The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1911-09-28
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Special Washington Correspond
ent of The Times.
BY Clyde II. Tavenner.

by Ciyue II. laVehner.
Washington D. C.-"The farmers
of Pennsylvania sold forty-eight mil
lion dollars worth of potatoes in New
York City last year, but they were
not worth forty-eight millions to the
Pennsylvania farmers. That is what
the people of New York City paid fol-
them. The farmers got three and
three-quarter millions.
This statement was made by mem.
bers of the Pennsylvania grange who
recently went to New York City to in
vestigate market conditions.
These grangers discovered that a
cold storage chicken, weighing a
pound and half, sold for dollar in
Madison avenue. For that same kind
of chicken the farmers received
twelve and half cents pound. The
farmers paid vendor five cents for
an apple, and told him they would let
him have barrel of apples for two
dollars. Eggs for which the farmers
received twenty-five cents brought
forty-five cents when sold to the con-
sumner.
This vast difference between what
the farmers get and what the con-
sumers pay represents the unearned
profits that flow into the Golfers OF
the railroads, the express companies,
and the food trusts. The railroads
get theirs by charging excessive rates
in order to pay dividends on watered
stock. The express companies get
theirs by reason of the fact that one
supine Republican administration after
another has refused to submit them
to decent regulation, and the food
trusts get theirs by maintaining UNI
necessary storage houses through
which they manipulate the supply,
and thus create artificial shortages. y
Nearly all the perishable food sup
plies which 90 to the cities are carried
by the express companies, or by the
equally monopolistic refrigerator lines
of the food trusts, thus making the
consumer pay double haulage bill.
AS soon as they reach the city they
are turned over to the food trusts
and placed in storage, where they are
kept until "shortage' is created.
Then up 90 prices.
If all the eggs now held in cold
storage in New York City were.
thrown on the market tomorrow the
price of eggs would tumble two
thirds, ~ said one OF the grangers who
investigated the situation.
What is the remedy?
Democratic members of Congress
believe that one remedy lies in
strengthening the interstate commerce
laws to enable the government to
reach--and jail-some of the owners
of the criminal food trusts and
transportation monopolies.
1t is significant that the farmers,
for the first time in years, are investl-
eating the high price question. They
know that while their own products
are bringing more than they formerly
did, there still is a tremendous gap
between what they get and what the
consumer pays. They propose to find
out where the trouble lies, and it is
more than certain that their investiga-
ton will lead them straight to the
headquarters of the unpublished trust
magnates who control the railroads,
the express companies, and the food
monopolies.
No Way to Stop This Trust.
For years and years the sugar trust
is known to have stolen from the gov
eminent. BY means Of false weights
and tricky springs to cheat the scales,
and by bribery of government Off
Gals, this rapacious trust diverted in
to it's own Golfers millions of dollars
that should have gone to the govern
ment in revenue. The trust was
caught red handed in its thievery, yet
nobody was punished; nobody went
to Jail.
The government finally put stop
to the revenue stealing. The doctored
springs were taken away, and the
corrupt customs collectors were dis
charged. This forced the trust to
adopt new methods in order to MAIN
tain its inflated dividends, so recently
it sent out wall about "short crop"
and now sugar prices are almost as
high as they were during the civil
war. The sugar trust is determined
to get cts"
Where the Money Goes.
What becomes of all the money the |