The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-05-27
HIGH COST OF LIVING
Washington, May 20,-A tar

ling with aphOrism preaching the doc
trine of the simple life as the bulwarl
of civilization and protection as tn
producer of prosperity, was delivere,
in house yesterday by Representative
Hamilton of Michigan. 1t picture,
nine months of increasing revenue
and encouragement of American in
dustry under the Payne bill. 1t drew
on the legitimate spoils of trade ant
the policies and declarations of for
eign statecraft as the justification O
the protection policy. 1t attributed
the high cost of living to increased
gold production, to demand crowdin,
supply to extravaganza of a feverisl
generation and to almost eVerythin.
else but the tariff.
Mr.. Hamilton is chairman of thu
territories committee of the hous,
and his cpeech is likely to figure con
spicuously in the next Republican ma
tional campaign propaganda. He ia
vOred the creation of a bureau in the
department of commerce and labor tt
permanently carry on the work now
being done by the tariff board, supple
menting it with corps of foreign
speaking experts the reports of whose
Investigations of selling prices anC
labor costs at home and abroad would
furnish standard of measure of con.
flicting claims in the framing of a
tariff law.
He contended that the tariff plank
in the Republican platform provided
both upward and downward limits
and that "by so much as you raise
duties above the difference in the cost
of production at home and abroad
after due allowance for the foreign
custom of selling goods cheaper
abroad than at home, by so much you
permit domestic monopolies to over
charge domestic consumers"
"A few years ago." said Mr.. Hamil-
ton, boys wore out their fathers old
clothes made over according to a
neighboring pattern; now they have
to have store clothes and socks to
match their necties and a college yell.
A man was considered we'll off if he
kept horse and buggy; now he has
to have an automobile if he has to
mortgage the place to get it. The
average business man does business
with a telephone at one ear, a stenog-
rapher at each elbow, a telegraph Of
flee next door, wireless station with
in easy reach, an automobile at the
door and before many years he will
want a flying machine to avoid the
crush in the stareet below.
I'VE now have 100000 factories,
100000 jeojle, keeping
time to the demands to 90,OOO,0O0s
folks. The protection jolicy has built
up an annual factory output of thir-
teen billion dollars, paying out three
billion dollars in wages and has kept
the machinery of protection in motion
until it has developed a horsepower
equivalent to ninety million men. The
country never was more prosperous.
1.-The armer has been caricatured
by cheap city humorists preyed on
)y grasshoppers, locusts and money
sharks, and misled by predatory poll
,icians. Now he has come into his
own and l am glad of it. He is one
If the safest, soundest, cleanest ele-
nents in our civilization. The city
would have dried up, rotted or ex-
'loded but for the country that came
INTO town day before yesterday. Too
much of the country has been coming
INTO town, though. The farmer is re-
ewing only fair price but middle
men are charging too much for han
ling and trying to attribute the re-
to the farmer. The time
as gone by, however, when thrifty
entlemen can take toll of the farmer
nd out of the consumer and fool
9th at the same time"
Mr.. Hamilton charged the cheap
olitician with singing one song in
he city and another, of a different
lne, in the country. He described
ne situation as filled with contradic-
ons, everybody pickering to locate
ne blame for high prices. Bills,
Investigations, commits
ons, boycotts, anti-meat societies,
nti-egg societies anti-food trust and
egetarian organizations are ram
ant and in the midst of it the Demo-
ATTIC gentlemen after time honored
lstom, are diligently trying to con-
art discomfort into votes.
We are getting farther away from
lie old fundamental human relations
lat sustain and console folks. We
e always going somewhere and 60
g very fast. and generally go our
avs separately although we jostle
lie another on the sidewalk. 1t is
age of steam enginism. We run
e machine and the machine runs us.
ne talk on the street today becomes
e law tomorrow. Politics means
rites, parties the people and par
IS have to have leaders and chief
tests and scribes and pharisees and
mp followers. This is the golden
e of the spotlight, opera bouffe, .
1irling dervish form of politician
10 leads for a while but the true
ader must build success on funda- ,
entail right.
Discussing INSCRIPTIONS dealers
d the segregation of food supplies. !
:. Hamilton declared the cold stor- |
e system made it possible, if not
stomary, for the frozen remains of !,
ancestor to remain in cold sus- {
nse until it's progeny had grown
middle age and then for them to {
,et in fricassed reunion on some I
| of fare, both as strictly fresh.
e unmaternal incubator had be- 8
me the mother of the chicken.
sEThoro oh q II not oror, ,,n o,,o-~