other large consumers from leaving the markets, asserting that the willingness of those buyers to pay any prices, however ligh, resulted re-sulted in the raising of all prices. Purine Pur-ine the fighting many stalls and shops were looted. The labor situation in the Cnitett States did not show marked improvement. improve-ment. In spite of all efforts to make them return to work, the striking railway rail-way shopmen in many localities were obdurate, and the officers of their international in-ternational union were compelled to threaten them with expulsion from the union if they did not resume their labors. la-bors. Then delegates representing r00.000 shopmen met in Chicago and voted to go' back to work. Before August 25 n gei..-ral strike of steel workers throughout Ihe country coun-try may be declared. The men have been taking a vote on the question In all the plants. They demand $1 tin hour, a 41-hour week' and belter working work-ing conditions. Such a strike will affect af-fect more than a million men. As congress hifs not yet acted on the Plumb plan, the railway brollier- 21 International building trades unions began planning for a national strike because of a dispute there between two unions of plasterers. Considerable uneasiness, not to say anxiety, was caused in the capitals of the allied nations by the news that the Kolchak government of western Siberia was "on the run" if not quite collapsed. The bolshevik armies gained repeated victories over Kolchak's Kol-chak's forces, and at last reports the latter wore hastily moving eastward. The admiral's plight was laid to shortage short-age of guns and ammunition, and large supplies of both were dispatched to him from the United States by way of the Pacific ocean. Whether they would reach him in time to save his troops from disaster was uncertain. Better news came from both north and south Russia. On the Dvina a force of British and Russians destroyed de-stroyed six battalions of bolshevik!, taking 1,000 prisoners and many guns and advancing its front 12 miles. In Yo'hynia the Ukrainians have taken t'V railway Center of Lutsk and the 1 rtress of Dubno, and the bolshevikl also abandoned the important city of Yinnitza in the Ukraine. General Den-ikine's Den-ikine's armies were making steady progress toward Odessa and at the northwest corner of the Black sea they were only 50 miles from a Junction Junc-tion with the Roumanian forces. The Roumanians who occupied Budapest were a stubborn lot ami flatly refused to take orders from the allied commission there and get out again, declaring they would remain ii u til a stable government was established. estab-lished. The peace council at Paris was a bit flabbergasted and feared that if Roumania were permitted to defy its orders, Germany and other enemy countries might be encouraged to do likewise. The Roumanians threatened that if they were forced to W ithdraw they would strip Hungary of everything portable, and indeed they are said to be doing that now. Their representatives in Budapest said the only policy for' Hungary was union with Roumania under a Roumanian king. Antonesco, the Roumanian minister min-ister to Paris, says Roumania does not favor the installation of Archduke Joseph Jo-seph in power, considering him reactionary.. reac-tionary.. The situation was strained but the peace council was hopeful of iii' amicable settlement. According to 'an edict of the peace conference, Austria is to be known as the Republic of Austria, . 1 he word j "German" being eliminated. There is a movement in Vienna to re-estab-i lish the ' monarchy, but the entire says he has been and is in favor of regulation of storage methods; and j President Horn of the American lie- j frigerating association ass"rts his or- , ganizntion would not object to reason- i able regulatory measures, but that j most of the suggested plans are too drastic. The government's tight against the sugar hoarders also centered in Chicago, Chi-cago, and the first test case Is that against the ollicials of the Central Sugar Su-gar company who were arrested a week or more ago. Henry 11. Kolapp. head of the sugar distribution committee com-mittee of the food adminisiralion, s.aid the situation was serious, as canners ! and dealers were clamoring in vain for sugar. The railway shopmen's i strike entered into this, as 20.000.0tn) j pounds of sugar was delayed in. Cali- j fornia by lack of cars. Mr. Rolapp . said that in a few days the arrival of j cane sugar from New Orleans aud beet sugar from the West would Hood the ma rket. The en: ire food crusade had Ms ef- feet on retail prices, in some instances j only slight and in others, notably po-I po-I tatoes, very marked. The federal I I'.gents intend to go after the retail ;roeers and butchers for profiteering. as well as after the bigger game, and icfore long the suffering consumer may get relief that will actually affect his bank roll. In Boston a grand jury investigation elicited I'.ie rather surprising information informa-tion Hint the American people demand shoes of high grade and high price and scorn the cheaper grades, of which the manufact'.irers say they have large stocks. In a way this is borne out by the statement of a Berlin paper that ! American shoe dealers are making (.trenuoun '3Vits to find a suitable hoods tire waiting. Meanwhile the Plumb plan is getting some very hard knocks from industrial and railway exnerts. some of whom assert it would increase tlm co';t of living. Charles Piez says the Plumb bill is about as bad as it coit'd be made, adding: "As a sliipner and cifi'.en. I should like to be told what advantage or profit the public will get nuls'de of the privilege of paying the. yearly deficit." Mr. Plumb told the house committee on in-tirslale in-tirslale commerce that he either had 01 could procure evidence p'-viug that a systematized plundering of all the railroads has been conducted under 'he direction of the Morgan and Rockefeller Rock-efeller banking interests. More interesting than important was the strike of thp members of the Actors' Equity association. which, starling In New York, spread to Chicago. Chi-cago. A number or theaters in both cities were forced to close their doors. The actors demanded recognition of their association and various reforms In the conditions of working. The dispute dis-pute was carried into court by Injunction Injunc-tion proceedings. A situation .arose at the Chicago stockyards which may teach union laborers la-borers a lesson in the mailer of observing ob-serving their contracts. Federal Judge Alschuler, mediator, ruled thai the employees who quit work during the recent race riots had violated their pledge not to strike for one year and : thus bad lost their seniority rights. I Union ollicials objected violently to Ibis, but it seemed likely most of Unpacking Un-packing house workers would abide by Judge A 1 sell tiler's rulings, for the present at least. In New York 1,200 interior decorators decorat-ors quit work; and representatives of armed forces of the country, there and in other cities, are demanding that the republican form of government be retained. re-tained. . After long delay, the British government gov-ernment lias found a man to represent ' it in Washington, but only temporar-: temporar-: ily. Viscount Grey has agreed to fill ! the post of ambassador until a permanent perma-nent appointment lias been made, early next year. Great responsibility attaches at-taches to the position just now, for financial and treaty relations between ihe two countries must lie readjusted. The London press predicts that he will have some difficulties, and the Daily News says his path will not be smoothed by the British government's "sustained refusal to make any approach ap-proach to a solution of the Irish problem." prob-lem." Presumably Viscount Grey will come over soon and will be in Washington when the prince of Wales visits our national capital. That young man landed in Newfoundland and is now nia'iing a triuuiphul tour of Canada. The death of Andrew Carnegie removed re-moved one of the few survivors of an Ind'islrial age that has passed when men of vision made incredibly large fortunes in ways that were not considered consid-ered reprehensible. His avowed desire de-sire to die a porn man was not real-bed, real-bed, for though he gave away more than .$.",50,(100.000, it is believed lie left j an estate worth nearly $500,0110,000. ! Henry Ford's libel suit against the Chicago Tribune resulted in a verdict for the pl-Jntiff, who was awarded nominal damages (! cents. The trial of the case had lasted many weeks, affording af-fording pecuniary profit to a few persons per-sons and amusement to still fuwor. |