The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-10-06
WILSON RULE. AND
COST OF LIVING
Costs $40 a Year More for
Each Individual
Now.

WASHINGTON, D. c. Oct. s-Under
the Wilson administration and the
Democratic tariff law the cost to the
people Of the United States, for IL
articles Of food alone has increased
in the last four years approximately
one-seventh.
An American family, under the Taft
administration, that spent $500 per
year for these foods, is now paying
for the same articles, under the vii.
son administration, $342 annually.
Figuring five persons to family
this is an increase Of $40 for every
man. woman and child in the United
States. or the stupendious total Of
more than $S00,000,000.
Under the Underwood tariff law
and the Wilson administration the
high cost of living has increased by
laps and bounds.
Since June, 1912. up to June, 1916,
according to the latest available Gov.
eminent statistics there has been an
increase Of IA per cent in most Of the
staple foods.
The Democrats have not kept their
promise, made in the Baltimore plat.
form, to reduce the high cost Of liv.
ing. On the contrary every family
In the United States is paying higher
prices for the principal articles Of
food. IA per cent higher than 1t cos,
them under the Taft administration
and Republican tariff law.
In the Baltimore platform on which
Wilson was elected President is the
following plank:
The high cost Of living Is serious
problem Is every American home.
The Republican party. In its platform.
attempts to escape from responsibility
for present conditions by dening tina,
they are due to protective tariff.
We take issue with them on this sub.
ject, and charge that excessive prices
result In a large measure from the
high tariff laws enacted and main.
tanned by the Republican party and
from such laws, and we assert tina.
no substantial relief can be secured
for the people without import duties
on the necessaries of life are material.
ly reduced and these criminal con.
spiracies broken up"
A IA per cent increase in the cost
of the principal food stuffs is the wa,
the Democrats and the Wilson admin.
istration have kept this pledge to the
people.
| Increases in the cost Of these prin.
cipal articles of food could not have
been affected by the European war
prior to June. 1914. and as food pro-
ducts imported from Canada since
that time have been the largest in our
history 1t is evident to all that tbs
war has had no influence whatever in
causing the cost of living to increase
IA per cent under the Wilson admins
tration.
Democratic claims that food stufrs
on the free list would greatly reduced
their cost is delusion and a sham.
On September goth the Bureau Of
Labor Statistics issued report call.
ed Wholesale Prices in 1915. In
this report It is stated:
Wholesale prices OF commodities
average considerably higher in 1915
than in the preceding year,-Prices
in the cloths and clothing group show
ed a steady advance during the en-.
tire year, the increase from January
to December being more than II per
cent,-Of 346 commodities for which
the Bureau collected wholesale prices
for 1914 and 1915. ia commodities
showed an increase between these
two years-Articles showing an in.
crease Of more than 20 per cent were
hide, rye. wheat wool. The group OF
farm products showed two per cent
increase in the average for 1916 over
that for 1914.