Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-04-24
GUARD CAPITAL,
HILLS ADVICE
The Nations Great Need, Says
Railroad Magnate.
SCORES OUR WASTEFuLNESS.

> Declares We Live In an Age Of Finan
> ciaI DeIirium-elames Extravasanc
For High Prices and Urges Economy
Every Dollar UnprofitabIy spen
Marks a Crime Against Posterity.
James J. Hill, the venerable RAILROAD
builder and magnate, who delivered al
address at the Minnesota conservation
convention in st. Paul the other day
In which he advocated the conserva
ton of capital, condemned extrava
gance as one Of the causes Of the in
crease in prices and told how the stu
aticn described by him might be rem.
edied. Mr.. Kill declared that tive are
living in an age of worldwide f1nan.
! cial delirium' and that next after the
conservation Of the land, it's area, use
and fertility must come the conserva-
| ton of national capital in the form of
cash and credit" Mr.. Hill said in part:
! "In our cities modern extravaganza
/ finds it's most untrammeled expression.
! The total debt Of the states, including
all minor civil divisions, increased $751;
921 ,4l3, or 1.25 per cent, between 1880
and 1890. Between 1890 and 1902 it
increased $727,77S,393, or Ga per cent.
debt figures. however, do not begin
to tell the story Of our national ex-
travagance. Only small part of our
expenditure is represented by debt ia
bles. The rest is raised by increased
taxation.
How National Expenses Have Grown.
although the great business expan-
sion of this country began right after
the civil war, the expenses for 1890
were but 100000 greater than those
of twenty years before. Since 1890
these expenditures have grown $780,
100000 a year, until now they are
1914 per cent more than they were
eighteen years ago. The answer to
the charge Of billion dollar session
of congress is that this has become a
billion dollar country. The apology is
neither relevant nor true. It is not
necessary that expense should increase
In the same ratio as growth.
1.-THE following little table, exhibit
ing the whole situation, might be
printed at the top Of every letterhead
used by any man in public Office any
where In the United States:
INCREASES.
Per cent |
Wealth, lS7O-9o ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1e
Foreign trade, 1S70-90 ........"...;:::::: g
Value manufactured products, $4,000 IL
Net ordinary expenditures United
States government, $1,000 ............ Ia
Expenditures 30 states. 189O-1909 ....... 2Ol.6
T Mesn t trave' i observation-disclosures. .. ST.
Value manufactured products, 1S90-O5 5S
Net ordinary expenditures United
States government, 1890-08 ......... 1914
1.-The phenomenal increase Of public
expenditure has already produced
plentiful crop Of public ills. 1t is one
of the causes of the increases In prices
now disturbing the people. This In
crease follows in suggestive way the
imitation of national and local budgets.
The average cost of the supplies that
must be bought for practically every
household increased about 80 per cent
between 1896 and 1900. During the
past year there has been marked
lifting of the price level. Foodstuffs
cost from 10 to 10 per cent more than
ten years ago.
"Something is due to enormous cur
rency imitation. The tariff Is anoth-
er contributing cause. Combinations
which are actually in restraint of
trade, which have monopolized their
field and are either controlled by
common secret management or Sc
cret agreement to maintain exorbitant
charges, are partly responsible.
extravaganza National Trait.
"Still more Of the rise of prices Is
due to the decline Of agricultural prod
ucts as compared with the increase of
population. Yet with due allowance
for the effect of these forces that make
for dearer living there still remains a
large unexplained balance which must
be credited to the lavish expenditure
which has now grown to be national
trait.
"Waste, idleness and rising wages,
all interrelated to one another, now as
cause and now as effect, are, next to
an overissue Of irredeemable paper,
the three most powerful forces in the
world to raise prices.
Remedy Not Obscure.
"Perhaps the greatest factor Of all
in the price problem is the wage rate.
Everybody knows that labor cost is
the principal item in all forms of In
dustry. The. wage rate has been ris-
ing steadily. in this country. Powerful
forces are buck of this movement. 1t
has public sympathy. To resist Is diff
cult and may be dangerous. As cost
Of production is chiefly labor cost, the
price of the finished article must go
up If the price Of labor is raised. This
lis just as true of the farm as of the
factory. i; ..s%ss: