The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1910-01-07
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

January 1, 1910 If it could be intro
duced into the moving picture shows, it
would no doubt attract good houses.
At fixed hour the President and his
wife receive first the Diplomatic Corps
consisting of the ambassadors, ministers
and attaches from foreign countries.
These are quite numerous now, the
more important powers being repre-
scented by six or seven persons. They
all come in the uniforms of their
several countries with gold lace and
decorations, composing bedizened re-
gala that our army and our naval
officers cannot attain. The smalleat
South and Central American republics
display an area Of gold lace and decor
alton that outshines the uniforms of
the representatives of Germany,
Austria and Russia, although those
countries are ANYTHING but simple in
their full dress official clothes,
After the diplomatic corps has wished
the President and Mrs. Taft a happy
new year and received their greeting
in kind, the members of the Cabinet
followed by the Justices of the Seprcme
Court IN the dark silk robes in which
they sit in court and the Senators and
Representatives in Congress Or those
who happen to be in Washington dur
ing the holidays, pass the Pre- sident
and his wife and exchange greetings.
Then come those in the Civil Service.
chiefs Of bureaus and the fficials or
finally by private citizens who have
fromed long waiting line.
This scene has been enacted for flu
ly hundred year, every President of
the United States taking part in it. 1t
was Mrs. Cleveland who, in the midst
of the reception, stated that she wanted
to rest a moment and change her smile
and many President and his wife has
had swollen hand and stiff arm for
a week after the ordeal.
Congress will resume its sessions in
few days and it is expected that then
the political situation will he interest
ing, for with the determination of the
insurgents to make themselves heard
and felt and with the Ballinger investiga-
ton and with the immient breach be-
tw cen the Speaker of the House and the
President, there is promise of disclosure
and matter of much interest in the
coming months.
The question of the increased cost of
everything that man and woman used
internally, externally and etelnally is
being investigated by the venerable
Secretary of Agriculture, the question
is vital and widespread. 1t is pretty
generally conceded that the original
producer does not get more for his pro-
ducts than he is entitled to and there is
a strong suspicion that the last retailer
has succeeded by means of combination,
in reaping an undue profit. The num-
Der of green grocers in city, town and
village, it is said, is out of all proper
ton and it is argued that the great and
increasing lists of these middlemen
between the purchaser and the con-
sumner indicate the great extent Of rich
piekings. Combinations and trusts are
under keen suspicion nowadays and
the food stuffs trusts is doubtless one
of the most intolerable of all. 1t is
proposed to organize league to fight
the high prices in the necessaries of
life which have been increasing from
year to year and have now reached abb
normal rates DR.. Scharf, well-known
economist, has suggested the formation
of league similar to an organization
formed in Germany years ago for the
suppression of the exorbitantly high
price of coffee. The member of this
league abstained from buying coffee for
time all over the German Empire with
the result that the price fell to normal
point, competition was resumed and
the trust was broken. A number of
distinguished men in Washington. in.
GLIDING members of Congress were
present when preliminary organiza-
tion was effected. A national propa-
ganda is proposed and women as well
as men will be enlisted. The plan of
procedure will be that when any arti-
Gle of food is forced too high in price,
the members will be notified secretly
that on a certain day all will discon-
tinue buying that article. 1t Is belieV
ed that this would soon bring the trusts
to terms. If, for instance, several mil
lions of people should discontinue for a
week, the use of beef, there is no doubt
that it would have very serious effect
upon the market. The promoters of
the league believe that no trust could
long survive such drastic tactics.
DR.. Scharf expects this league to
spread rapidly over the country and
that it will be able to force the food
trusts to put fair price on their pro-
ducts. A few years ago there was no
country in the world where food was
so plentiful and so cheap as in the
United States. Two months ago the
papers were full of reports of the most
bountiful haryests of corn, wheat, bar
lev, oats and vegetables that thefoun-
try has ever known. but for some rea-
son these bounties of nature meyer
reach the table until the purse of the
family has been well nigh exhausted in
supplying them.