Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-07-12
GOVERNMENTAL
CONTROL Of
INDUSTRIES

Madison, Wis, July 9.-Digest of
address to be delivered by President
c. R. Van Hise, of the University of
Wisconsin, before the Portland, Ore
gon, Chamber of Commerce, Monday
noon.
st is apparent that the law of sup
ply and demand as a regulator of pric-
es has absolutely broken down in this
crisis. There is no sound reason why
prices for almost all standard articles
should be double what they were
year ago and for many of them ire
bic what they were two years ago.
The demand exceeds the supply by
moderate percentage. but so futile has
been the principle of competition to
control prices, when united with CO.
operation of the producers to control
the market and the cooperation of
manipulators, that prices have scared
toward the sky.
Il do not blame the Individual pro-
Queer for this. | blame instead the
system. 1t is assumed that the pro-
ducers will get all the profits they can.
There has also undoubtedly been CO.
operation for the purpose of controlling
the market.
ut has been proposed that this
should be remedied by the strict en-
forcement of the Sherman Act; and
there have been attempts to accomp-
fish something in this direction. We
have had the Sherman act on the stat
ute books for twenty-five years and
it has proved absolutely futile to pre-
vent cooperation in the enhancement
of prices. At the same time we have
tried to prevent cooperation in indus
try, we have enforced cooperation a.
mong the railroads thru the Inter
state Commerce Commission. One
law to prevent cooperation and ano-
Their to enforce it! Very recently Sec
rotary of the Interior Lane, in an adj
dress at Washington, urged coal OPP
orators all over the country to Coop
crate. Does he know that he is ask
ing them to violate the Sherman Anti
Trust Law, to do the same things that
operators in other lines of business
have been indicted for? The differ
ence is that he is asking them to CO.
operate for the good of the public The
fact is that cooperation is inevitable
under the conditions which exist to-
day.
'FBut if cooperation in business be
allowed, with it must come regulation
Five or six years ago when urged
these ideas they were called heresay
and socialism. The idea of a Federal
Trade Commission was denounced.
Since that time, however, such a COM
mission has been created, altho with
powers inadequate to deal with the
present crisis. This commission now
urges the government to commander
all mines. Personally, | am not in
favor of Communicating; but I do
favor suitable regulation.
eff we are to win the war we can
not expect the people to continue to
suffer the extortion they are being
subjected to now. Already there is
discomfort among wage earners. At
the present time the English workman
pays less for bread made out of Ameri-
can flour than does the American
workman. Besides the control of
prices the government must be allow
ed to dictate priority Of shipment and
manufacture. In England no contract
can be filled without an order from the
Priority Board. In America there has
been frenzy of buying far ahead Of
actual needs. This is one cause of the
enhancement of prices. It can be
overcome to some extent by cam
paign of education, but that is not
sufficient. If Priority Boards of the
sort which | have described can con-
troll distribution this boarding of sup
plies can be overcome.
"At the present time of extraordi-
nary war demands, combinations of
men for the exaction of exorbitant
profits from the sale of the necessities
of life, should be made to realize that
they are not patriotic citizen.
81 believe that we shall never go
back to the situation before the war.
We have come to realize the economy
of buying on a national scale and this
is likely to continue for considerable
period after the war. Even if we do
not keep all the measures we are a.
dopting in war time we shall at least
sort out those which we find to be of
permanent value"
ETO ETEC