Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-07-01
The Cost Of Living.

has returned its report upon the high
cost Of living During this investi-
CATION the committee discovered. con-
trary to the previously formed
prejudices and opinions of some of
| the Senators. that the high prices of
products in this country were not due
to the tariff.
The majority of the committee,
headed by Senator Lodge, found that
of the many causes contributing to
the advance in prices, the following
We're most marked:
| Increased cost of production Of
! farm products by reason of higher
| land values and higher wages.
Increased demand for farm products
and food.
Shifting of population from food
producing to food consuming occupa-
| tons and localities. :
immigration to food-consuming To-
| calities.
Reduced fertility of land, resulting
| in lower average production or in in
creased expenditures for fertilization.
Increased banking facilities in agri-
cultural localities. which enabled the
farmers to hold their crops and mar
ket them to the best advantage. 1t
was found that this not only steadied
1 prices, but had tendency to raise
them.
Reduced supply convenient to
transportation facilities of such COM
modities as timber.
preventing extreme fluctuations of
prices Of certain commodities with
the seasons, but by enabling the
wholesalers to buy and sell at the
best possible advantage, tend to ad-
vance prices.
Inreased cost of distribution.
Industrial combinations.
| Overca pitalization.
Organizations of producers or of
dealers.
Higher standard of living.
| Naturally, our good friends the
Democratic enemy are hilariously as
sorting that the report of the Senate
Committee has purposely ignored the
relation of the tariff to prices for
political reasons. Also naturally a
great many Americans, regardless of
their political affiliations are much
surprised over this report because they
have been largely influenced by the
talk of the newspapers that to the
tariff have been due the high prices
of the last decade In this matter 1t
is not necessary for any American of
intelligence and common sense to be
Influenced either by Democratic ridi-
cule or by Republican justification of
All that one has to do is to read the
reasons given by the committee and
i decide for themselves whether or not
these reasons, most of which are CIV
en- above, are good reasons, reasons
lactually founded on fact.
At the risk of repeating itself pos
sibly. the Journal in this connection
| would again suggest that in our coun-
| try we have manners similar to those
OF flock of sheep. Americans gem
Grafton after generation and year at
| ter year. run either one way or the
| other, following somebody's lead. This
is well exemplified by the manner in
which during bull market in Wall
Street Americans rush to buy stocks
and also by the manner in which,
| gardless of the values of their pur-
chases. these buyers make another
rush to sell the same. Similarly dur
ing one decade. as during the last, re-
gardless of the tariff producers and
retailers initiate one another in ad-
vancing prices of products and goods.
OF late these prices have constituted a
cost of living so unusually high as to
be well nigh unbearable to American
| consumers. one result of this state
of affairs has been restriction Of
| trade because of the consumers in
ability to pay the prices demanded.
There has come about a construction
| in the volume of business in our land.
Following the laws of supply and
| demand these prices of commodities
have now commenced to fall.
The journal does not wish to enter
upon tiresome and futile discussion
of the last tariff, which President Taft
and the Republican administration
believe was the best possible tariff to
be obtained under the circumstances
at the time. Undoubtedly at some
future session of Congress a Republic
can administration. with more knowl-
edge of the subject provided by the
tariff Commission, will improve upon
some OF the schedules of the present
tariff BILL but we would submit to the
onn1 ;uIOp,opt and iptolli uopno Of nur