Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-05-02
Contributions may be left at the business
once Of Every Evening.
cnuse and Effeot.

1AAhh anu AilN1Ns
Throughout the eastern section of the
country, and probably in other sections,
there has been, this spring a general adj
vance in the Wholesale rates for ice of 10
cents per 100 pounds.
Now, while this advance has been
agreed upon by the large concerns that
deal in ice there is a visible, substantial
and reasonable cause for the action. Il
is known TO alfthat the past winter in this
section Of the country was not conducive
10 the making Of natural ice. There was
little freezing weather, and the ice crop,
in consequence, was short thousands Of
tons.
Before the days Of Trusts and combina-
tions for the fixing Of prices by arbitrary
motion, regardless Of trade conditions,
It was an unvarying rule Of business that
the demand is regulated by the supply"
and that prices ruled accordingly. When
the supply was large, prices ruled low,
and when the supply was short, prices
were conespondingy high All people
understood market conditions in those
days, and when prices we're high they
knew the reason When supplies were
plenty they looked for lower prices, and
were not disappointed
Another business preoept that made
conditions plain TO the people in those
days was: Competition is the life of
trade" Competition prevented the arb-
trary establishment of high prices when
supply and demand did not warrant them.
If one dealer attempted to exact unduly
high prices for his wares, there were other
dealers ready to sell according to the
actual conditions Of the market and thus
the people had relief from oppression
and extortion.
And so Il is that in these times of Trusts
and combinations for tho regulation of
the supply and the arbitrary fixing Of
prices, the people have az least one illus
tration of increased prices resulting from
the lawful conditions of trade. Tho
lack Of natural ice. duo to the mild weather
of last winter, makes ice scarce, and
necessarily, there is an increase in price.
For the Wholesale dealers must draw
largely upon the manufactured product.
which is somewhat more expensive than
the ice manufactured by nature. That
a combination on the part of the manufac-
turers Of ice may tend 10 continue this
increase in price throughout the summer
season is not improbable, but hardly
likely TO affect the situation to any ma
terial extent.
Another fact significant in this connec-
tion is that ice Is not an article that comes
under the protection of tariff taxation
it IS, Of course, possible for a combina-
tion 70 be formed for monopolization
Of the ice business. in both natural and
manufactured products, but there /.
always the prospect of competition Will
nature through a long hard winter ant
plenty Of ice, which is bound to have il,
effect upon the efforts of any combina.
tion 20 maintain excessive prices in tn,
face Of liberal natural supply.
But It is different with the products @
manufacture that are protected by IN,
tariff. How the prices Of such products
are forced 70 high limits and kept there
through the exclusion of competition
wrought by the protective tariff, tn
people have learned time and again b,
painful experience. Controlling thu
market through the exclusion Of compe
tition by reason of the tariff, the Bee
Trust buys cattle cheaply and sells mea
and meat products at high prices. thu
compelling people 20 pay tribute TO !
on an their purchases. The high price
charged for meats add TO the cost of living
high prices for hides add to the cost O
shoes. And so it goes along an the line
Of protected products-the people an
taxed in defiance Of the natural law
OF trade.
The increase in the price Of ice ma
have some good results, after all in Inn
pressing upon the people the fact tina
natural trade conditions have been di.
toHed and destroyed by the protectiv
tarifi, TO their infinite injury.