Imperial Valley press., 1912-10-04
FAR ,ii.H HOIS BLAMED
FOR THE LIVING COST

CHICAGO, Oct. 4.-Only by return
where hours Of labor are measured
by the rising and setting of the sun
instead of by the footing of steam
whistles, can men of the present gen
Grafton reduce the cost Of living.
Members of the Hawkeye Fellowship
Club decided this at their weekly
luncheon in the Auditorium Hotel
Laziness, they said, is the principal
reason for the ever soaring prices of
foodStuffS.
1T is the farmer boy. who turns
his back on the 16-hour day of toll
on the farm to enjoy the S-hour day
of the city. who is responsible in a
large measure for the high cost of liv-
ing declared one speaker
I'VE cannot blame him, however
We all are out for the job which pays
us The most money for the least amount
Of work.
Each of the speakers backed his
statements by his personal experience.
All are Chicago business men and for
merly We're farmers in Iowa. They
included themselves among the lazy
farmer boys who had turned to the
city because ii offered more pay 1ol
less work.
Reciprocity with Canada as a detri-
ment to American farmers was laughed
at. Free trade in cattle and other
farm products would not hurt the
American farmer, ii was said, and
would relieve greatly the high cost
of living by replenishing local mar
kets.
Farmers in Iowa never have been
frightened by the reciprocity 'buga-
boo" asserted William s. Tasker.
Politicians have imagined that they
have frightened farmers into line by
their talk of free trade. l can say
| with authority that American farm
ers feel that they would not be affected
a whit by free trade agreement.
| They know that they cannot keep
pace with the demand for farm prod e
| uce. Many would welcome the admis- =
sion Of all Canadian farm goods free
of duty"
Housewives We're arraigned, along
with the farmer boys, as principal con-
| tributors to conditions which keep
| prices up. Their extravaganza and
| tn cir desire to perform their duties
with the least possible exertion have
added dollars to the monthly grocery
| BILL he said.
! Tasker spoke on the passing of the
days when housewives made personal
| pilgrimages to the markets, selected
their purchases and made their own
deliveries. d
Now the housewife goes to the tele-
phone to order her groceries," he de-
| clared. "The phone call costs a nick el.
| She orders half dozen eggs to be
delivered within half an hour. The
| grocer must keep an expensive de-
livery equipment to meet such de-
mands. The cost of his motor delivery
wagon and the gasoline and oil to
run it, the salaries of his clerks and
delivery boys-all are added to the
price of the six eggs"
Mr.. Tasker, who is a stock salesman.
presented an array of figures showing
startling decreases in the number of
beef cattle produced this year in COM
parison with former years. He de-
clared that there have been zoo, 900 less
steers received at local markets dur
ing this year than there were last
year. The decrease in weight in those
that have been received amounts to
N
ing total decrease Of about 1,4OO, 900
head.
In response to questions he declared
That the farmer is the principal bene-
liciary while prices soar upward
"The farmer is getting the profit"
he said. "Otherwise he would not be
able to buy land at $3.50 an acre. He
is entitled to that profit. He works
hard for it,"
rs there a combination among pack
ers for keeping up the retail prices
of meat?" he was asked
AT their recent trial the packers
were little more lucky than was
Senator Lorimer at his hearing" he
answered. There was no question Of
the packers guilt; it was simply a
lack of evidence which saved them
Undoubtedly there have been attempts
to regulate prices of dressed meats and
attempts to apportion selling terri
tory"