Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-09-19
ROoSEvELT'S CONFESSION OF
FAITH"
ninth Installment)
Many Middlemen Superfluous.

Will DIlnS ABOUT closer business re-
lationship between the farmer and
the consumer. Recently experts in
the Agricultural Department have
figured that nearly so per cent of the
price for agricultural products paid
by the consumer goes into the pock-
cts, not of the farmer, but of various
middlemen; and it is probable that
over half of what is thus paid to mid
dlemen is needless, can be saved by
wise business methods introduced
through both law and customl, and
can therefore be returned to the
farmer and the consumer. Through
the proposed interstate Industrial
commission we can effectively do
away with any arbitrary control by
combinations of the necessities of
life. Furthermore, the governments
of the nation and of the several
states must combine in doing every
thing they can to make the farmers
business profitable, so that he shall
get more out of the soil, and enjoy
better business facilities for market
ing what he thus gets. In this man
ner his return will be increased while
the price to the consumer is dimin-
ished. The elimination of the mid
dleman by agricultural exchanges
and by the use of improved business
methods generally, the development
of good roads, the reclamation of
arid lands and swamp lands, the i'm
provement in the productivity of
! farms, the encouragement of all
agencies which tend to bring people
back to the soil and to make country
life more interesting as well as more
profitable-all these movements will
help not only the farmer but the man
who consumes the farmers products.
Expert Examination Required.
There is urgent need of non-parti
san expert examination into any
tariff schedule which seems to in
crease the cost of living, and, unless
the increase thus caused is more
than countervailed by the benefit to
the class of the community which act
ually receives the protection, it must
of course mean that that particular
duty must be reduced. The system
of levying a tariff for the protection
and encouragement of American in
dustry so as to secure higher wages
American laborers must never be
perverted so as to operate for the
impoverishment of those whom it
was intended to benefit But, in any
event, the effect of the tariff on the
cost of living is slight; any house
holder can satisfy himself of this fact
by considering the increase in price
of articles, like milk and eggs, where
the influence of both the tariff and
the trusts is negligible. No condi-
tions have been shown which war
rant, us in believing that the aboli-
! tion of the protective tariff as a
whole would bring any. substantial
, benefit to the consumer, while il
would certainly cause unheard of i'm
! mediate disaster to all wage-workers
all business men, and all farmers
and in all probability would perma
nently lower the standard of living
here. In order to show the utter fu
3 tility Of the belief that the abolition
e of the tariff would remedy the con
| dition complained of, all that is nee
r essary is to look at the course of in
e dustrial avents in England and il
t Germany during the last 80 years
the former under free trade, the lat
ter under a protective system. Dur
! ing these 80 years it is matter o
/ common knowledge that German
o has forged ahead relatively to Eng
o land, and this not only as regard
+ the employees, but as regards tn
: wage-earners-in short, as regard
d all members of the industrial classes
|. Doubtless, many causes have CON
: bined to produce this result; it is no
?. to be ascribed to the tariff alone
d but, on the other hand, it is eviden
s that it could not have come about
t a protective tariff were even a chic
cause among many other causes @
the high cost of living.
n Baltimore Platform Criticised.
o 1t is also asserted that the trust
e are responsible for the high cost G
y living. | have no question that, a
g regards certain trusts, this is true
IL also have no question that it wi
, continue to be true just as long a
e the country confines itself to actin
as the Baltimore platform demand
le that we act. This demand is, in e.
5, feet, for the states and national gov
p ernment to make the futile attemI
y to exercise 40 sovereign and conflic
n ing authorities in the effort joint
IL to suppress trusts, while at the sam
lie time the national government rC
s. fuses to exercise proper control owe
Us them There will be no diminutio
Is in the cost of trust-made articles S
III long as our government attempts th
impossible task of restoring the film
lock conditions of business 60 veal
ago by trusting only to successio
I'd of lawsuits under the antitrust la
s. "a method which it has been def
Mt nitely shown usually results to tt
If benefit of any big business /concer
a which really ought to be dissolve
it but which cause disturbance an
to distress to multitudes of smaller col
Germs. Trusts which increase produ
ne tion-unless they do it wastefull
wv as in certain forms of mining ar
m umbering-cannot permanently i
er crease the cost of living; it is Il
trusts which limit production,
which, without limiting productio
take advantage of the lack of go
no. ernment control, and eliminate col
f,e petition by combining to control Il
as market, that cause an increase
Co the cost of living. There should