The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-07-17
BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

Much has been said in the news
columns of the city papers recently
, with reference to the ice situation.
While it is true that a business has
right to conduct itself for its own
best interests it is also true that the
humanities should not be outraged.
The writer knows nothing whatever
about the management of the local ice
trust.
But that ice cannot be secured in
small quantities is known to every
body.
The other day the following CONVEX
sation was heard between the driver Of
an ice wagon and some humble sup
plant from the curb.
I'D like to buy five cents worth of
ice," says the gentleman of the curb.
Cant sell you that much" says,the
naughty, but not entirely impolite, dri-
yer of the ice wagon.
"Why?" from the curbstone.
I'VE have our ORDERS" says Mr..
driver of the 'ice-wagon.
why I'll pay you
wen l. We SOt lily OIueTS anu Cdu I
sell you five cents worth of ice. I'd
just as lief sell it to you as not" gen
erously continues the voice from the
, ice-wagon eyrie but I'd lose my job
| And | can't afford to lose my job for
| five cents"
"Of course not" family floats up
| from the curb.
Now this is all wrong.
Not wrong for the ice company to
companies have to make the edges cut
just like any other corporation. Or, if
| it's not a corporation, business.
Ice companies have to live and if
! they don't make margin of profit
they will have to go out of business.
But ice has become a necessity.
And no necessity should be,controll-
ed by any set of private interests.
Everybody that can pay for it ought
! to have an.opportunity to buy ice eth
er in smalllor large quantities.
Milk, in instance, as everybody
| knows, can't be kept this sort of
| weather half an hour without souring.
Butter Is mere. liquid grease.
Everything is flabby, COLBY, nasty,
and, ten to one, UNBEATABLE.
There are, of course, stingy people
who exc along on small dabs of ice
trusting to the weatherman to alter
nate the steaming days with an occa-
sional foretaste of autumn and thus
permit their ice bills. to slide down
ward Or who use theineighbor's ice
box over Sunday.
These people deserve all they get
from the ice-company.
Anybody who can afford it and
doesn't use ice has mo kick coming
Prices maybe high. But you can't
help that. And If you can make your
self comfortable do so. If you're too
stingy don't run round bowling about
the extortions of the ice-trust.
But there are a lot of people unable
to invest any set amount of money
any time in ice or tickets for ice.
A household might beiable to invest
in ten: or fifteen cents worth of ice
twice a week, say, who could pay the
cash at the time but who couldn't pay
out one dollar at any particular time
for the purchase of a set of tickets.
Peoples incomes are sometimes in
| termittent and spasmodic.
But these people shouldn't. suffer be-
cause one set of individualstin a com.
munity monopolize Nthe sale of a pro-
duct
It's the modern wayso of doing bust
ness but it isn't human.\
| And, despite the shrieks of the un-
cou' who wave the trustsaand the graf
tiers as the great social sbogeys. the
humanities are more andamore being
taken into account.
| But in the matter of ice, >why blame
the over-worked driver of the ice.
wagon?
AS we'll said by the one above quot.
ed, he can't afford to lose Ibis job for
five cents.