The sun., 1910-05-12
An Opinion From the Ray state.

fasy musi m an rrsS' SsHi o. np' o. tHI' DIvpo''
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An Opinion From the Bay state.
The recent national uprnar about the
advance in commoditv prices led Ia the
appointment Of various official inves-
tigating bodie- The Senate committee
was appointed several weeks earlier
than the committee appointed by the
Massachusetts Legislature, hut the Mas
sachusetts body has done Us work and
made its report. while the Senate com
mietee will IN an probability he en-
gagged for months 10 come. Doubtless
ths senators intend to search a wider
field and u probe more deeply, but tho
Massachusetts report " more than ~
pages is about as much a. most Of us
care to read with any speial diligence
II any matter Of serious importance
Ia omitted from the volume few will
detect lis absence
To most of us the conclusions of the
committee are II greater interest than
the tables of statistics They are pre-
eented briefly and clearly, and are at
leas, supposed to he amply supported
by the tables Ut price movement and
wages Tho committee declares the
primary cause " price advance 10 be
the increase IN gold supply. and sets
forth a number NJ secondary and minor
cOn;ribwory influences II submits di-
rect contradiction of the popular con-
oepiion of price advance With regard
tn the tariff. trusts and labor unions its
opinions are positively expressed:
Win regard 10 me urlT me fact, that prices
have iallea ana risen during long psr.ods with
out relation ~ Grange n duties that prices have
bern rising n Great Britain under f-ee trAde
and that large Increases have mkcn place IN the
prizes Of romuod,tie. rot spprcriaby Affected
hy the an1 show gonrIu.l,eiy nat me iariI has
set bern the srtyc factor 10 the recent upward
aovsme1t Of pre- ~ this couaul
With reference - trusts ths iarts that The
pricrs Of trust controlled commodities have not
risen coasricuously. mat prizes have advanced
m other countries IN which trusts have not deyel
opod on thr American scale ard that The higher
prices Of food psndurts including meat are
accountsd 'ar hy natural causes and are not 10
be aitrihutei - ~o-hiaAuon In any considerable
deErss iadirats mat me trusts cannot he he'd
rcspou sihis Tor ihe ats great advance Of pTic-a"
Concerning mo labor unions me 'srts ma
less than 10 re- cent ~ ma workers ~ ne country
are organized. that the workers ENGAGED N ne
production of ths commodities that have risen
notably In price, sspecisuy ioodstufs. are hardly
oruanized At ALL and mat wages have risen In
Isss dsaree and ~ slower pace than he priccs
Of commodities the wage advance beginning
several years after the price advance. prove iha,
ne recent FsnSrai Increase ~ prices cannot be
attributed 70 me general influence Of trade
unions.
While thus relieving the tariff NJ
responsibility for price advance, this
commission admits that tho tariff cuts
on possible relief % consumers by clos
ING access 70 the cheapest sources Of
food alpplv in tho worlds markets
and submits the opinion ,ha, when
tha tariff shall further bs revised" tho
national Congress should consider care
Nlpv the expediencv Of removing all
dutisa ON food produc,s With the
oxoeption Of sugar, il NAV be oues-
tionsd whether prices would be anpra-
ciabiv lowered by the reduction or
removal Of duties While relieving the