New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-11-06

patriotic motives. 1t was for the same reasons,
we infer, that he kept the price OF hls oeel
and other products up to war prices years
after every other value had fallen. lie would
| not have brought them down penny yet
but that he was forced to do 1t by the enter
prise of one or two importers OF beef ana
| provisions from the West. The price OF
beef and other meat was forced down by these
| means in a single day five to ten cents per
pound, yet the farmers reaped far pront
afterward, and the underpinnings of the coun-
try did not shake. This drouth is the FIRST
chance our neighbor has had to raise prices
since the war, and up they have gone to the
same rates as in 1868. Yet there is no actual
scarcity to warrant such demands, when the
facts are carefully sifted.
Heaven forbid that we should shake the
prosperity of the country by questioning the
price of an egg or chicken. We are all so
accustomed to hear of the solid worth. the
unpublished domestic virtues of our neighbOr,
he is so invariably held up as the bone and
snew, his custom is so important and his vote
so essential that it would need a good deal of
courage to hint that his course was purblind,
and that, being penny-wise, all his wisdom was
IL
ways in small quantities, he ought to be keenly
alive to the effect of small matters upon his
sales He knows perfectly well that in the
great laws of commerce merit commands the
highest rates; yet orr neghbOr comes IN
with his hundrcdweight of lean beef, or
skinny poultry, or strong butter, and with
sublime complacency demands the highest
price for them-aye, and gets it. House
keepers must have provisions, and do not stop
10 study the laws of supply and demand.
These are small matters in detail, but they
weigh heavily in aggregate. For example,
our farmers have as succulent n pasturage as
there is in the world and fine stock nothing
is needed but close personal attention to their
diaries and skill in handling butter for them
to control the English market But the Amer
lean butter sent over in such quantities sells
for little more than the OleOmargarinc. One
great industry, which might bring large profits
into the country, practically amounts to
nothing, simply from laziness and neglect.
Some of the good people of Philadelphia are
tired of being ut the mercy Of hucksters and
farmers, and do not understand why the poor
and people with small incomes in cities should
content themselves with starvation and saint
~ resignation II any other cure Tor the pres
cnt cxorbitant prices can be found. They
propose to unite, fifty or a hundred fam
lilies in one club, purchase or lease farm,
and hire capable, honest farmer who
will be paid given salary-not percent
agc-for his work. the products of the
farm to be sold to the coopcrators at cost
prices. There can be no doubt that such a
scheme would succeed if honestly Managed
and that two or three such associations in any
city would act AS a check upon the yaultng
ambition of our neighbor in the matter of
prices.
That IL plan for next summer, however.
In the meantime, there is no remedy for the
present high prices but steady refusal to
pay them. When our rural friend finds his
produce spelling on his hands, he will be
willing to part with it at reasonable rates.