Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-23
Clark's View of 1t.

Representative Champ Clark of Mis-
souri, the democratic floor leader, voiced
the sentiments Of the democrats yester-
day in connection with the high cost
of living, in a statement made to star
reporter emphatically approving the reso-
luton introduced by Representative How
land OF Ohio calling for general IN
vestigation OF the subject. Mr.. clark
is going to help Rowland as much as he
can and promises the support or the
entire democratic side.
TN get that resolution reported Tor
Rowland if he can't get the republicans
70 take it up he said. Il believe II IS
something that ought TO he ventilated |
do not care n rap whether TepuDHcan
or a democrat introduced it.
1T is outrageous the way the dealers
are charging for things these days II
we can only do something to scare these
robbers We may he able to help the poor
consumer a little bit, but ii looks to me
as though they had the country at their
mercy.
IF there is any law on the statute
books that will reach them we will in
yoke it, If we can visit them with any
punishment IL cannot be too severe TO
suit me
Reed Smoot got up the floor OF the
Senate the other day and said that the
provision dealers nowadays were making
from 800 to 400 per cent profit on every
thing they handled. When | was a kid
working in a country store and We had
to haul everything we sold from rail-
road sixty miles away the owner OF the
store figured on selling his goods at an
increase of 33 3 per cent above the
actual cost.
That 30 ID per cent had 10 pay all his
expenses, all his clerical hire. had TO keep
all his horses and wagons and pay MS
rent At the end of the year If he made
10 or l. per cent his investment he
was doing well.
Wage Not Equal to Bills.
Now the ordinary, average American
man, from the figures they give us. makes
just $40 year. How can he support
himself and his family on that with the
present prices prevailing? Why. it's i'm
possible. That's all.
Last summer my wife and little girl
and one servant were keeping house back
home and for time kept accurate ac-
count 10 see just what their actual nTlng
expenses We're. At the end OF the perlod
they found that their grocery and meat
bill was S15 a week, and that ola not III
clude ice and milk. With those items
added their weekly provision bill was SIT
or SIS.
Il believe with good many physicians
that we all eat too much. One result OF
this increase in the cost OF living is go
ing to be that the people ~ mass Will
go back TO u simpler diet
-.The Agricultural Department In its
Investigations, made four or five years
ago. into the relative coat and nutrltlve
value OF foods, placed corn meal at the
TOD and wheat flour next. Therefore, you
see that in the old colonial days, when
our ancestors were pinched by poverty OF
the hardships of the wilderness, and were
able to get little food from the OUTSIDE,
and subsisted on mush and milk LOT
months alta time, they were striking the
best dietetic gait possible
Take my own case as example. four
years ago on one of my lecture tours,
ate something that didn't agree with me.
Ny digestive apparatus refused TO Work,
and / felt as though / had knife jabbed
into the pit of my stomach all the time.
II spent hundreds of dollars on physt-
clans and their medicines. lost forty
mounds of fat before l could hardly turn
around and looked like corpse. says
/ to myself finally. I'll just see II can't
starve this sickness out OF me, and 1 dlo
For a year and a half l never ate a
crumb in the middle of the day, walked
half a mile to the Capitol every morning,
and went around hungry IN WOLF every
minute l was awake. Gradually tnat
main In the middle subAdod and hnaiiy
Quit and l got well. ;.
III most of the heavy eaters would cut
down their diet IL little bit we would
hear less about dyspepsia and the hlgh
cost of living at their residences.