Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1866-11-24
HIGH PRICE OF LIVING.

that, on the return from the country, to
which (or to the watering places so many
persons migrated for the summer and early
autumn months, there would be the great
expenditure of former years. Not SO, how
ever-the price of bare living has so much
advanced that people look, not twice, but a
dozen times at a ive dollar greenback before
they change it. Food, in all its varieties, is
sufficiently abundant. The harvest, after
some misgivngs on that score, turns out to
be more abundant than usual. But the par
ties who speculate in provisions of all kinds,
and the retailers who loath to surrender the
great profits which they received during the
war, still press heavy prices upon the CON-
munity, and, though wages have risen, keep
their customers--and especially the working
classes-poorer than they were at any pre-
vious time. What the thieving high prices
on one hand and heavy as well as unequal
taxation on the other, it is harder to live, in
this great land, than ever it was before and
as the last straw to break the camel's back,
rents have nearly doubled. The Irish cla-
NOR for "tenant rights :"--we have as just
grounds here to complain. When $500 to
5000 per annum is exacted for house which
let for S400 five years ago, and was high
priced ut that, it is clear there is cause to
muTmur. Property-owners may protest that
they 'cannot help to se,"-hut, saying so,
they insist on it, and pocket the money. One
might as well be plundered on the highway
as robbed In this manner-for downright
robbery 1t is-the money being lost, at any
rate.
When necessary articles ran up in the re-
tail price, we protested against it. The price
of butchers meat was trebled during the
war, owing to the demand for it to feed the
army; but the war ended nearly two years
since, and the great army was disbanded-
nevertheless, the price of meat has only
slightly gone down, and that within the
last ten days. Why should we pay seven
teen to eighteen dollars for barrel of flour,
which was considered dear, six years ago,
at seven to eight dolars2 On what ground
can the charge of seventy cents for pound
of butter philadelphia market price on
Saturday. be exacted by the farmers or by
the forestalers why buy up the produce 2
Milk, which used to be four cents q quart
in Philadelphia, now is sold for ten-includ-
ing the water used to dilute it, the chalk to
whiten and the calves brains to thcken the
diluton-and will probably go higher, see
ing that in New York the price has just
been raised to twelve cents quart for q
miserable thin fluid. IN the same way, We
getables are nearly thrice as costly as they
used to be, and as they ought to be. The
result is, whoever has to market for house
hold finds that it takes twelve to fifteen
dollars, at present prices of food and that
the plainest, to buy what could formerly be
obtained for five dollars. Whose income
has trebled in proportion
The catt!edisease which caused such loss
in Europe 10y its ravages, and especially in
England, did not affect this country. The
supply of horned cattle, by which, indeed,
the price of al animal food is regulated, has
been large and steady all the time, and the
army consumption of beef and pork has
dwindled down to a minimum yet, amid
this abundance, animal food is twice as deer
as it ought to be. 1t may he alleged that
there are taxes upon food. There are-not
high taxes, but thoroughly unjust. What
has immortalized the memory of Sir ROBERT
PEEL, but the courage and good sense with
which, though doing it invoked the penalty
of losing Office, he swept away the taxes
upon food and retained the taxes upon lux
uries. Here when the novelty of war taxa
portunity of following this example and
adopting this principle.
But those who passed our system of war
taxes apparently knew nothing of what had
been done, and we'll done, elsewhere. The
fiat was-tax everything from the luciler-
match, with which the poor housewife lights
her scanty fire, and the mean food of her
husband and children which she prepares,
up to the fifteen hundred dollar carriage
drawn by a span of two thousand dollar
horses, in which the rich man rides to church
on Sunday-luxuriantly so riding, though
he prevents the poor mechanic, who vcge-
tates in back-streets and alleys, from riding
in a street-car on the same day. Our sys.
TEN of taxation ought to he revised, and, al
one fell swope, erery imp0st upon the neceS
saries Of LIFE ought to be abolished.
Coming back TO the starting. point, that
there is "yery little business doing" and
that the increased cost Of living has curtail'
ed the ability to make any but strictly neces
sary purchases, we may add that the impor-
tations Of foreign iuXuries do not diminish
as may be seen by the customs returns ul
the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia
and Baltimore AT the same time, if the
: stagnalion of trade continues. simply be-
cause people have not got the money IL
spend, SO much being wanted for rent, food
ana ordinary clothing, how are the specula
tive importers to pay for the goods which
will remain unpaid2 Quick sales and read
returns are the lite of business-there can
not be either while the public pay, to put il
, the lowest estimate, more than twice the fail
value of what they consume. Is there an
. honest reason why pound of butter, form
. ery sold at ~ to IA cents, should now fetch
, 20 to rs, or why 10 to 10 cents should b,
charged for quart of milk, which cost
to cents before the war;
With large stocks Of imported goods OF
hand, and as the Irishman said, nothing
f stirring but stagnation," the prices of heS
f must tumble down, for remittances to foreign
manufacturers and dealers must be made
if neglected, bankruptcy being the result
The fall of these prices may react on the pro
, vision markets, but this is poor look out
We humbly confess our inability TO Suggest
any feasible mode of reducing the price o.
food and rent down to their fair value. But
, we have stated undoubted facts, in plair
, manner, aud leave our readers to think upor
, them. m.-Phila. Press, Of 18Th inst.