The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-26
FOOD PRICES INQUIRY.

The Congressional investigation which
was presumably undertaken to ascer'
of food and the necessities of HE,
has split in two, The Republican por-
tion of the Congressional committee
which has uominally been doing the
investigating, was determined from the
first to make it an cxculpation OF the
new tariff law from any blame for the
raise which has caused such universal
complaint The Democratic portion, on
the other hand, was determined to hS
as much blame as possible on the tarl1
law. Neither side would give way, and
tho rupture was inevitable.
This split came on the proposition
To recommend the appropriation of So9,'
600 10 continue the investigation. The
Democrats declined to vote In favor OF
the appropriation if it WAS To be con
tinued along the lines Indicated by The
majority. They professed q Willingness
to appropriate money as was needed,
provided the inquiry did not take any
set form, or shape itself merely to-
wards the whitewashing of the Repub-
lcan legislation. The Republicans were
quito rs firm in carrying out their
whitewasbing programme, and so the
split came.
1t is idle to claim that the Democrats
opposed the inquiry simply because
they refused to vote money for
whitewashinp procedure. 1t is idle for
the Republicans to contend that they
desired candid unbiased eXamina-
tion of the question, Each side was
playing politics. The Democrats want
ed to show that the tariff bill was
responsible; the Republicans were de-
termned to show that it was not, Both
are in the wrong. Both should have
been willing to make candid. busl-
ness.like investigation into this matter,
with n view of determining precisely
what the trouble is. Both departed from
that idea, both were determined TO
make as much out of the investigation
as they could for partisan purposes.
The Republicans were on the defensive,
anxious to show that the legislation
which they enacted was not in fault.
The Democrats took the positive view
that the fault was right there. III
is an unseemly scrimmage, disgust
ing to the unbiased public, which would
likeIo have an investigation that really
The chance TO play poll
tics, however, was too good TO be over
looked and politics was the play. with
the Democrats as the aegrcssors and
the Republicans on the defensive,
Nothing is to be hoped for from this
investigation. 1t VIII
neither show facts nor give eXplana'
tions The whole matter will pass along
as The Tribune said at first it was
pretty sure to do, as a partisan play
on both sides. for advantage, and in the
disgusting mess the public will get
nothing and the consumer will continue
TO be delivered into the hands of the
trusts and combinations which have so
long bled them and are determined to
bleed them, so long and as severely
as the people can bear However, this
wretched outcome is nothing else than
was to be expected, and neither party
will reap any particular benefit out
of the miserable fiasco But the Re
publicaps will be apt to suffer most from
it. because the raise in prices of foods
is condition, not a theory; and natu-
rally those who are in charge of the
public affairs will be blamed for the
result of the situation. which they
would be blamed for creating whether
in fact they have created IL or not.
And that is no more than what was to
be expected.
Each political party takes advantage
of the situation for its own beue6t,
so far as il can, aud so far in this
matter the advantage is with the Demo
Gratis and against the Republicans. That
this is the popular view Of it is very
evident from the result Of the elections
that have been held since the passage
of the new tariff law. And the indi-
cations are that the purblind Republi
can bosses, Will not be able TO stem
the adverse tide which their moon.
struck policies have set in motion.