Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-01-15
w. Z. HoFFHEINS & CO..
Owners and Publishers.
The HIGHER COST OF LIVING.

Senator Elkins, Of West Virginia,
head of the Senate Interstate Com
merce Committee, who has lately in
troduced a resolution for a sweeping
inquiry by a select committee of the
Senate into the increase in prices and
the reasons therefor, has recently
given out an interview in which he
tells some of the reasons that have
moved him to try to bring about an
problem. Senator Elkins Is a man of
wealth, a large employer OF labor, a
hard-headed business man, and one
of the Republican leaders in the upper
house of Congress. He is not given to
theorizing, but is practical man of
affairs. Therefore what he says of the
increased cost of living is of unusual
significance.
Senator Elkins declares that situ-
alton has been reached with respect
to the increased cost of living that is
alarming. "The cost of living" he as
serts, lis chasing wages and incomes,
and it Is going ahead of them in many
cases. That brings want and misery
to large numbers of families. 1t means
that women and children are not get
ting proper food and clothing, and
that children cannot be sent to school
and get either an education or the
foundation of an education. And that
means that our civilization Is being
injured. Food, shelter, and clothing
are the three absolute essentials of
every family. The cost of all these has
advanced alarmingly. They are abso-
lutely fundamental to comfort and
health"
What the causes are for the in
creased cost of living Senator Elkins
does not pretend to say. He is mainly
concerned on getting to the root of the
difficulty, and believes that even if
Congress cannot remove the cause or
causes, the Illumination that an in
vestigation Will shed will be valuable.
He recognizes that trusts and monopo-
lies may be in part to blame for the
high cost of living, and also that the
increased gold supply has doubtless
affected conditions. He views with
concern the enormous drain of Ameri-
can money to Europe, calculating it
at about half a billion annually. He
considers that American money ex-
pended on the carriage of goods by
foreign ships is not wisely spent. Fur
Their tariffs, he recognizes that I'M
due tariffs on some articles, such as
sugar, are probably responsible for a
measure of the trouble. And he be-
lieves that as a people We are wildly
and recklessly eXtravagant The
French people live on what we waste
is the striking declaration of the West
Virginia Senator I'VE must learn to
get more out OF our farms and to con-
tract fewer debts and find more ways
of paying them"
That the situation is such as to
absolutely and imperatvely demand
the attention of Congress is the firm
conviction of Senator Elkins. This
view is shared by many members of
the House and Senate. In view of the
universal public concern and interest
in this question, members of Congress
who seek to prevent an honest in
quiry into the cost of living can be
looked on only in one light and that
is as being afflicted with profound
obtusity as TO the state of mind of
the people. The investigation should
be ordered and it should be unbiased
and MISUNDERSTANDING News.