Ellsworth American., 1917-04-11

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Destroying and censurnins-Annual
Provsndsr Bill Away Up
Economists predicted In Washington
. new era of high prices for foodstufrs
In the United States. Prices will reach
the most extreme point In the history
Of the United States. says q dispatch
to the New York World
The prediction was based on two
main considerations. First, the fact
that some 100000 men usually In
productive employments, 4 large per
centage OF them In agricultural pur-
suits, are now engaged exclusively In
destroysns and consuming, and. sec
ond. that the principal crops Of the
world are short, added to which is the
fact that the United States alone of
all countries has all that 1t needs for
itself and 4 surplus to ship abroad.
The demand for American farm prod
uce, 1t was asserted, win increase, and
while SPECTATORS win exercise some
influence upon the rise In prices this
influence will be inconsiderable In COM
parison to the requirements OF the bel
ligerent nations and OF neutral Europe
for whatever foodstuffs they can OBJ
tain In the United States, which will
multiply the price Of many articles.
Jump From Ssse.so 10 e4zs.s4.
The annual food bill Of the average
family has grown from <3393O In 1918
to $425.A at present. the department
Of labor announced in q review Of food
prices.
In ten years. the departments ex-
perts estimate, the advance In the cost
OF food has so far outstripped wage
increases that the workman who drew
s. day In 1907 now finds himself
just 90 cents day worse o6.
The heaviest increase In food prices
during the last four years II shown
IN potatoes. the cost Of which has risen
for each family from $1S96 to $44.69.
Other large increases are In eggs, from
$33.01 to &43.O7: -four. $15.12 to S25. 40:
butter. $45.72 to &S4Is. OF the whole
list Of foods only sirloin and round
steak are cheaper than i've years ago.
In the period from Jan. Is to Feb l5
food prices took per cent jump.
Onions led with a II per cent increase.
Potatoes went up 30 per cent Eggs
alone decreased in price.
Ten Then and Seven Now.
It is estimated that II dollars
worth OF food bought In 1907 weighed
ten pounds II won,d weigh today 4
trifle more than seven pounds.
Despite the average increase Of 10
per cent In wages an hour In the last
ten years." says the departments state
ment land despite cut In hours
worked OF per cent. the rising cost Of
food has operated to reduce the pay Of
the American workingman about 16
per cent expressed In terms Of food his
dollar win buy.
But war losses got into the equa-
ton In 1915 and pushed up food prices
faster than wages There were some
crop shortages also, which contributed
their share. Besides this. however.
there Is reason to fear that oeaer ele-
ments are conspiring to raise prices.
.'Cold storage. rebilling. reshipping
and Withholding OF commodities from
market are suspected to contribute to
the present abnormal rise In the prices
of food. Whether some persons have
| conspired to engross the markets the
| department of labor cannot state. But
the reports Of the bureau of labor sta
| tistics seem to lend some color to such
| an opinion, viewed In the light Of con
ditions revealed by a comparison oi
| figures through a range Of years"