Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-02-14

Hope diamond. 81 ss,5
n The cost per plate at the Mclean
dinner was 1900 One item III the
expense was 900 yellow lilies Inn
ported from abroad at a cost OF 81
each.
One OF the highest paid mill work
eB at Lawrence would have to- work
"a years to receive the,cost OF that
banquet. The earning Of q dozen
Lawrence workers for half century
would not have purchased the gems
worn by Mrs. Mclean. IA Lawrence
worker would have to labor 20
years 80 pay, for the yellow lilies.
alone. ss !. 5$5
The strike OF the men, women and.
children at Lawrence. and the 500
plate dinner IN Was hington, IS a
striking example OF conditions ex-
sitting under our system o6 excess
sive protection in the year Of our
Lord 1912. Neither the Lawrence
strike nor the ss5. 900 Mclean din.
ner are exceptions. They are but
samples Of many: similar illustra-
lions which could be- cited " space
permitted "a Only recently, VIM. N.
Wood; the head Of the WOODEN trust,
whose employees are now ON strike at
Lawrence. was arrested for knocking
down and running over q pedestrian
with his automobile When arraign-.
e. In court he. was asked how many
automobiles he owned, ard he REL
piled he didn't know Imagine man
50 rich he doesn't knew .hcw many
autos, he has on hand
Fortunes which make 1t possible
for one woman to wear a half a mil
Non dollars worth OF diamonds at
one time, and which enable, a man to
possess 80 many automobiles he can
not keep track Of them, necessarily
come through the power to place a
price on the things which the COM
aon people must have in order to
live. as.l .5.s, ii, 4 1. Ell ,5 II
It is significant, in this connec-
ton, that the tariff, the cost OF liv-
ing, $500 a plate dinners-e everything
but the, working mans wages-have
increased hand In hand; revealing
the intimate relationship OF one to
the other.
Two thirds OF the popula tion Of
England is urban; two thirds OF the
American population is rural. In
England the problem that is cen-
stantly before the statesmen is that
It feeding the population when the
land they live in does not produce
enough for them to eat. In this
country the food supply far exceeds
the; consumption. There. is every
reason why prices, especially Of fooe
should be high in England, and
cheap in America, We. the reverse is
true.
These facts are set forth. with
many others in an article in th eFeb-
ruary number Of The Word Today.
With reference to prices here and
In England, the article says:
I'm the case Of certain staple arti-
cles Of diet the discrepancy is par
ticu1arly striking. A quantity (by
weight) of bread that can be bought
n london for 10 cents costs %
tents in New York, an advance OF
100 per cent. Seven pounds Of pota-
oes cost s 3-4 cents in London; in
New York an average OF 10 "a cents,
IN advance Of 5250 per cent. The
bread that ia used DIN London is made
argely from wheat shipped from the
Dakota prairies. Potatoes often rot
n. the ground within few hours
laul OF New York because OF the
ack of market, In view of which
acts the greater cost of these arti-
les in this country becomes a mat
er OF surprise.
1T costs q British family about ,
277 year to live decently. This
stimate is made by the Secretary OF {
he London Board OF Trade, who dis
overed that the English ramily re-
Giving this amount lives on about s
he same standard as the American
amily receiving 5000 year /,
The first answer Of the republican I
tand patters i'm Congress to this
ondition is that, while prices are
igher here, wages also are higher, :
nd that where the American has to
ay more, he has more with which
0 pay. {
The mill workers at Lawrence, who :
re typical of mill workers through =
ut the eastern part Of this country, c
ay the average wage in the mills
, from S. to So per week. This is ;
Or full time. In most of these t
hills the workers do not work full :
[me, so that, at the end Of the 4
ear. they have earned only a little
lore than the English workman.