Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-08
There Is a Universal Kick.

| From the Boston Herald
A brakeman the other night told me
the story of his life and aspirations.
He had inherited a Massachusetts
farm, which he thought worth $4,000,
and for the rural delights of whlchne
sincerely longed. He was going TO TIL
these ancestral acres as soon as he
had something ahead, but he hesi-
tated to make the plunge because, as
ne declared. There is no money in
farming" And he laid the blame for
this condition on the railroads and
the middlemen.
The railroad which would carry the
products of his farm is not today
earning q dividend, being confronted
with a more serious financial problem
| in making ends meet than that~which
affiicts most of its patrons. Ana the
middlemen and retailers are not wear
| ing diamonds. If their system of dis
| tribution is more expensive than 1t
| should be they say they perform it
only in response to the demands of
their customers in this competitive
| era.
Now If the farmer is dissatisfied
| and the agency that carries his goods
| is on the reefs, and the retailers, in
free and open competition make no al
| Turing profits, and the customers are
pillaged as never before, what Is the
matter? Who is doing it? Wherein
lies the remedy? of the farmer
| should suddenly get more for his
product this would mean another
twist on the screw of high prices to
the consumers. If they are to secure
any relief or remission from their
present burden it would inevitably
bring encouragement to the farmer,
or to the other Intermediates IN the
| tourney of his product from the soil
of Worcester county to the kitchen
cite in Huntington avenue
| In industry after industry SINH
| lar situation exists. A few years ago
an intelligent Boston man one day
proposed that the newspapers should
| undertake o. crusade against the res
taIIrateurs because of the high prices
| that they were charging. He thought
the public would rejoice to see their
halightiness leveled to the dust He
would even welcome legislation es-
| tablishing maximum rates for coffee
| and pie. with Jail sentences for those
| extortioners who dared to venture be-
yond. 1t so happened that at that
time some of the big wholesale gro
| cerv houses had been compelled to
take over several of these very res
| taurants in the hope of working out
of their operation debts long due. An
other restaurant was in the hands of
a receiver. The proprietor of third
had lust committed suicide because
of supposed financial embarrassments
There were signs on all sides to any
one who cared to look, that the bust
ness was not SO profitable as 1t ought
TO be. and yet their patrons were in
incipient revolt. How usual this isl
The milk business is an excellent ex-
ample of the same thing.
The farmers are chronlcally anc
Justly aggrieved at the small returns
of their tireIess industry. The milk
drivers are ready to strike for higher
wages and ought TO get them. The
milk companies tell of the I'M
productiveness C. he business tC
them. And the consumer thinks he
is paying a terrible price for milk
Verify. in the words of the old story
there "ain't no core" to the apple.
VIII Socialism cure this? vii
government ownership of the rail
roads and municipal depots for sup
ply4ng at cost TO the people all foot
products relieve the tension? Or will
cooperative buying solve the diff.
Guilty? VIII old age pensions ant
other progressive legislation cut tn,
| Cnrdiat1 lnot2