The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1916-11-30
REFORM
Movements to Reduce the Cost of Liv-
ing 1naugurated by Eastern
Politicians Last Week.
NOt0riety Seekers Know Nothing of
Present Conditions and Cause
of the High Prices.

The Chicago Packer ventures the
opinion that if competition among the
growers and shippers of produce were
as keen as the competition among
political office-holders, politicians and
reformers who are playing to the
gallery, farm products would be much
lower. New York politicians are COM
peting with each other in visionary re-
form movements to make themselves
solid with their constituents although
they know practically nothing of pres
ent conditions and reasons why farm
ers are getting high prices for pro-
duce. The Packer says:
almost every public official in New
York jumped into the daily papers
this week with a scheme for reducing
the high cost of living. By the end of
the week the race was on and they
were all running neck and neck, each
one telling the people just how he was
going to save them money.
"District Attorney Swami announced
Tuesday that he had issued subpoenas
for eight live poultry jobbers to come
before the grand jury. Pat Foy and
Col. Barry, the price currant men, to-
gether with Sam Werner and several
other large receivers were interviewed
by the assistant district attorney and
he Immediately announced to the pub
lie that indictments would be forth
coming. The district attorney gave
it out that he was after the jobbers
who buy from the large receivers.
These buyers formed buying pool
several months ago and this is the
combination that was dissolved last
week. a.
"Then came Police Commissioner
Woods. He took up two columns in
the daily papers saying that he was
going to take a census of all the
storage butter and eggs.in New York,
the prices paid for them and the
prices they are selling at now.
''Then Commissioner John J. Dillon,
the democratic appointee, being afraid
that several republican officials Of
New York city would get ahead of
him, came out again with his old
WORKOUT proposition to build new ter
minals, have the state sell the goods
and therefore reduce the high cost of
living, and Commissioner John j. said:
If these storage men don't sell stor-
age eggs for what they are, they will
have to stamp each egg
"This of course would add about
one or two cents dozen to the eggs,
the cost Of stamping them.
"Dr. Lucius P. Brown of the city de-
partment Of health, was interviewed
on the proposition also. DR.. Brown
stopped the as is selling on the,
docks here a short time ago. His in
spectors hauled up dozens of fruit and
vegetable receivers and charged them
with selling products that were not
fit for human consumption. A few
spotted beans on top of basket got
a produce dealer a fine of $40. Those
spotted beans could be used just now,
but DR.. Browns campaign during the
summer has kept thousands of pack
ages of good wholesome fruits and
vegetables out Of the city. Many
shippers Of the country will take no
chances on New York.
X = x
"Not one of these reformers has
the remotest idea of the conditions
existing today. They know that
storage eggs went into the coolers last
April at 22c per dozen and they are
selling this week at SIC, but they do
not know that two-t thirds of the eggs
in the coolers todty have changed
hands from five to ten times since
April, each buyer making profit.
Nor do they know that the prices Of
dressed poultry all summer have been
extremely high, turkeys selling up to
40c per pound and that the poultry
shippers Of the country killed heir
poultry to take advantage of the high
prices, which makes the present pro-
duction Of eggs very light.
E'Ther reformers do not know that
Maine and few far western states
were about the only ones in the Union
this year that escaped damage to the
potato crop. Frost that swept New
York state, MICHIGAN and other north
ern states the latter part of Septem-
Der killed the potato vines and stopped
the growth of the potatoes
Mudholes Helped Him Out.
Been wet season in your section,
hasn't it,"
! "Yep. Hurt my crops, too"
"Will you lose much money!"
t'No; I'll break about even by haul
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