The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1909-12-23
INCREASED COST OF LIVING.
Natural Cause for Higher Farm Pro
ducts-The Reverse is True of
Tariff Protected Articles.


the increased cost Of living, let him
turn To James J Hin Tor his answer
Il There is II Reason, Il natural rca-
son, for the mounting prices Of food
products. That reason is given by
Mr. Hin clearly, cogentIy, conviuc-
ingly. But there is no sufficient
reason for the enormous prices Of
manufactured products, except as it
is found in such artificial causes as
a protective tariff which eliminates
competition from abroad, and trust
agreements which eliminate domes-
tic competition.
Food products are rising In value
because, as Mr.. Hill graphically
shows, consumption and population
are increasing SO much faster than
production. The demand is rapidly
increasing, while the supply, rcla-
/ lively, is diminishing at an alarm
ing rate. And the prices are fixed,
in an open market, by the law of
supply and demand, I'm this case,
since population is bound to 20 on
increasing, and with it the demand,
the remedy lies in increasing the
=. supply. Mr.. Hill is the John the
Baptist of that remedy, crying his
religion in the wilderness. And He
is rendering the whole American
people an iucstimablc service in
his preaching OF this gospel
But conditions are radically diff
| fercnt in the industrial field. Our
manufactures are not decreasing,
relatively, as farm products are.
They are increasing, relatively as
well ms actually. While farm OK
ports are falling of, factory exports
are climbing mt an amazing rate.
In manufactures, in word, supply
is increasing faster than demand,
and the energies of our business
world, and of our federal govern
ment are necessarily devoted to
finding and developing foreign
markets for tn" surplus products.
When the same condition prevailed
a. h. farm products, when not only
this country but the world was glut-
ted with wheat aud corn and other
products Of the soil, prices fell to
near the vanishing point.
WHY does not this same natural,
logical tendency manifest itself now.
in the case Of the output of oar
mills and factories?
/ factory products should be- cheaper,
aside from that found ia rrla-
lively increased supply. That
, |nthrr reason is a lower cost ui pro-
duction. Most of the processes Of
manufacture. formerly done by
hand, are now done by machinery,
at only a fraction Of the old cost.
one man. in numbcrlcss instances.
does today the work that dozen or
. score or hundred men were re-
uuired to doa generation or two past.
d Science and invention, every day of
b the year, are bringing forward inn
q provements all calculated to inn
prove aud cheaper ard expedite
| manufacturing processes. This is
1 quite the contrary Of the condition
r that governs the production of food.
As MIR. Hill shows, in ten states
there is a less production of
, wheat per acre than there was ten
years ago. The same labor, the
same or better machinery, costing
more money, applied to land that
costs more money, produce less
wheat rather than more wheat.
Naturally, wheat rises. But the
same labor, and improved ma
D chincrv. brings forth more factory
output than was possible ten years
ago. Why, then, do not mamuiact.
urcs fall in price, or at least remain
stable? why, instead of falling