The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1917-08-18
DOUBLE BREAD PRICES.

This glorious old country of
ours has muddled itself into the
wild war of Europe. Now that
the country is in, the people must
see it through. To many, the task
is entirely too much like taking
quinine without capsules.
Whether in rightly or wrongly,
there is neither time nor excuse
to argue. Conditions, not theo-
ries, confront the people.
While the administration ap-
parently desires common justice,
and a fair distribution of burdens,
the government ever is slower, if
not weaker, than the Big Inter-
ests, the Fat Boys, the Food Hogs,
the Moneyed Aristocrats and all
the ether Undesirable Elements in
the eyes of real Democracy.
The common people will soon
find out, if they do not already
know, that they must furnish the
men, the blood, the Drawn and
much of the brains to win this
war. Glory, vacant chairs and
fond memories of those killed on
the field of battle are about all
the rest Of lthem will get out Of
it.
This being the case, every posi-
bic fort should be made to crimp
those who strive for big war prof
it's. The Civil war sprouted the
crop Of Big Interests that so
heavily control the wealth of the
country today. Let those who
benefit the most materially, fur
nish the money to carry on this
war.
Golfers, in the issue of August
II, has an interesting and instruc-
tive article by Harris Dickson en-
titled: "Save and Serve with
Hoover Mr.. Hoover, at the
head of the Department of Food
Conservation, probably is one man
in ten million. AS Food Admin
istrator he may be expected to
display honesty, energy and high
efficiency. Mr.. Dickson says:
Double Prices for Bread.
"Pickpocket prices and terrific
overcharges will engage Mr.. Hoo
ver's earnest and impolitic atten-
ton. At first he may try moral
suasion-may attempt to argue
with schemers who never owned
an actual food commodity in their
lives, yet are now holding ten
thousand gases Of peas, ten thou
sand tons of rice, squeezing their
profits from the helplessness Of
hunger. Where Mr.. Hoover fails
to convince one Of these patriots
he means to cut him out, eliminate
him, soak him good, lock him up.
"Consider the price of bread:
Last year the farmer sold his
wheat at an average Of $3.50 a
bushel. Wheat bread in the ma
tional capital today sells for be-
tween 10 and IL cents a pound,
which is at the rate of $40 a
barrel for flour.
"The European formula for the
ratio of bread to flour is that t he
price of bread should be the same
as the price Of flour. The baker
gets a 80 per cent swell in the
water, yeast, etc., out of which
80 per cent he is supposed to pay
his expenses and make a profit.
Bread at 10 cents should repre-
sent flour at 500 a barrel, and
$24 flour means nearly 1925 a
bushel for wheat. But the farmer
got only $3.50. Between the
wheat maker and the bread eater
there yawns a mysterious margin
of $2.75-excess baggage Of near
" double the original price Of
wheat. Where did that go? Who
was it that got nearly twice as
much for doing nothing as the
farmer got for raising the wheat?
I don't know his name, and I'm
afraid the gentleman will never
speak up. The truly modest al
ways shun publicity.
fAllowing for legitimate trade
profits, wheat at $3.50 should have
meant bread at less than 5 cents
a pound. Under the European
formula it would have meant f.
cent bread. Costs are somewhat
higher in this country, and we
cannot strictly apply the Euro
pean computation. For the past
two months our bread has been
100 per cent higher than it would
have been if the trades were I'M
der reasonable control, eliminat-
ing speculation and the unholy
rake-off Of middlemen.
Where the Lash is Needed.