The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-26
CAUSE OF THE RAISE.

There is no letting up on the interest
,al,cn all over the country in the raise
in prices that prevails everywhere IN
the necessities of life. Scientists, econ
omists, and inquiTers everywhere are
devotinp their attention to the case,
and are endeavoring with the keenesI
intellects TO find out what is the mat
tor 4 number of solutions have been
proposed. as that the great gold yield
causes the raise, through the fall IN the
value of gold itself; those who adhere
10 this idea, holding that as between
the commodities themselves there
is no raise in price, that they are
all as compared with each other about
as before. They therefore conclude that
there is one common cause which oper-
afes alike upon all. and this they say
is the great yield of gold. But as to
many things as compared with gold,
let us say silver for one, there has been
in fact raise in gold. or, what is the
same thing in their showing, fall In
silver,
Secretary Wilson Of the National De
partmcnt of Agriculture. says the rea-
son is because so many OF the boys
and girls have left the farms and gone
TO the cities; that there is not enough
| farm labor left to keep ND the supply
of foods TO tho people. This, however, is
Inadequate, because the price of cloth
ing, and of manufactures generally,
without regard TO the farm operations,
| have also raised the price,
Others find the solution i'll the uni
versal tendency of the time to COM
binatiou, monopoly and agreement on
prices to the abolition of competitive eff.
fort. They saw that whereas formerly
competition ruled in business, now com
bination rules and competition is elm
mated Spectators, wholesale dealers
and handlers of various kinds, absorb
from the producer. hold for the con-
troll of the market, and demand and
| obtain their own prices. cnriching them.
selves at the expense of the community
at large We must confess that the lat
ter solution looks the most reasonable
and appears the most general cause.
Those who examine into the business
and the community life where they are
situated, are generally Of this opinion.
We receive many communications di-
rected chiefly to this point, Those
who see and note for themselves. are
almost unanimously OF the opinion that
spectators and dealers have combined
to put up the prices, and that they are
able by Il series of combinations to con
troll the markets and compel tho people
to pay their prices for articles of ne
cessity. We submit on this line, the
following from gentleman of this city
who has had good opportunities for in
vestigation, and hose business has put
him in the way of dealing with prac-
tical questions:
Salt Lake City. Feb %
Editor Tribune;-Will you allow one
whose occupation for many years as an
actuary has taught him TO closely aualyZe
all phases OF "A question to give his ex-
planatlon Of the prevailing high prices?
Increased gold production. the prevail
ing extravaganza of the American house =
wife. failure 10 meet demand with sup
ply. the effect of a hisb protective tariff
each may tend to influence somewhat the
result. But complete analysis OF the
influences producing high prices in this
country will show that they are caused
by the marvellous aptitude of the Amerl-
can public in initiating the methods and
In achieving something of the financial
success Of the big corporation trusts.
Smaller corporations; local firms and In
dividual merchants have. step by step.
applied each in their own locality and
trade the practical methods OF combina-
ton and control of prices taught them
By the big trusts. Gradually, year after
year the process OF acting out for their
own benefit the object lesson taught la