Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-08-14
STUDY HIGH PRICES
PARTY THAT CAN DEVISE PLAN
TO REDUCE THEM WILL WIN
IN NEXT ELECTION.
so BELIEVE THE LEADERS
Democrats Say Reduced Tariff VIII
Solve Problem, Republicans Assert
This viii Lower Wages Also-Pro-
~oressives Have Other Ideas.
Rx eEoRGE CLINTON.

BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Was-hington-Washington aders OF
the three parties, Republican, Demo
cratic and Progressive, a that the
party which can present the best plan
to bring down the high cost OF living
will be the party to be assured OF VIC
tory the next time there is a chance
for the people to vote on national IS
sues. The leaders add that while the
parties and the people are talking
| about the tariff, the trust, currency
bSttleships and other things Of Inn
~portaace, they = thinking mainly Oh
the price of beef, butter, eggs. clothes
and machinery.
In a measure the Democrats seem
&c believe that the high cost OF living
can be reduced by reducing the tarlH.
Now lust as naturally as rain falls out
of an overburdened cloud, the Repub-
! Iicans answer that IL the customs are
cut prices viii so down, but wages
will go down with them and that men
with less money will be no better on
with low prices that they were with
more money and high prices. The
~ProgressiVes say that there is a way
to solve the high cost Of living n
| that 1t Is not to be found through the
tariff. The duties, they say, should be
cut to a considerable degree, but not
as much as the Democrats desire, n
that this cut with other things yet to
be definitely determined will reduce
the cost of living without reducing the
rate of wages.
All Studying the Problem.
The high cost of living is to be In
vestigAted by a non-partisan body, but
whether 1t viii reach any conclusions
of value of course remains to be seen.
The Democrats are going to study high
prices in connection with legislation
affecting the trusts, the tariff and the
currency. They say that the trusts
keep up the high cost of living and
that the tariff is the mother of the
trusts, and so they hope through trust
legislation and tariff legislation to. ac-
complish the thing which seemingly
all people want to be accomplished.
The Progressive party, as has been
noted before in these dispatches, has
established a working bureau for the
purpose of studying the problem OF
the high prices for food, raiment and
rent. There are a good many men
and women connected with the Pro
gressive party who are at once econ
omists and social service workers.
These men and women have studied
the economic problems in the hope
that they might find some means OF
relieving the condition of the poor in
the ~congested districts of the big
cities where wages are comparatively
small, families are large and prices
are big.
Some Of the Republicans say that
the Progressives can go ahead along
these lines Of investigation II they
choose to, but they viii find hat the
lines will lead into the realm OF sup
ply and demand and natural auses
generally. It In only o few of the
Republicans who say this as o final an
swer. There are leaders In the
party in Washington who maintain
that the high cost of living In the real
big problem Of the day and that the
Republican party can. get back into
power IL it shall present O plan which
seems adequate to its solving. For
this reason Republican economists are
to study economic conditions and to
present them to the congressional
leaders some time In the future, but
in plenty of time to make them avail
able In the congressional campaign
n ear from next fall.
Reunion of Parties involved.
Republicans and ~Progressives are
still discussing the matter of the pos
sible coming together again into one
united party. There is no seeming
possibility at present that this can be
accomplished, and the leaders of both
sides apparently are of the opinion
that some time must elapse before
overtures can be made from either
one side or the other with a view to
securing harmony and reunion. There
Is some sort of a suggestion, however,
from both Republicans and Progress
siVes that there Is a possibility Of re-
union which may be forced by the
rank and file of the members of the
old party and the new party, in case
the OGAOCIdLNC party Sua1l Ia1
through the tariff, trust and currency
legislation to do anything to bring
down high prices without bringing
down wages also. There seems to be
a feeling among the Progressive and
the Republican leaders that with a
continuance of high prices a majority
OF the people of the north, south, east
and west would get together in a par
ty, call it Republican, Progressive or
Radical, and would attempt through
1t TO put some antfhigh cost Of living
program into legislation form.
The Democratic leaders say that
Sheir method of dealing with big com.
binations of business, the tariff and
other things will readjust economics
and keep wages virtually as they are
and put the cost Of living on a rea-
sonable basis. There is q wide diff