The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-25
AN INEVITABLE DISAGREEMENT

The inquiry as TO the cause of the ad
vance in prices of food products. Th,
Democrats seek to fastcn the bIam,
largely upon the tariff with its pro
lection of tho trusts and combines auc
the delivery of the markets of The
country To the control OF the mouopllic:
thereby created, The Republicans, or
the other hand, are anxious to find
some way out of the dilemma, to find
some means OF showing that IL is not
the trusts or monopolics that arc to
blame so much as something else.
The prices of many trust t-produced
commodities have not advanced as fast
as other commodities. This quotation
from the report of The Republican ma,
lorlty of the committee which bad
charge OF the Investigation of the in.
crease In food products, is the keynote
OF their report. Having given the trusts
ana monopolies complete control OF tho
markets of this country, through tar
If bill drawn especially to favor them,
the Republican majority must neces-
sarlly say a good word for those mo-
| popolies to which they have handed
over the control Of commodity prices.
Industrial combination is also
given by the Republican members as
the reason for the increased. prices, as
though grudging to labor its rigbtful
reward, advertising is also charged
with some of the increase, as though ad.
va ~
two.
Increased cost of distribution is
given as another reason, when in fact
distribution was never so easy or the
cost of it so low as it is now.
Money SUPPLY given also as a
reason, is pretty hard to apply to the
case. There is not as much available
money in the country now as there was
last year, and as there has often been
IN the past, if we leave out the hoard
IN the National treasury ard in the
banks and conhne the point TO the
actual money in circulation among the
people. This alleged reason appears
TO hint blindly at what some of the
economists call the overproduction of
gold. That. however, can hardly apply
TO the United States at the present
time, because there is not as much
available gold here now as there has
been for good many years, If we ex-
cept the case of the panic Of 1907.
capitalization is given as
another reason, which might fairly be
interpreted to he sly and obscure
criticism of the monopolies and trusts
that the bunko tariff has done so much
to favor. Some enemy must have got
this in.
Higher standard of living" is the
hnal reason given by the Republican
investigators into this question. 1t is
hard, however, to give his the i'm
portance that the committee seeks TO
give 1t, because the standard of living
in America has always been far higher
than anywhere else in the world, count.
ing the different gradations of the peo.
pie with corresponding classes abroad,
The possibility of attaching any par.
tlcular Importance to this phase of the
question must be evident to anyone
with even little reflection, because
there has been no relative change in
this for fifty years,
On what might be called the apri.
cultural side Of the question, the points
apparently being furnished by Secre-
tary wilson. since these are the points
that he has often raised in discussion
of this question. are the following, pre-
sented by the Republican side of the
committee:
Increased demand for farm products and
food.
Shifting Of population from food pro-
diuclng ig 10 iood consuming occupations and
Immigration to food consuming locali-
Reduced fertility, of land resulting in
lower average production or in Increased
expenditures for fertilization.
Increasing banking facilities in agri-
cultural localities which enable farm
ers to hold their crops and market them
10 the best advantage. 1t was found that
this not only stcadied prices, but had a
tendency TO increase them.
Reduced supply and convenient trans
portation facilities of such commodities as
timber.
Some of these appear as though they
might have been somewhat effective, as
claimed. Others can not be assumed,
they need proof II is difficult, for
instance. to see how increased banking
facilities could have much effect, be.
cause whatever the farmers might save
in some localities by borrowing money
to hold their crops. would be offset by
the interest they would have to pay to
the banks for the monev they borrowed
for that purpose. On the whole, we
should think that probably the banks
would get the better of this, and the
farmers the worse. Besides this. very
large proportion of the farm products
are not such as can be held for higher
prices. They have to be sold at once
or there is no value to them.
The Democrats on the committee very
naturally object TO this finding 1t ap-
pears that they were not consulted in
the matter of making up the report.
They see it jrst after it is fully framed
up. But now, after the Republican