The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-09-09
"PR|cE-F|XNG" AND
ITS PROBABLE EFFECT

10 UUHUu uUl
nfxnnfacsurere Record Thinks Gov
ernmnna PEsoo-F1Iinx "Sera-
~ oue EUonosnio Danger"
111unm ct the national govern
baaut In sum . period - that through
which ~ aes passing b not Justified.
AxaUe n Sx1rsns snerEsncaos> Tho
ueanwentxpsrs Rsoovd would far pre-
Aw 20 ~ Ante to gfve praise 70 e*sry-
Ansoo that the sovsrnrnsnt In doing
bnxAw chan 70 point out any short
sominR On this account we have
UackAknsd from ortttoiztng many OF
4he Shtnsn which sre being done. be-
scAupe 4 II Inevitable that In trying
90 do within = few months the things
which We should have done DURING
tho last three years there must be
mors or less friction These things.
however, can be rectificd. and will.
Swe believe, be Strengthened out as
men In authority get better grasp
Of the situation. The country ~ 70
blame for this condition. because the
country persistently refused TO see the
danger and waited until the crisis
was upon us before attempting to pre-
paro for the great struggle which YVES
3n4wftabiy ahead OF MS from the be-
ginning OF the European war.
We would. therefore, far prefer to
Ae4rt1iy commend the government =
'px1oe-ndng campaign II we could shut
CUR eyea to what we believe Will be a
,emious and possibly disastrous
course upon which the country has
entered unless a change is effected In
time to prevent this. We do not be-
hissc 1t possible. except In few spe-
C1ai cases. for the government to regu-
1aAe all the great industries OF the
country without bringing about con-
sdttaon which will spell disaster to the
prosperity OF the nation, lengthsn the
war by years and add to It's cost hum
dreds OF thousands OF lives and bill
Lions Of dollars.
In these fundamental questions
bearing upon economic interests the
Manufacturers Record has. as other
papers must do, voiced its highest
convictions.
II regards Increased output as in
EniteIy more important than decreased
prices. The nation can be destroyed
by beating prices down. X cannot
possibly be otherwise than helped by
increasing output even beyond the
worlds needs. and thus eventually Sc
curing the lower prices which are
90 important. while at the same time
enormously increasing the output
Referring to coal operations in the
last few years in connection with the
question OF Increased output, a
thoughtful business man OF the south,
thoroughly familiar. with coal tnser-
asts. but not a coal operator. In the
course of letter 10 the Nanufactur-
ers Record SAYS
Since the first Of the year there
has been an enormous Increase In the
cost OF supplies. there has been a
considerable increase In the direct cost
OF labor. and very great decrease in
the efficiency OF labor On the other
hand. there laaa 4keen "a. gradual sss
appearance Of low price contracts and
che installation of high-price con
tracts, and there In no question that
no coal industry has been exceeding
II prosperous. The d-eStablishe ed.
fwSfl-orgAnixed companies have made
sMnormous profits, The average COM
ypMntes have made very large profits,
and al q result OF that a great many
snow concerns have started into bust
snAss ut \ high cost OF construction.
high cost OF organization. and high
y0cst OF and scarcity Of labor. II In very
doubtful whether thin latter class has
1Den profitable. and yet they are of
enormous value In permanently re-
Ix1ucing tho prices OF coal TO a proper
rhasis.
"wfxhout having the detailed infor-
,Auaffon before me. would say that the
sewerage fAtriy-weil managed min ~
khAve found their cost at this time to
sexoeed their normal by probably 40 or
80 pav cent. and the average mine is
mot wotng to b hurt by n cost OF 81
= ton. particularly when many of
knem hAwe contracts for q conaider-
;Ahle- position OF THAR output At 50 or
:mme.
Z Gm not so cnrtAan. however. that
/. "a. peSe1cularfy in view Of e high
roc9t Of production and the uncertainty
- To what the government In going to
lido in the future, win result In that
s1sver1sh activity to develop new mines
IN . hurry which Is now necessary In
tnrdsr that the supply may overtake
kfhe Demand. In my mind. an enor-
NOUS increase in the supply, with the
ultimate permanent reduction in the
f0elnng price, Ia OF far more import
,nnoA 60 the country Mt the present
sffme than the mere question OF the
yprtce 1t which coal may neminHliy he
produced. Who has got any 81 coal
for sale? If a man tries to buy 1t he
will and that II is all contracted for
ut much higher prices but the man
stake his credit and hts fortune in
opening a coal mine because of the
apparently enormous profits dangling
before his eyes will be very slow TO
start II the government holds down
his price to So
Prof. VIM. Estabrook Chancellor,
head OF department OF economies.
politics and sociology. Wooster college.
in Financial America. discussing from
the standpoint OF economics the whole
price-hxing scheme OF the government
and showing some OF It's dangers and
the impossfbility, from his standpoint.
OF its working out satisfactorily and 10
the advantage OF the country. says:
do sane men anticipate that gov
eminent can determine the value OF
a dollar l'ntil government can do
this, every time it undertakes to fix
prices 1t will set producer against
consumer, seller against buyer In en-
Wy. fear. hate. The free market gets
rid OF all this. We accept bargaining
in liberty as final!ty. Men do not hate
natural laws or national phenomena.
The free market is natural economic
weather ] would no more quarrel
with the prices Of a free market than
would with the breezes of tho free