The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-11
TO LIVE A COSTLY LUXURY.

Chairman GrlggS, OF the beIno0la'i0
Congressional Committee is presenting
strong arguments against the trusts, and
is using the matter of the prevailing
prices for the necessaries of life to show
that the prosperity" song of the Re-
publicans does not stand when cold facts
are considered.
In doing this he shows by plain fgures
and statements that in the last few
years the price of many necessar1es OF
life. produced or controlled by the trusts
have increased to far greater extent
than any increase in wages.
Speaking of the Republican cry of
prosperity" and the full dinner pail
Mr.. Griggs says that it is ''fallacious and
misleading and if any man with fixed
income will sit down and figure for ff-
teen minutes he will find it to be So
His description of true prosperity is
that when times are truly prosperous
prices are usually high, but wages are
correspondingly high also. They keep
pace with the necessaries and luxuries,
and the high prices are not felt by the
man with the fixed income. A man with
money in his pocket does not ask the
price of thing, but buys it. When he
has no money, he is not interested in
low price, because he cannot buy even
that which is cheap. Prosperity is har-
mony between prices and wages. We
prosperity is more apparent than real.
In showing that this purchasing power
is less, Chairman Griggs says, this:
1.-The man with a fixed income from
wages or salary has been having his in
come chopped ever since 1897 by the in
crease in prices. Every man knows
whether his income has been increased
during the last three or four years. If
1t has not been increased from 10 to 100
per cent, then he is losing money COM
pared to his condition in 1897 and 1898
and that in 1902
In making comparison here is an
illustration of the decrease in the pur-
chasing power of a dollar in 1902 as COM
pared with what it could do in 1897. The
decrease as in per cent has been on
common soap 1914, starch 10B, roasting
beef 16 2-3, hams 8. shoulders II. lard
4O1s, butter 20b, cheese 1917, potatoes
1915, brown sheeting S5B, bleached sheet
ing 39al, tickling 1871, these being a few
of a list of hundreds of articles.
A student of figures will find that there
has been an increase in the cost of living
per cent. on various articles, and it is a
condition that should open the eyes of the
people to the robbery by means of out
rageous prices that are being made by the
trusts. 1t is possible for every house
keeper to make this comparison for all
that is necessary is to get the accounts
of the past five years and note the in
crease
State Chairman Simmons wrote to
Chairman Griggs and sent him number
of statements secured by Mr.. T. P. Sale,
sanitary officer of Raleigh, and among
these the following facts were obtained:
"Mr. C. F. Cook a printer, says that
the present prices of articles, such as
beef, bulk meat, lard, flour and cornmeal,
are about one-third higher now than
three years ago. and that his wages have
not been increased during that period.
Mr.. H. J. Heiling, janitor of the
Tucker building, makes the same state
ment, and Mr.. G. E. Crawford, of Craw-
ford e. Sons, makes the statement that
beef and pork are one-third higher now
than three years ago.
Such statements as these show that
the prosperity" and full dinner pail
cry of the Republicans is a rank humbug
They say that things are we'll enough,
and should be let alone, but if the peo-
pie of this country can be made to realize
how deeply the trusts are putting their
hands into the consumers pockets they
will drive from power the party of trusts,
and in its place give power to Demoe-
racy, the real and only enemy of this
monster of the age