The Washington times., 1910-06-25
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON
COST OF LIVING.

The majority members of the Senate
committee which has been investigat-
ing the cost of living. headed by Sen
ator Lodsss, have made their report to
the Senate. The report will be read
with interest in Congress and out of it.,
but it needless to say it will not be
aecep gi as the final word on the sub
ject.
VIVA. was to be expected when the
inquiry was begun has happened 4
vast mass of material has been accu
mulated. The members of the com
mittee have not had the time to digest
it. The minority members Of the com
mittee will draw conclusions different
from those of the majority members.
It will naturally follow that if the
Republican members of the commit
tee decide one way and the Democratic
members another from the same data.
the public viii be forced to the con
clusion that the verdicts are largely
political and are not to be taken too
seriously. Already, the Democrats on
the committee are charging that the
majority report is submitted now for
the purpose of providing campaign ma
terial and it must be admitted that it
looks that way to a man who is try
ing to take an impartial view.
1t may be doubted if any set of men
in politics, as are members of the Sen
ate and House, are fitted to 60 to the
roots of this question. Certainly, it
cannot be done by any casual investi-
cation of a few months.
For one thing, the majority of the
members of the committee absolve the
tariff from blame for the high prices.
1t Is TO be recalled that Senator Lodge
had done this in a speech in the Sen
ate before the investigation had been
made. 20 that even fairly credulous
people will be pardoned if they do not
accept this conclusion without certain
mental reservations. And it is to be
observed that the majority members
OF the committee in talking OF the eff
feet of the tariff OH prices refer chiefly
to the effect of the tariff on prices in
the past decade. They say:
The tariff seems to have been no ma
teriaI factor in causing the advance in
prices during the past decade. The
In
commodities upon which the tariff has
little or no effect, and the absolute re-
mOVal of the tariff on many Of these
commodities could not have afforded re-
lief at the present time. for the reason
thai prices of these commodities, with q
few exceptions. were as high, or higher
in other countries than in the United
States.
The committee sheds no real light
on the question, which is the vital one.
of the actual effect on the general
level of prices in the United States
of the tariff system as it has existed
Tor decades OF course, the resolution
of the Senate did not direct the COM
mittee to 20 into this broad and dif-
ticult question and it has not done So
Even senator Lodge would not serious
~ maintain that the general effect of
the tariff is not to help raise the level
of prices. If it does not, why the We
hement arguments of protectionists
last session against lowering sched-
ules, the effect of which, they said.
would be 50 to cut manufacturers
profits as TO compel lowering of the
wages of the workingman?
Yet, campaign orators viii take this
report Of the committee and by adroit
use of its conclusions, win convince
lot OF good people that the tariff must
be dismissed as a factor in the high
cost OF living.
The committee finds, what is true,