El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-02-24
FACTS, AND NOT.
OPINIONS On
PRICES
Senator Lodge Says Commit
tee Will Not Whitewash,
Blacken Nor Mislead.
TALKS OF TARIFF
AND THE TRUSTS

Newark. n. J., Feb. 24-Facts, not
opinions. are TO form the basis on which
the senate committee appointed to in
ouire into the prices of commodities and
into Rates of wages will act
This declaration was made last night
by senator Lodge, of Massachusetts,
chairman of the committee, in an ad-
dress before the board of trade here.
The speaker said further that The
without any reference to any ,precon-
ceived ideas and without regard as to
what or whom it viii help or hurt
We shall hew to the lines" he said,
land let the chips fall where they will
The importance of this inquiry can
not be overestimated,' he continued. TT
IS the intention of the committee to
make the inquiry thorough and to lay
its results before the country at the
earliest possible moment"
Difficult Task.
The task Of the committee is going
10 be a difficult one, in the opinion
Of senator Lodge, who said that The
questions involved are complicated and
difficult in the highest degree"
Personally he had given some months
and the one fact of which he had be-
come certain was that the questions in
VOWED in the investigation were Nex-
tremely difficult and could not be set
tied or remedied offhand in five min
u1es.
After outlining in a general way the
method Of procedure TO be followed, he
said:
That combinations to control the sale
Of certain articles have, in some in
stances, advanced prices artificially, 1
have not personally the least doubt.
and II I am correct, the facts that will
be gathered by the committee will
demonstrate and viii show evils and
wrongdoing in certain particular cases
that we ought TO be able to reach.
An example of such evils is to be
found in the case of meat products in
the use Of cold storage to prevent
normal decline of prices which your
own grand jury has been investigating.
But many causes are at work affecting
prices. and we do not want to jump at
conclusions or fancy that we can settle
these questions by stroke of the pen.
To Probe Profits.
The committee will try to determine
whether the rise in prices was sudden
or has extended over a series Of years;
whether there has been an advance in
world prices or whether the ad-
vance is confined to the United
States. whether wages, and, If
possible, whether salaries, which are
most difficult to ascertain, have risen
with prices, and to what degree, If any;
whether the tariff has raised prices;
whether prices on certain cases have
been artificially and wropgfully ad-
vanced by combinations seeking inordi-
nate profits; and, finally, we shall
make a comparison between domestic
and foreign wages and prices"
Whatever the facts show VIII be stat
ed by the committee he said, without
any attempt either to blacken, white
wash or 10 mislead-'
He said he had received during the
last few days one letter blaming the
tariff and smother blaming the trusts
as the cause Of high prices.
IF the question were as easy of So
luton" he added. las the writers Of
these two letters think, we could deal
with It very quickly"
Tariff and Trusts
As an illustration Of the difficulties
that the committee will have to deal
with, senator Lodge took three articles
Of wide cOnsumptiOn-raw cotton, re-
fined petroleum and sugar-and made
a comparison Of their changes in prices
trust questions.
Cotton is on the free list and has
been for half a century 1t is not con-
troled by any trust
-Oi has been and is practically now
on the free list, and its sale is almost
entirely controlled by the strongest,
best organized and most relentless trust
or combination of which we have
knowledge Sugar is in the hands of
trust or combination, and is highly pro-
tected- Neither the trusts nor the tariff
are present in the case of cotton. The
trust is present and the tariff absent
in the case of oil. Both the tariff and
trust control are present in the case
OF sugar.
Now. let US consider the facts in re-
gard TO the prices of these articles
Taking 100 the basis in 1899, the
advance in cotton has ranged from 81
10 "a points. 1t was So points higher
in 1908 than in 1899, and it is still high
er at the present time. Petroleum,
starting with 100 as the basis in 1899,
has advanced 80 points in 10 years:
sugar. during the same time, has de-
clined 10 points
L make no comment on these facts
and offer no opinion 1 leave it to you
TO point the cause OF the movement