The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-08
ASKS FOR LIMIT
ON COLD STORAGE
Senate Committee Inyesti eating
Cost of. Living Makes Par
tiaI Report.
SENATOR LODGE TALKS OF
RESULTS NOW ATTAINED
Believes That One Year Is Long
Enough for Any Meat to Be
Held in Storage.

WASHINGTON. April "A limit
should be put on the use Of cold storage
for purpose of maintaining or advauc
ing prices artiicially. This ia the judg
mcnt Of the senate cost of living com
mjttee, and Chairman Lodge today in
troduced III the senate bill to meet
the recommendations
In presenting the bill Senator Lodge
said;
Under the resolution of the senate
the senatorial commission proposed to
inquire into wages and prices OF com.
modities was given authority to make
recommendations. In pursuance Of
that authority the committee
now desires TO recommend to
the senate legislation limiting
the time during which perishablo
articles Of food may be held in cold
storage. From such investigation as
the committee has thus far been able
to make, it is satisfied some limit ought
To be put on the limit of cold storage
for the purpose of maintaining or ar
vancing prices artifcially. 1t is Of the
opinion this limit of time will tend 10
an equalization Of prices and IN some
cases TO a reduction.
1.-The investigation Of this subject is
not completed. but it has proceeded far
enough 10 confirm by the results thus
far obtained the view taken by the COM
mIttee.
Relation to Health.
'''The question Of the public health is
not within the jurisdiction Of your com
mittee charged with the investigation
into wages and prices, The committee
has no doubt, however. that a limitation
of the time during which pershable ar
tIcles of food and more especially meat
products may be retained in cold stor-
age would be hygenIcally of very great
value and would tend TO check many
physical troubles which are thought by
those who have examined the question
10 be attributable 10 the practice of
keeping meats, particularly, in storage
for very long time.
The committee therefore recon-
mcnds legislation in this direction by
congress at the earliest possible mo
ment -
Mr.. Lodge s bill Will provide that
food kept in cold storage. for more than
one year should bc considered as adul.
tcrated and that any food taken out Of
cold storage and erroncously marked as
to the time it had been in storage
should be regarded as misbranded in
violation of the pure food law.
The committee through Mr. Lodge
also asked the senate for instructions in
the matter of continuing the inyestiga-
tion into the cost of living. II was
estimated that four months would be
required TO complete the work. and that
II would necessitate an expenditure of
$4,000.
Exhaustive Investigation.
The outline Of the suggested plan was
in great detail. IT calls for statements
TO be obtained from forty buyers in Sc
lected localities covering the price paid
10 the producer on the Ist OF January
February, March, April, May and June
Of each wear from 1900 to 1910, inclu-
sive, for all grains, live stock and other
farm products.
1t coutemplates also the procuring of
wholesale prices by the bureau of labor
on go commodities for 1909 aud the
first four months of 1910 in order to
bring down TO date the statements al
ready given since the year 1890.
The bureau Of labor would be called
on to obtain wholesale prices from 1897
to 1910 on all kinds of agricultural i'm
plcmcnts,
Retail prices paid by the consumer on
seveuty.one articles would be obtained
covering the same periods as were pre-
scribed for producers prices. This list
cred by the senate resolution, providing
for the investigation except rent for
which the committee says it seems prac-
tically impossible TO obtain reliable
comparative figures.
Under the head of retail prices the
committee says prices should be ub.
taincd from four establishments in each
Of twenty selected cities and that the
stores should be those patroniZcd by
wage earners.
An invcatigatIou would be made OF
wages salaries and hours OF labor from
payrolls for a stated period in each OF
| the two years. 1900 and 1910. from at
| least tc establishments in Il long list
| Of diversified manufacturers and in at
| least ten cities. covering department
! stores, street railways. telegraph and
| telephone companies and in ten cities
| The union scale and the nom union scale
! for building trades. compositoTS. dock
| hands. iron modcrs and machinists.
| II is suggested also that the prevailing
wages OF agricultural laborers In 1900
! ana 1910 should be obtained.