The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1911-09-29

ers of Pennsylvania sold forty-eight
million dollars worth of potatoes in
New York city last lear, but they
were not worth forty-eight millions to
the Pennsylvania farmers. That is
what the people of New York City
paid for them The Pennsylvania
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
investigate market conditions.
These grangers discovered that a
cold storage chicken, weighing a
pound and half, sold for a dollar in
Madison avenueI For that same kind
of a chicken the farmers received
twelve and half cents pound. The
farmers paid a vender 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-
sumer.
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 that one supine Re-
publican administration after another
has refused to submit them to a de-
cent regulation, and the food trusts
get theirs by maintaining unneces-
sary storage houses through which
they manipulate the supply and thus
create artificial shortages"
Nearly all the perishable food sup
plies which go to the cities are car
ried 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 cities
they are turned over to the food trusts
and placed in storage, where they are
kept until shortage" is created
Then up go prices.
"If all the eggs now held in cold
storage in New York City were thrown
on the market tomorrow the price oi
eggs would tumble two-thirds," sait
one of the grangers who investigated
the situation. slfii 49, ~
What is the remedy? ls9lo1a
/ Democratic members of congress-
believe that one remedy lies in tht
strengthening of the interstate com
merce laws to enable the government
to reach-and jail--some of the own
ers of the criminal food trusts ant
transportation monopolies,
1t is significant that the farmers, 70
the first time in years, are investiga
ting the high price question. The.
know that while their own product
| oiV piih6ih6 hiOiC tiCy ioi hhCi u
did, there still is tremendous ga
between what they get and what tn
consumer pays. They propose to fin
: out where the trouble lies. and it !
more thar certain that their invest
cation will lead them straight to tn
headquarters of the unpublished trus
nagnates who control the railroads
the express companies, and the foo
monopolies.
No Way to Stop This Trust.
For years and years the sugar trus
is known to have stolen from the go'
1 ernment BY means of false weight
and tricky springs to cheat the scales
and by bribery of government Officials
this rapacious trust diverted into IL
own Golfers millions of dollars ths
should have gone to the governmer
/ In revenue, The trust was caugt
red handed in it's thievery, yet nobod
was punished! nobody went to Jail.
The government finally put sto
to the revenue stealing. The do
tored springs were taken away, an
the corrupt customs collectors wen
g discharged. This forced the trust
D. adopt new methods in order to mai
d tain its inflated dividends, so recent
II 1t sent out wall about "short croI
IS and now sugar prices are almost {
n high as they were during the civ
d war. The sugar trust is determine
It to get it's"
d Where the Money Goes.
IT What becomes of all the money Il
D. big trusts extort. annually from Il
o American people2 Everybody know
p they exact MILLIONS in tribute eat
1t year, and a stranger from Mars, we
y he to read the newspapers of tn
country, would wonder how the trus
Of could get strong boxes enough to sto
It. away all the money they take fro
lie the people.
n Nl.Y ..t. Cd OF oil