Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-18
1he MIL cost of mnk and butter. for


In the country the everlasting strug-
gle TO keep up appearances is not felt
so keenly Us in the city. The useless
extravaganza that makes the bill for
clothes the heaviest drain on the city
mans pocketbook is lacking. Men and
women are taken more for what they
are worth and less for what they seem
to be. The man who lives beyond his
income in an effort TO appear more
than he really is is looked upon with
disapproval In the country the stand
ard of living as it applies to the real
thingS-food. clothing, shelter. books
and papers-can be maintained much
higher than it can on an equal sized
income in the city. The temptations
to reckless extravaganza are much
less, and the margin for saving is con-
sequently much greater.
From the standpoint of the average
individual and for a great many who
are above the average country life at
present is much more desiraE'' in al
most every way than city life. Some
Of the more specific advantages will
be. taken up in later articles. From
the standpoint of the nation an in
crease in the number of people who
till the soil or who i've close to it is
absolutely necessary. We might find
temporary relief by letting down our
tariff barriers to the wheat of Canada
and the cattle of Argentina, but such
relief would be only temporary. The
inflow of cheaper meat and bread
would but accelerate the growth of
the cities. When the limit of the pro-
duction of Canada and South America
was reached we would face another
crisis of high prices. this time much
more serious than we are undergoing
at present. The only way the price
level can be permanently adjusted and
lasting prosperity assured is by in
creasing the proportion of country
jewellers.
At present there are too many drones
in the hives of industry. The unearn-
ed increment, the rapid rise in zeal
estate values for which commQhity
growth is responsible, has placed hun
dreds of thousands Of people where
they can live from the proceeds of
rents-live without working. They are
granted perpetual tax upon the in
dustry of otherS-on the necessity Of
people TO live. Legislation that will
put heavy tax on this unearned in
crement will in a large measure right
this wrong and force the property
owners into productive labor. The
decentraliZing of the cities will force
down the abnormally high rents and
help to thin the ranks of the people
whom excessive rents have allowed to
remain in idleness.
Aside from the people who do not
work. there is vast army of nonpro-
ducers who are supported by the men
who work at productive labor. Our
system of getting goods from producer
to consumer is needlessly expensive
and cumbersome. There are too many
middlemen on the way. who through
custom have come to think they have
a divine right to an easily earned share
of the consumers dollar
Much of this awkward system of dis
tribution has been made necessary by
the concentration of the manufacture
ing industries in large cities and by
the location of these cities without ref
erence TO the markets for their manu-
featured goods or the source of their
food supply. 1t has been estimated
that If Philadelphia were located close
20 its food supply the cost of living i'll
that city would be reduced 20 per cent
The time has come for a radical re-
adjustment of the system of distribu-
ton. The consumer and the producer
must be brought closer together and a
large share of the energy wasted in
duplication and rehandling of products
turned into productive labor. AS an
example. there are nearly 100000 COM
mercial travellers in this country.
These men are well fed and well paid
The cost of selling goods through them
is enormous. The consumer pays this
cost in increased prices. The plan of
titles by personal solicitors is a rem
nant of the old days of cutthroat COM
petition. 1t has little, if any, place in
modern business. Today business has
been put on n scientific basis. Consol- !
idation is the keyword of efficiency.
Consolidation has reached its highest
development in manufacture. Trans
portation is not far behind it 1t is
time that competition - the kind OF
competition that fosters inefficiency,
duplication and excessive COSTS elm
mated from the unproductive indus
tries.
In the very nature of the case there /
must always be a class of unprOduc-
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