The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1910-04-05
The Increased Cost Of Living.

That the cost Of living within the pas
fourteen years has greatly Increased Ii
denied by no one, upon this fact there
can be no difference of opinion, but a.
to the reasons for such increased cos
there rs such multiplicity of differen
ces as to bewlder the person looking
for information. 1t depends largely
upon the source of the information wha
reasoning will be brought forward te
account for it.
The farmer attributes it to the extra
cost of labor, being, perhaps, unmind
full, sometimes, of the fact that with the
different labor-saving machinery now
employed upon the farms, the total
amount expended for labor may not
exceed that which he was compelled to
pay before he began the use of the diff
ferent machines that do the work OF
two or more men.
The manufacturer attributes it to the
labor unions, and to the increased de-
mand for the products Of his factory,
claiming that supply and demand has
much to do with the value of the out
put of every manufacturing plant. Thu
mine official and the railroads are az
to iplace nearly all the blame on t.
laboring man, claiming that increas 20
operating expenses have necessitas ,a
the advances that they have made.
all lines those responsible for the III
creases have always in stock an abund
ance of excuses for raising the prices of
their products.
While undoubtedly some of the rea-
sons offered are perfectly sound, the
majority of them are not. The farmers
products are sold on the market, in
competition with the products of all
parts of the country, and it is often the
case that when wheat and corn, two of
the staple crops, are high, berries, fruit,
melons, potatoes, tetc., may be low.
HIS products are altogether regulated
by the supply and demand, but his ex-
penses are regulated by the greed Of tile
manufacturers, whose products he is
compelled to purchase, so that while he
may receive good prices for his crops,
he may still not have much margin be-
tween his receipts and expenditures.
In the case of the manufacturers,
however, the situation seems different.
The majority, of the staple products Of
the factories are controlled by trusts,
and it is a noticeable fact that many
of the principal stockholders accumu-
late milliCns- with almost incredible
swiftness. There can be but one source
of such rapid accumulation, namely,
that the public is being compelled to
pay an extortionate profit in order to
swell the revenues of the pirates of COM
merce. Railways, electric and steam,
have increased the wages OF the men
just as much as miners and manufactur-
ers, but the fares are lower than ever
before. 1.-THE increased cost to manu-
facturers necessitates the increased cost
to the public, why not the increased
cost to the railways necessitate an in
creased burden also9
The difference lies in the fact t hat the
barons Of commerce find it within their
power to levy unreasonable tribute from
the people as individuals, thus swollen
fortunes are created IN a night, almost.
The railroads are regulated by public
sentiment to certain extent; they are
compelled to seek righte from Leglsia
lures, city councils, etc, conseq uentfy,
there is q sort of check upon them,
where there is none upon the majority
of the industrial trusts.