Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-24

odicals and magazines at a cost to that
departnent of upward of $60,000,O0O and
that the business of the government III
| the postoffice department is run at q
general loss of $17500,000. the COM
mittees of congress are inVesugatlnS'
The owners of magazines dispute the
correctness of the figures. should tne
| two postal committees not be aple 10
reach a conclusion the whole matter
NAV well be left to the commission.
"I have already occupied your time
| too much. and l perhaps have not mace
this statement very informing or inter-
| estine hut I cannot close without con-
graduating you and myseI on the
prospect that the present taflH Dill OF
| fers such an increased income as TO
make deficits under any conditions un-
necessary. of course, if there were to
he a halt in our prosperity and panic
the reduction in imports might be so
substantial as to lead to deficits again.
Let us hope, however, that the prosper
itv of our country is founded on Such
a substantial basis that no furry in
the stock market and no other tempo
rarv cause may prevent the contlnu-
ance of good business on a substantial
basis"
LODGE on High Living
At conclusion of President Ia1t aa-
dress Senator Lodge was introduced
"Facts. not opinions, are to form
the basis on which the senate commit
fee appointed to inquire into the prices
of commodities and rates of wages
will act" said Senator Lodge
The speaker said further, 1.-THE facts
will be collected and given out With
out any reference to any preconcelVeo
ideas and without regard to what or
whom it will help or hurt We shall
hew to the line he said, "and let the
chips fall where they will.
"The Importance of this inquiry can
not be overestimated,', he SAID. 1T is
the intention of the committee to make
the inquiry thorough and lay It's re-
suits before the country at the earnest
possible moment"
The task of the committee is going
to be a difficult one, in the opinion OF
Senator Lodge, who said that the
questions involved are complicated and
difficult in the highest degree"
Personally he had given some months
20 an investigation of these questions
and the one fact of which he had be-
come certain was that the questions in
volved in the investigation were Eek
tremelv difficult and cannot be settled
or remedied offhand in five minutes
After outlining in general way
the method of procedure the commit
tee will follow. he said:
Corporations Control Sales
"That combinations control the sale
of certain articles have in some in
stances advanced prices artificially' l
have not the least doubt, and If am
correct the facts that will be gathered
bv the committee will demonstrate
and show evils and wrong doing in
certain particular cases that we ought
IN he able to reach. An example of
such evils is to be found in the case
of meat products in the use of cold
storage TO prevent a normal decline OF
priees which your own grand jury mas
been investigating. But many causes
are at work affecting prices and we do
not want to jump at conclusions or
fancy that we can settle those ques-
tions by a stroke of the pen.
"The committee will try to deter
mine whether the rise in prices was
sudden or has extended over a series
of years; whether there has been an
advance in world prices or whether
the advance is confined to the United
states; whether wages, and if possible,
whether salaries which are most dltil-
cult to ascertain, have risen with prices
and to what degree, if any: whether the
tariff has raised prices; whether prices
in certain cases have been artificiaily
and wrongfuly advanced by combina-
tions seeking inordinate profits; and
finally. we shall make comparison be-
tween domestic and foreign wages and
pViopc -