The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-01-06
WHY PRICES ARE HIGH.

ing. This is welcome news because
the question is one of vital interest to
millions of people and because Secre-
tary Wilson has a way of securing the
information he seeks. The investiga-
ton is taking the nature of a COM
parison between the wholesale and re-
tail prices of articles, chiefly food
stuffs such as butter, eggs, milk, APP
rles, potatoes, and other vegetables
and fruits.
No doubt the information secured
will be valuable, but it will seem to
many that the investigation needs to
be wider and deeper, The investiga-
ton needs to be wider than foodstuffs,
and deeper than the wholesale price
of articles. The matter is of such vi
tai interest to all that it is import
ant to ascertain just what proportion
ton of the natural law of supply and
demand, and what part, if any, is due
to manipulation, or the sitting of COM
pitition by trusts and monopolies.
The White River Junction Land
mark in discussing the increased cost
of articles controlled by trusts cites
the price Of nails as an illustration,
saying:
"A good illustration of this is shown
1Nry Nr 81, Ga
Steel Corporation. 1t is but a few
years since that the farmer or any
one else desiring to repair or build
could buy nails of any size, for $1.50
or near that price, per one hurdI ed
pounds. Today he must pay at least
$3.50 for the like quality of nails. In
very recent years immense new beds
of iron ore have been found and open
ed; there have been perfected pro-
cesses in iron manufacture that have
lessened the cost of production, and
competition from foreign fields has
been markedly curtailed by national
legislation. Yet, Notwithstanding all
this the price of nails, wire fencing,
and all steel and iron products are de-
cidedly higher today than just before
the formation of the gigantic corpor-
alton. The increase in the cost of la
Dor in iron manufactures is, upon the
whole, so insignificant as not to jus
tify more than the slightest consid-
GRAFTON. Thus it does not seem that
the enhanced cost of iron and stool
products over the cost that obtained
but few years ago is unwarranied.
'In 1896 nails were made and sold
at profit for ninety cents Il hundred
pounds.
1T is fair to presume that they can
be manufactured today at a less cost
than in 1895, for improved machinery
greater supply of ore and cheaper
transportation guarantee this. Great
steel and iron plants We're built and
developed in New England while these
prices prevailed, and this Gould not
have been except there had been
profit at these now to be called low
prices.
"The people, the plain people knew
all this prior to the last national poll
teal campaign, and from the Allan
tic to the Pacific they asked for a
lower tariff that thereby might come
one way Of escaping extortionate pric-
es, for all knew that American
made nails, fencing wire and other
products were sold at less price in
Mexico, Canada and Europe than in
the United States The Texas farmer
could not go over the Mexican border
and return with American made frnC-
ing wire because of the prohibitive
duty, nor could the Vermont farmer
cross the Canadian line and BRING
back American made nails foT the
same reason"
The Hartford Comm Times IN dis
cussing the cost of coal, says,
"The anthracite coal mines of Penn
sylvania are substantially monopoly
through the community of interest
If the roads which bring it to market.
What is the result? The coal COM
panies and the coal transportation
companies-all jumbled up together
charge at least a dollar q ton more
! than the price which would give thcm
/ fair profit. Fifteen years ago one
could lay in his winter supply for
1913 ton, now he must pay 500,
/ though the appliances for mining and
Transporting coal have been greatly
! lllplONeu. Every I1dlllOIu HOuStHoluci
pays on the average $15 year to
those monopolists. Consequently Del
aware and Lackawanna after paying
its cost in dividends sells for $500 a
share. Reading Common worth s.
some twenty-five years ago, is row
quoted at $175."
The New York World recently has
published figures showing that the in
cease in the price of milk to the con-
sumner in New York and Chicago has
not been followed by correspondents
increase for the farmers, the price
paid the dairymen being a little less
than last year. One corporation con-
trolls a substantial part of the milk
trade and its profits during the years
1908 and 1909 are said to have been
greater than at any other period in its
history. The World claims that the
powerful corporation has made mil
lions upon millions of profits in great
ly watered stock" and that the United
States Government was proposing tC
investigate the whole subject.
1t is probably true that higher
prices are due in part to under pro
duction of meat and agricultural FRO.
ducts, but according to economic laws
the high prices FOR these staples
should send more people back to The