The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1910-04-08
BLOW AT HIGH
COST OF LIVING
Bill in Senate to Limit Cold
Storage to One Year.
PLAN FOR NATIONAL PROBE
Senate Committee That investigated
= High Cost of Living Ask to Con-
j Jinue 1t and Make 1t Conuntrywide.

senate Committee That Investigated
I High Cost of Living Ask to Con-
/ tinue It and Make 1t Countrywide.
Washington. April s. - The senate
committee. headed by Senator Lodge,
has offered a remedy for the present
high cost of living.
This is. in short. to set time limit
L0n cold storage, the limit to be year.
After that, food in storage is to be
considered as adulterated and to come
|slnder the provisions and prohibitions
|eof the pure food act.
Such a treatment of the matter. it
bis held. will bring it under the con-
Itrol Of the federal government. and
NOT limit the latter's authoritw as the
Investigation conducted during the
winter at the instance of Congressman
champion Moore limited it to the Dis
|trict of Columbia and the territories.
For National Jurisdiction.
The nation already has jurisdiction
over the great packing houses. The
proposed measure would give it juris-
diction over the cold storage ware
houses through which their food pro-
duct passes.
The remedy proposed is believed to
set up milestone in the history of
public regulation of organized wealth
An behalf of the common people.
Cold storage has done wonders in
steadying the market for perishable
goods, so that such commodities as
eggs should not be for sale in the
spring at quantities impossible to con
sumo and as prices ruinous to the
producer
81 tt has resulted in widening the
market for various food products and
stretching the season for them over
the entire year
But it has also made the producer
partially independent of the laws of |
supply and demand 1t has been the
basis of corners in meats and dairy |
PRODUCTS. The Lodge committee has |
wisely struck at it's abuses
Immensity of the Business.
II is an immense business over
fVxAICU tic piopOScS "
itch the arm of regulation.
ccording to cold storage paper
r@ NJ $50 cold storage plants in
I A. and the annual value of |
tsf 7ssjfs Is Meats: $i.566 :s,10 Dad /
liquors. 1875 0oO. 900; dairy products |
800, ,000000: fruits $50.O00,000; fish
SIS, 900 600; poultry. dried fruit nuts. /
vegetables, etc. $500, ,000. 900 or a to-
tai of $500 100000
II Is declared, whether falsely or
not. that there are now in cold storage
14.000.O00 beeves. 6000.O00 calves. 25.-
f)i,0. 900 sheep and lambs and SO. .0OO. 900 |
hogs
Through Mr.. Lodge the committee
also asked the senate for instructions
rs to continuing its investigation and
submitted tentative plan of work.
+ 1t is estimated that four months
will be required to complete the work
and that twill cost $4,000.
Suggested Plan Of Investigation.
The plan suggested calls for state
ments to be obtained from forty buy
ers in selected localities covering the
price paid to the producer on the 1st
of January. February. March. April.
May and June of each year from 1900
to 1910 inclusive for all grains. live
stock and other farm products.
Retail prices paid by the consumer
on seventy-one articles would be OBJ
tanned covering the same periods as
prescribed for producers prices.
This list is intended to include all |
articls covered by the senate resolu-
ton. excepting for rent. for which the
committee says it seems impossible
to obtain trustworthy comparative
figures.
The committee says retail prices |
should be secured from four establish
ments in each of the twenty selected |
cities. and that the stores should be
those patronized by wage earners.
An investigation would be made OF
wages. salaries and hours of labor
from payrolls- for a selected period in
1900 and 1910. from at least ten es-
Establishments in long list of diversi
fed manufactures and in at least ten
cities. covering department stores
street railways, telegraph companies
and telephone companies, and in ten /
cities the union scale and the non |
union wage for building trades. com
positors. dock hands. iron moulders
and machinists.