New-York tribune., 1910-01-16
THE COST OF LIVING.
Ohio Intends to Find Out U'ky
It's So High.

Toledo, Jan. 15.-Legislative Investigation
OF the high cost OF living in Ohio viii be
started next week by Governor JudSoD
Harmon and Attorney General Eugene Den
man Every trust OF combination fOunc
violating the Valentine antitrust law Will
be vigorously prosecuted The committee 10
be appointed will consist OF two Repubii-
cans and two Democrats. II Will be ap-
pointed by Lieutenant Governor Treadvssy
and Speaker Mooney. Prosecutor l. w
Wachenheimer. Of Toledo. the man who
sent the ice men 10 jail and broke up the
lumber combination. will be appointed spe
c:aI counsel for the committee The COM
nittee will go to Cleveland. then 70 Toledo,
Dayton. Springfield and Cincinnati
In Cleveland il will investigate the mental
telepathy that enables all the milk dealers
20 raise prices TO cents a quart at the
same time in the fall and reduce TO I
cents a quart simultaneously in the spring;
also the mode of communication that uni
fOrrnly sends the price of ice up eacn spring
In Toledo the high price OF milk will re-
ceive attention. In Springfield and Dayton
there is a so-called bread trust In Cincin-
natl, the farmeF-prOdUcers OF milk, the Tri-
State Farmers and Dairymen's Association.
with the Hamilton County Milk Dealers
Association. will be the chief subjects
In all parts of the state the workings OF
cold storage houses will be thoroughly in
vestigated. One OF the chief recommends
tions of the committee. when it gets
through will be for state regulation Of the
licensing of hucksters and pedlers. Even
with the small testimony az hand legislators
feel sure that the chief weapon of the conf
mission dealers and cold storage combines
is the city license
Without a license the farmer cannot come
into the city and sell his products He has
TO sell to the commission men II puttins
these products on the market would provide
them in plenty. the commission man puts
them into cold storage until the weather
or some other factor shOrtens the supply
Then he raises the prices. This is the rea-
son eggs are selling for 40. 20 and 90 cents a
dozen now
In the fight between the farmers and the
dealers in Cincinnati the farmers COM
planned that the dealers would pay them
only 81 cents a gallon for milk in the sum
mer time. while in the winter they got Is
cents In the summer the dealers took the
surplus and made butter. which was put
in storage and brought out in winter 70
sell at 50 and 20 cents a pound The farmers
lost a two months fight with the dealers
In Cleveland the prosecutor has not been
able 20 NrU ltl4t LlcTc NdS any 90 Cr-~iC.--
of milk or ice dealers to boost prices the
same day Legislators have evidence OF
cases in which cold storage houses in Cleve-
land have enabled commission men 10 hold
fruits till they could charge more than
twice what the farmers received for them
some county prosecutors. who have been
Prosecutor L ". Wachenheiner, OF Lucas
County. found way He had nothing to
20 on but the fact that the price OF ice in
Toledo had doubled after an abundant ice
harvest and that al dealers were charyin g
tie same exo-bitant price. AS q result hs
broke up the trust and the ice men were
sent 20 Jail.
1T has become living question. How
shall we get along said Governor HaT-
mon. The Increased cost of living affects
more people than the inequality Of taxa
ton. Something must be done. am glad
the legislators are going 10 act AS condi-
tions are now we ara really building up q
modernized feudal system. where a new
artstocracy OF wealth is bringing the work
ing people OF this country closer TO the
black bread and meat once week OF the
European peasant"
Senator c. A. Beatty. who is one OF ths
instigators OF the crusade. has statistics
showing that in Chicago over seven hun
dred thousand more cases OF eggs are n
cold storage than two years ago. Nearly
one million cases. Mr.. Beatty says. q,
| stored thsra