Semi-weekly herald., 1916-12-04

"ouiu uiclhte tHat ltS own people be
guarded against want and misery.
But that the danger of that has as
yet become anything like acute,
there is no evidence. The wheat and
flour supply is the nearest to ques-
tion of emergency. Due as we'll to a
short harvest as to foreign buying,
on top of the locking up of Russian
wheat, the price of bread has mount
ed and may go higher. But it is
doubtful if anything that could be
done now would relieve the string
ency before the next harvest. More
over, the difficult situation is being
met in variety of ways. Many sub
stitutions can be made in the food
used. Beside the needs OF the work
ing classes are getting recognition in
the general increase of wages, al
ready high beyond precedent. No
one can truly say that food-crisis
is actually confronting the country.
1t may come, and it may be neces-
saiy to take measures to meet it, but
it is not at present an exigency re
quiring extreme forms of legislation.
New York Post.
The Embargo
Prices are high. So are profits
and wages. The attempt is being
made to hypnotic people by sugges-
tions of starvation into crying for an
embargo. The situation is one that
should be met calmly, with intelli-
gence most of all with the virtue,
unpracticed by the happy-go-lucky
Americans, of economy. The prob
lens of local scarcity, of imperfect
distribution, whatever is artificial un-
necessary, whatever if anything, of
hoggishness and manipulation can
be inquired into, remedied. But to
make use of rising prices, the inevi-
table accompaniment of prosperity,
to check prosperity, to bite off our
noeses to spite Great Britain's face,
would be a grave economic, as well
as political error.-New York Times.
The Food Embargo Idea
We see small hope of alienation
of domestic conditions in an embar-
go. On the other hand we see deep
and lasting injury likely to flow
from it as from any arbitrary inter
ference with the operation of nat
ural law. First of all there is the
effect upon that foreign commerce
which was to have become ours as
an automatic consequence of the war
Not merely the restriction of inter
change, but the hostility of feeling
engendered must prove fatal to our
hopes. The state department is to
lavish assurances that the embargo
is not retalliatory-altho we hive al
ready retaillatory provisions on our
statute books, as the allies well know
but if 1t be not retalliatory, how
much more wanton, and cruel it will
appear to the people of England
and France. They will simply ask
themselves, "Must we starve in order
that Americans can eat porterhousa,
steak at the price of chuck?" This is, 4
of course, an overstatement of the
actual proposition, but it illustrates
the appearance that our act will have
in European eyes,-New York Sun.
No Wheat Embargo.
There is little probability that
there will be an embargo put upon
wheat.
Bread costs more, and will be even
dearer, and other table necessities
will cost more. But there will be no
embargo.
Farm and Fireside treats the SUBJ
ject well in the following:
"Wheat approaching so, and petit
tions being circulated asking that an
embargo be placed on wheat, forbid
ding any more exports. Copper at
figures mounting well toward 35
cents pound; steel, iron and hum
dred other things are all higher in
proportion to normal conditions than
wheat. But who talks of an embargo
on. them? The farmer has had less
coddling than anybody else in Amer
lean business, a. laundering sight
less; and yet when he gets in sight
of cashing in little of the high
priced prosperity that is being pass
ed around, he is the first one to be
marked for reprisal-by some peo-
pie. Of course there will be no wheat
embargo. Somebody with horse
sense will head that off. But the
spirit of it is calculated to make
farmers think."-Buffalo News.