Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-03-17
Shoddy Prosperity.

prosperity, prosperity, prosperity"
We hear and read of it all the time,
whether we listen to after dinner
speeches or read the metropolitan
newspapers. Where there is so much
smoke there must be some fire-and
there is. The earnings and profits of
the railroads, trusts and monopoIies
are simply marvellous. The net profits
of the steel trust in 1902 We're $132, !.
100000 of the Standard oil trust S45,.
100000, of the beef trust probably
S100000,000, of the anthracite coal trust
perhaps $100,0O0,00 III spite of the six
months strike. The profits of the
thousands of other trusts, including the
natural monopoly trusts. were enor-
nous.
But trusts and monopolies cannot
thrive except by obtaining high prices
for their products. Unfortunately
somebody must pay these high prices.
They are in fact, paid by the whole
of our 100000 people. Upon all of
them, except comparatively few,
rests the heavy burden of trust pros
perity. The farmers of the West have
been blessed with excellent crops for
five or six years, and, because of poor
crops in the rest of the world, have
sold their products for high prices.
But for these facts the trusts would
have been compelled to be more mod
crate in their charges and the cost Of
living would not have increased so
greatly-over 40 per cent in FIVE years.
Wage-earners have been trying TO get
advances in wages which would enable
them to live through these trying pros
perity times, but, as usual, wages do
not rise as quickly or as much as
prices, and at least half of our popula-
ton are struggling along and waiting
and hoping for ''hard times and low
er prices Do you doubt this statement?
Consider few facts.
Organized charity never had greater
difficulty than during the past winter
in meeting the demands upon 1t. The
Rev. Father Tewes. of New York, is
quoted as saying that there never was
such general suffering and extreme pow
erty as this winter"
The Wool and Cotton Reporter has
for weeks been complaining of the poor
demand for wooden goods and of the
comparatively low price of wool when
other prices are very high, and when
the scarcity of wool the world over is
greater than the present generation
ever saw and the statistical position
of wool would warrant much higher
prices. This great trade journal ac-
counts for this lack of demand for wool
ems by saying Gan. 29) that the 'di-
minished purchasing power of the
masses will not admit of their paying
more" 1t says the people cannot afford
to pay for good woolens, and ADDS sig
nificantly:
I'm this connection it is worth noting
that the shoddy dealers are talking
very bullishly and are looking forward
to an unusually profitable season. Rags
are also very firm and a large business
in them is looked forward to. Facts Of
this nature cannot be overlooked in esti-
mating the future of the wool market
4 Ac nOO1 must
necessarily be tempted, under such
conditions as exist at present, to make
liberal use of substitutes
Again, In its issue of Feb. 10, this
journal explains the lower prices for
wool by saying:
'It should be borne in mind, despite
the alleged general prosperity Of the
country, the average person is feeling
rather poor, by reason of his having to
pay a great deal more for everything
he buys than he has paid for a great
many years. The average person to-
day is under the sternest necessity TO
economic. The purchasing power of
the average income is low rather than
high"
These are the explanations not of
theorists, but of experts familiar with
the facts. In plain language, we have
to pony up so much to the trusts that
we cannot afford to wear wooden
clothes and are, instead, wearing more
and more clothes made from cotton
and old rags ground up From this we
see that trust prosperity means SnOddy
prosperity, and that trust prosperity is,
in fact, shoddy prosperity for the
masses. lie means untold wealth and
luxury for the monopolists and hard
work for the masses at wages that |
leave them under the sternest necessity |
TO economic" that they may continue
to exist and to pay trust prices. Great |
splendor and great squalor. But those
in the squalor class can at least enjoy |
the privilege of reading about the great
prosperity of those in the splendor |
class. To enjoy this privilege, a major
ity of the people are willing to vote TO |
tax themselves and to pay trust prices
to Increase the profits and luxury of the
monopolists. Great country, this.-By-
ron w. Holt.