Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-10-10
Another Ray Of Hope.

Announcement is made Ia Washing
ton that there Is Immediately 90 be
set ia molten federal machinery that
viii control the prices aud direct the
distribution Of at least twenty Of our
essential living commodities. this step
having been determined upon follow
ing the holding Of hundreds az con
ferencea with producers. @Tetailers,
shippers. etc.
The president reIterates his pur-
pose to eliminate proHteering. he is
frank in his expression Of his disap-
pointment Of extensive business iu-
terests in embracing opportunity al
forded by unsettled conditions 10 Un-
fairly gain from the commodities in
which they deal, The president, it is
recalled, previously has criticised this
! sort Of business SO has Nit Hoover.
SO have the various state food admin
istrat0rs but we fail t0 see where
there has been manifested amy aispo-
sition on the part OF the Offenders to
curtaiI their Legitimate margins We
have but to turn to the coal price reg
uIatiOn experiment The producers
finally did knock off a dollar or SO
per ton. but they did SO only when
they saw to persist in refusal would
critics and their operation hv the gov
eminent until the close Of the war.
an undertaking that would have eE-
posed the actual profits thai the 0per-
ators were enjoying. and which likely
would have made it unpleasant for
them in future years when they sought
to enforce high prices
The coal producer was not asked TO
turn phllanthropjzJ He was not ez-
pected to sell his product az G. price
that would be unjust to him Ha was
told TO allow q fair profit But this
did not satisfy him He had made up
his mind that the time to recover for
any losses Of the past was now, when
every other line Of business was hog
ging it to the discomfort OF the con-
sumner and to the embarras sment of
the government in its war UreBara-
lions. The coal operator is entitled
10 no credit for the small price reduc-
tons that have been secured lie gave
nothing that he was net forced TO
surrender
The government has demonstrated
what il can do IN checking prohteer-
ing in the round THAT it had with the
coal operators despite that the pe0-
pie are not satisfied that the prices
obtained are as low as they should
be. The handling Of the 20 commod-
tiles referred TO by the president is
not going To be any easy task The
government Will meet with resistance
and deception on the part of the pow
erfuI combinations whose margins viii
be affected by the presidents project
conceived in rbe hope of aHOrdiug
some relief to the American home
Yet il would seem that the president
is by now. after the months of iuves-
1igating that nave been carried on
fortified with all of the facts he will
require in uncomDr0misiugly enLoFc-
ing his program He knows just
where to strike, or az least he ought
to know lie has been advised of
the methods employed in eornering
foodstuffs and holding them from the
consumer until d certain price may
be had He knows that resp0nsi bility
for high prices Of living necessities
rests on the shoulders OF those who
interfere with the flow between the
producer and the consumer each one
of whom must get his bit. She total
10 he charged to the final purchaser
The president has frightened the
outlook Of the consumer that, after
all, he is to get some relief from his
government from the pirates who have
been pressing him the past wear or
more. The president can secure re
suits that viii favorably affect every
household in the land. but he viii get
unbending hand The -hoarders viii
tuTp a deaf ear to patriotic appeals
They are doing that now