The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-07-02
WASHINGTON NOTES
ON CURRENT PRICES
Government Comes to Relief Of the
Housewife and Is Trying to Lower
Prices Of Groceries.

hEhpA N'7b "a iifAhbi dhu no R4iS mas up
preeiated it more than the women, who
have noticed the tightening Of their
lpoclSetbooks and Of their market baskets
at the same time,
II is all very well for the men that
the government should pursue the to-
bacco trust, the Standard OIL, the plate
glass, the plumbers and an the other
trusts, but these things interest the
women but little, when they see the
prices of practically everything they
want on their breakfast and dinner Ia.
bles steadily climbing higher and get
ting out Of reach.
So now the Southern Grocery trust
has been brought to account and its Off
GERS are to be forced to explain the rea
son for the high prices which il Is al
legged their combination has maintained.
1t is believed that the effect Of the at.
tion will be felt BY other sections and
will result in restricting the activity Of
other similar organizations.
Besides appealing to the court to dis
solve the association itself and declare
it illegal, the government asks that ey.
cry one of its 500 members or more be
forever prohibited from entering into
any agreement among themselves as to
the prices at which they should sell the
necessities of life. The officers of the
association who are to be brought into
court at Birmingham, Alabama. are:
President Jos II. McLaurin Of Florida
Vice President L. NJ Hooper Of Alaba.
ma; Second Vice President Fl II Hasha-
gen Of North Carolina; Treasurer G. w,
Bartleson of Florida, and Secretary Rob.
ert Moore Of Alabama together with
nine other constituting the advisory
board. Officers Of two big grocery con
Germs in Birmingham are also to be
nanled to the bar.
They are alleged to be wholesale gro
GERS dealing interstate commerce in sug-
ar, -four, cakes and crackers, soap and
washing powder, cereals, soda and bak-
ing powders, salt, milk products. canned
goods. syrups and other necessities Of
/ life. They are charged with being en-
gagged in conspiracy 20 maintain prices
| II Is alleged that hundreds Of thousands
Of dollars have been distributed to mem
bers Of the association BIZ its officers
as a reward for maintaining prices and
other sums nave been assessed as fines
and penalties for underselling the price
list
The association is a close corporation.
and no outsider could get in without
the consent Of the other members.
When President Taft with The gold
pen Of Postmaster General Hitchcock
and the long eagle quill Of Delegate Al.
dfrsvs Of New Mexico wrote YVilliam &.
Taft upon the statehood bill. he put
an end 70 quarter century IF worry ior
the holders Of the bonds Of pima c0un
ty, Arizona. and wound up one 81 the
most complicated financial romances that
has puzzled legislators here for many
day.
Back In the early days Of Arizona
the residents OF Pima county were am
bilious to have a railroad constructed
from Tucson, the county seat, to Globe.
Arizona. the locality Of a great mining
field. Accordingly the territorial leg
islature passed in 1882 a mandamus act
requiring Pima county to issue county
bonds, TO be exchanged for railroad
bonds in the construction Of this road
According to the statements Of the
Hon. Mark Smith, former delegate from
Arizona, who appeared before the Sem
ate committee on territories during the
recent statehood bearings, the site for
this railroad was graded with pillow for
10 miles out Of Tucson, Ties were laid
at intervals OF about 20 feet, the rails
were tied to the ties and that finished
the building OF the Tueson-Globe short
line.
The supervisors Of Pima county duly
exchanged county bonds sufficient 10 GOV.
er the building of these ten miles and
placed the rest of the bond issue in the
safe Of the courthouse. These bonds
were taken from that safe, though no
one knows how or by whom, and We're
next seen being hoated as high-grade
securities around the New York market
Then came the trouble. The citizens
Of Pima county resisted the payment Of
these bonds and the care was fought to
the supreme court Of the United States
The bonds were sold by well-known
New York bonding honse, which evil
IDENTIFY had bought them in good faith
and had resold them to their customers
with all the guarantee that their firm
name implied. The bond house to clear
itself took up the cause of the bond
holders, The supreme court decided in
favor of Pima county and held that the
bonds were never valid
The bondholders then took the usual
alternative and went after Congress to
pass law validating the bonds. Son
orous arguments Of saving the people Of
Arizona from becoming known Al repud-
ators and thus impairing their credit
were brought to bear BY the bondhoders
upon congressman. For wears Congress
refused I'd take action Mark Smith was
one Of the most determined fighters
against saddling Pima county with the
debt. Insistency, however, told. and one
year tit happened that it was the only
session when Smith was our of Congress
for years before and after this fight |
Congress yielded to the bondholders and
validated the bonds by a special act.
Later the supreme court decided that
in view Of the act Of Congress the bonds
were valid. The bondholders, however,
were never able to get their money or
the interest ON IT,
When the statehood bill came up this /
session, therefore, the bondholders were
then with their best foot forward. The |
Senate listened to them and gave the |
hondholders sufficient grant Of land to |
pay the bonds at par with interest.