Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-10-07
Salt Lake is Honeycombed With
Trade Agreements and Vari-
GUS Combinations.
HUGE TASK FOR GRAND JURY
To Decide Whether or Not These Or
CARNATIONS Prevail to the Re
straint of business.


the lmpaneling OF grand jury {,
probe into the question OF the cost o.
living In salt Lake on the threshol,
OF their duties, the jurymen. whoever
they may be-, may well be pardonet
" they stand aghast at the size and ex.
tent OF the task that looms up befor,
| them.
The plain fact Is that Salt lake Is
honcycombed with trade agreements
understandings OF combinations, call
them what you will-all looking 10 the
s@ine end, getting the last possible
collar Tor services performed. Practlc-
any All are tarrcd with the same stick.
ana all defend themselves by saying
tnat us the custom the land over, that
us part of the modern mad race FOR
existence, and that the trade thar
doesn do IL must simply drop out Of
the procession When it Is urged that
the public Is the sufferer. they win re-
tort. Who are the public? Not the
laoorlng classes-their combination is
the strongest and most rigid OF any up
ana down the list. not the profess
sions, for their understandings are I'm
as perfect working order as the best OF
themi not the farmer, for he has been
IN clover ever since the rise began:
not the merchants, for the uniformity
IN their scale Of prices IS always some
thing beautiful TO behold, except when
the occasional clearance sales come
along and so il might be multiplied
ad inhnltum."
Take the city directory. wherein the
list Of trades and professions is ar
ranged IN alphabetical order from A B
and &, under which are found "archi-
tects, bankers" and contractor"
down TO the end OF the &c letters, all
Or the overwhelming majority. viii be
found 20 have rules. regulations, price
llsts or trade understandings OF one
sort OF another having for their OBJ
ject the UNFOLDING OF prices.
In the face Of such an array OF facts
u Will tax he ingenuity OF the grand
jury Just who're 70 begin inserting its
probe, and IL Is therefore likely that
the district attorney who viii have 20
draw the line somewhere VIII choose
LOT the object OF his inquiry, the causes
LOT the nigh prices of foodstuffs I'M Salt
Lake, and leave the other ramincations
OF the vast subject for future con-
sideration. As the butchers and gro
GERS claim they win welcome any I'M
preludiced investigation. there ought to
De uttle trouble IN arriving at Che
facts as far as foods 20.
MANUFACTURERS DICTATE.
FROM a superficial examination Of
the held, Il appears that there are MANY
local organizations, directly dependent
on and controlled by outside organiza-
uons. For instance a bath tub costs
spout the same In any plumber shop in
SAT- Lake. THIS Is because hath This
are involced 20 all al the same f,e,,rc
ana about the same percentage OF pro-
NJ must be added 10 make the business
go IN each case. In turn this As he
cause there Is a trust in the eastern
manufacturing centers which controls
lhe output Of bath tubs and their in
voice price to the trade.
WITH THE sMPTHYs
When the journeymen blacksniths
appear In the Labor day parade vvitb
thelr bright aprons and the sense ~
security IN their union that comes from
the knowledge that all receive exactly
the same wage, ana that they combined
to force this wage from their emnIo,,-
ers, II Is only a step from the parade
sldellnes 10 the association OF their em-
lloyers, the smithys, who figure ont
that since tey must buy their labor
from trust. and the horse shoe nails
from a trust, and the horse shoes
from a trust a certain fee, easy 10 cal
oulate' rs the one that viii cover these
ti s' costs. and leave a profit which
the association decides Is about right
Hence when you go into a smithv
shop these days you encounter a MEM
Der OF an association" When Won
tell him the reach on your buggy Is
broken he doesn't figure out the cost
or the wood for a now reach the cost
or the iron that goes 10 brace il. and
lhe cost Of the labor OF the man who
riyits the iron on 20 the brace.
Instead, your up-to-date smithy lust
goes into the back office. opens a little
book, takes little look at the subdi-
vision OF reaches" and tells you what
the cost VIII be- True, the schedule As
50 high that II YOU let the smithy work
Tor a few days on your buggy he would
work out OF you the cost OF new one.
and true you cdn rctaliate-but oulv
by throwing your buggy IN the scran
heap Try any other shop and each
ono VIII look ia the same kind Of a
book The repair men take a certain
keen pleasure I'm the fact that the solid
front presented by their jOurneymon 20
them IN fixing the price OF labor they
present ln turn 10 the public.
Tho agreement among owners of
blacksmith shops Is one OF the most
definite m the city. IL Is so formal
that a complete schedule, covering al
most every kind Of repair, Is printed.
and Is In the possession OF each MEM
Der OF the association.
But the man who thinks that these
methods belong strictly TO the trades
classes, and not 10 the professional. had
better 'call IN doctor" A letter Is
now before the state officials In which
a prominent physician defends a bill on
the grounds that Il is the minimum
charge OF the association for that kind
OF "a case"
The practise Is now not so popular.
but "A few months ago almost every
physicians had a card Ia his ONCE.
giving the schedules for most classes
)f major and minor operations, includ-
ing all ordinary ailments The doc
tors, however. do not enjoy immunity
from competition, as the papers are al
ways full OF The patent medicine mans
bid for trade. and there as always the
Boy Wonder brand OF medical prac-
Use ready 10 Obtrlide IL head where
mo people become convinced that regu-
lar physicians charge too high. Tho
Utah State Medical association, how
over is an organization through which
he medical associations Of the various
Utah cities get together, and while IN
open meeting they read long papers on
mysterious tcchnicalities in their eX-
'cuuNe committee meetings they plan
price regulations. and the elimination
pr competition, where they can accom-
1lish lt
In the last legislature "a bin framed
against tho ostcopaths was fntherod hy
he Utah state Medical association. but
ts purpose became apparent in time
.ur tho Ostoopath forces 90 rally and
force amendments in their favor.
THE LUMBER TRUST
ln the building market is tho place
Nhcre The effects ~ combination arc