Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-04
STIRRING SPEECH MADE
BY DOUGLAS OF OHIO
Daily Bread and Meat as Impor-
tant as Battleships."
PLEADS FOR WAGE FARMERS
The Greatest Sufferers, He Declares,
by Increased Cost of Living.
Farm Production Not Keeping
Pace With the Population.


Aroused over the increase in the cost
OF living. Congress and the executive de-
partments are preparing for exhaustive
investigations of this subject Not only
in Washington. where the cost OF lv-
ing is becoming practically unbearahle
to any but those whose purses are the
fattrst. is this question vital.
Tie congressional campaign against
high prices. the increased cost Of living
and the control for gain OF food stuns
by the trusts opened today in the House
OF Represe natives.
Representative Douglass of Ohio made
a carefully considered speech on the SUBJ
ject and Representative Hull of Ten
nessee introduced concurrent resolution
for congressional investigation OF the
subject. Other members of Congress are
preparing ammunition on the subject.
which promises TO receive considerable
attention in both branches OF the ma
tional legislature at the present session.
Mr.. Hull's Resolution.
The Hull resolution calls attention to.
the fact that during the past twelve
months the prices of commodities has
Increased from IL to 30 per cent; that
the increase in wages has not kept pace
with this higher cost Of living, and that
millions of people find 1t impossible to
buy food and clothing consistent with
their urgent needs.
The resolution further calls attention to
charges that the recent tariff legislation
has operated a strong price-raiser:
that there is an absence OF competition:
that the American Sugar Refining Com
pany Is selling sugar at cents a pound
more in the United States than in foreign
countries: that the prices of cotton and
wooden goods have been arbitrarily in
creased: that the price of meat has been
raised b. the meat trust enough to en-
BILE Armour & Co. to make nee
profit of more than 35 per cent on its
capital stock in year" and that the
prices of most of the necessaries OF life
on which protective duties rest have
been raised above the worlds level Of
prices.
Committee of Twelve.
The resolution authorizes the appoint
ment OF an investigating committee, TO
consist of seven members of the House
and five members of the Senate, TO inves-
tigate and ascertain particularly what ef-
feet the trusts and combinations the in
creased volume of money. the increased
population, the Increase If demand, the
supply and the issuance OF government
bonds. thus increasing the public debt,
have each or all had upon prices, and
also to investigate the extent. If any, to
which existing tariff rates have in any
other way affected the prices OF articles
of prime necessity by suppressing or ma
terribly interfering with competition
The speech of Mr.. Douglass was =
thoughtful. statistical review OF high
prices and the causes thereof
Not an Alarmist
.It is not in any sense as an alarm
ist.'' he said. that l call attention to .
fact more or less accurately known to
every member of the House. indeed 10
every head of every family throughout
the land, that the prices of food products,
especially of the products derived from
the farms of the country, have risen and
are rising out of all proportion TO any in
crease in wages or salaries. and to an ex-
tent that is bringing actual suffering to
Many millions of people.
Great crops usually bring low prices.
but today in spite of the most abundant
crops perhaps the country has ever
known. the prices of corn. wheat and
other cereals remain exceedingly high.
The equalization lies very largely in the
fact that our food supply, raised upon
our farms, has not kept pace relatively
with our increase in population
Ashamed to Take the Money"
What is true of all foreign products
is especially true of the great meat
staples of the country. The production
of cattle, hogs and sheep is not keeping
pace with the increase in your popula-
ton Cattle OF the best grade are SELL
ing in the Chicago market at 1925 per
one hundred pounds on the hoof. A price
unknown within the memory of most OF
us here. Hogs are selling at $3.50. When
buyers come to my farm and offer me
the present prices for fatted cattle and
hogs, / confess that like the little boy
in the picture / am ashamed TO take the
money.
Between the census year of 1850. when
the population Of the United States was
5l. lS9, ,oOg to 1900. when the number was
found to be 16. .Su3 3S1, the population OF
the country had increased .6, 114,I1S. or
just about IL per cent during that time,
according to the same authority the
meat cattle Of the country other than
dairy cattle had increased about 2glh per
cent. thus failing to keep pace with the !
population by 22l1 per cent
MIR. Douglas then took other figures
To prove that the same thing held true
with mich cows, hogs and sheep and
that none of these classes had kept pace
with the increased population.
Figures Are Startling"
These figures said Mr.. Douglas. -