The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-09-07
THE SPECULATIVE COMBINES.

The high cost of the necessities OF
life is a subject Of complaint, not only
from shore to shore III this country, but
is getting 10 be a burning question in
all of the countries OF the world Tho
housewives at Paris INDUCED in riot
on account of the high price Of bread
the other day, and from every country
comes the same story that the price
of living is going up beyond all rea.
son.
In this republic not only the econom-
lists are at work upon this question, but
the practical people on both sides OF
the line are at work upon IL. The
consumers who have TO pay the high
prices are outraged, and the farmers
who do not get these high prices are
| incensed through the feeling that they
are being robbed by somebody. Re
| Gently Il delegation representing up
wards of 10000 Pennsylvania farmers
visited Mayor Gaynor of New York to
present this question to him, and Pat
rick Egan, acting as their spokesman,
produced some sensational figures show
ing to what extent both the producer
and the consumer are robbed in the
midway passage of food products from
those who produce them to those who
consume them. Mr. Egan showed that
potatoes, for which the New York con
sumers paid $60,000,000 last year, paid
TO the farmers only about $500, 900.
Upwards of $50,000.000 of the 500,
100000 was taken by intermediates,
the commission men, the transportation
men, the wholesalers, and the retailers.
These latter undoubtedly are embraced
within a speculative combine, which
not only took all that the market would
bear, but skinned that market to the
bone. Proceeding further, Mr., Egan
showed that cabbagcs, which sold IN
New York for 1926 900, brought the
farmers only $1.s00.000. Milk, which
sold in the city for $4S 100000, brought
the farmers less than 5000, 900, show
ing that somebody had made $50 100000
on the wav from the farmer TO the con
SuHtT. ~ HN so IIEs.CShh "tuI ibtoNSu
the list of the commodities commonly
used for food and in households, and
showed that a mere fraction of the
amount paid by the consumer was OBJ
tanned by the producer. And he urged
that New York City should provide a
free market where farmers could con
sign their products direct and obtain
prices which, even If an advance on
what they now receive, would still be
less than half of what consumers now
pay,
1t was an Illuminating exhibit, one
that ought to open the eyes of the
great metropolis And yet 1T was an
exhibit such as could be made III any
city in the United States in the same
that that city bears to the
population Of New York and the ar:
tlcles consumed in 1t and amounts paid |
therefor In Salt. Lake City the diff
ference between the prices charged by
the farmers IN their open market on
First West street is so much less than
The retailers eyorbitaut charges, that
Increasing numbers of household man
ayers resort to this free open market
lot only for the saving of money, but
for the getting of their food products
'resher and more certainly uncontaml
mated than when they depend on pur
,hases from the retailers. The Tribune
has urged right along that this open
rec market by the farmers would break
10 the butchers and groccrs' combine
which is robbing the people. We arc
al the more confirmed in this opinion
oy the operation of the farmers free
market, and hope TO see the farmers so
gain and be so supported by the con
umers that speculation Will be broken
iown in Salt Lake IN the matter of
necessary foods, and the consumer re.
ieved from the expressions which have
1een so rank heretofore