The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1916-12-08
Rx q. p. BURTON.

Chicago, Dec. 81 have come to
Chicago, ''hog. butcher for the world"
and dealer, too, in vasty manner, In
wheat and corn And oats and all the
0thersfo0ds that 90 to nourish the ma
tion, to find out, II possible, who It
is who is constantly putting more and
yet more high" in the already too
Alpine "high cost Of aiving."
0tuffs Assembled.
! Here, where the stuffs OF life are
SO largely assembled for distribution
throughout the land, 1t seems appar.
ent that, il anywhere, a finger OF dis.
covery may be placed on the sources
responsible for the abnormal cost OF
necessities to the ultimate consumer
you and me and all the rest OF the
1G1 ,OO0,0 900 Americans, who are being
pinched today as never before.
Holds Key.
That the city of Chicago does hold
the Key to this problem Of what Is
making the cost Of living so high
seems evidenced by the fact that it
is here the grain brokers and the
meat packers have been "investigat.
ed time and again (yet the price OF
meat and Of flour were never SO high
before!): and it is here, too, that
Frank Norris gathered material for
THE Pit" his wonderful novel, show
ing up the way board Of trade gam.
blers speculate in wheat, and it is also
here that Upton Sinclair came to get
data for, "The Jungle" his book on
meat packing that stirred this nation
to the deeps. u /,
Gold Faets-
Yet here in Chicago, the distribut.
ing center Of the United States, as
4 matter Of plain. cold fact, there Is
scarcely single bit of ready .to.hRnd
Information regarding this subject >of
the greatest importance to all Of rs.
1 have failed to find, in other words,
any official or unofficial co-ordinated
statistics or "findings' treated con-
structively so that they have been
made to yield, OF even to point to the
reasons. lawful or unlawful, sound or
unsound, for theT continuous and
alarming rise in the curve of living
costs in the United States! ,a
have discovered plenty of isolated
government reports on some certain
mere "phases" Of the general subject;
but absolutely no definite, conscious
tracing Of the processes of producing
any single important article OF food
from start to finish, with each item
of the process Systematically held up
for analysis and inspection so the
flaws, II any, may be publicly exhibit
ed and eliminated.
That is to say, I have found that
there is not in existence today any
up-to-the-minute Informative and au-
thoritative economic treatise on any
such subject. for instance, as meat
from the, manager. to the platter" OF
wheat from the seed to the bun"
although the manner in which bread
and steak are awaiting as never be-
fore in history seems to be the main
topic of interest with everyone-ex-
cept officialdom: -....-
Credits Conference.
My discovery Of this lack Of accu-
rate information has struck me, in
deed, as an amazing lack in repub-
lie responsible for the well-being OF a
hundred million souls, a republic that
50 preciously sees to 1t that you can
mail your letter for a tritling two
cents, but which doesn't care hang
how much you pay for your bread and
your meat-or which apparently won't
care, If its attitude is carried to the
ultimate conclusion, whether finally
you will be able to buy bread or meat
at all or not!
Luckily, however. for us consumers,
find that there is an organization
which has begun to act as sort OF
foster "paternal government" for US
in place of our present apathetic
state. This national organization Is
called "The National Conference on
Marketing and Farm Credits and
has grown out of various cooperative
producing leagues formed in several
states.
So dire does this organization WIS.,
ualize our national needs that they
sent out call for the growers and
marketers of meat cattle, for the pro-
ducers of grains and milk and other
raw foods of primary Importance, to
meet in great conclave in Chicago
this week, that the problems attend.
ant upon the making efficient of these
producing and distributing processes
CONTINUED N PAGE Two,