Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-03-20
WIN POTATOES ARE HIGH.

The mun1Clpdl CdlLpoie' A''
forth considerable talk about heasui &c sc
calculated to reduce the hlsh COST y.
living. Potatoes seem to De loreinoes
in the public mind and claim ilat
been made of ability to lower the cose
to dollar bushel. People VINO take
stock in such claims are obvious "
the fact that the potato problem IS
national one and entirely beyond lhe
control of municipal authorizes.
Potatoes are selling at an unusual
nrice because the demand is far great
or than the supply. 1t is a fact, &C
! cori,ing to government statistics, that
only about half normal crop was
grown last year. 1t is matter OF com
mon knowledge that when the supply
If an article is not great enough 10
readily meet the demand, the price
will advance. That is the condition
that rules throughout the entire Unit
ed States. a.
Here in agricultural Iowa the con-
sumers have paid close to four ooilais
bushel for potatoes. Back IN me
east notatoes sold for twice that ng-
IRE and even higher. Prices fiuctuat-
Cd and varied according to freight
rates and local conditions, put no
where could potatoes be bought at
prices that in former years were con-
sidered reasonable.
II is charged by some that speculat-
ors got hold Of fair share OF the SNORT
cron and aggravated the shortage.
That may be true, but there is no eVl-
dence to bear out reports that the re-
tailers or the wholesalers are unduly
nrofiting by reason Of the high prices.
A a matter of fact, retailers OF food
stufYs are finding our present day pros
perity ruinous to them.
The high cost Of potatoes is primar-
ilv. IL not wholly, due to the crop
shortage. The demand makes II pos
sible for those who own potatoes 10
get three or four dollars, or there
;snsSs,,;;ts; Tor bushel OF them. Inc
tprice rises the farther east you go, tne
farther you get away from the centers
Of production.
Potatoes do not grow in grocery
stores. They have to be bought ana
shipped in. The man who does the
buying, whether for grocery store or
for consumer or for whole city, mas
TO nav the price set upon the potatoes
by the man who owns them,
A city which seeks to cut down the
nrice of potatoes cannot compel the
owners to sell for less than they want
IN. and IL It fixes the price by law, the
owners will simply send their potatoes
10 another market where they can get
he price they desire.
Talk about making dealers sell pota.
rs at dollar bushel is the veriest
rot. It ia as ridiculous as trying to
mel men to work for dollar day.
ey will not work for that price and
YOU pass a law fixing that amount as
ages the workers will at once go
.sewhere.
Price fixing is matter of supply and
mand. In this day Of quick COM
unication and rapid transit, price
.oblems are matters Of national
cope. The fluctuations that exist are
generally matters of few cents and
le,ey are due to local conditions. Lo-
,fFh conditions cannot account for, nor
IN local officials control, such sudden
decreases in prices as those which
1,Hye singled out potatoes this winter.
aotThis is not an article seeking to JUS
.ealy the price demanded for potatoes
Frale aim here Is to explain what is the
&dSlS IOT tue liiti edse anu W oho" ths's
&1y man who talks of cutting potatoes
dollar bushel is dealing in pure
Funk.
A A man who could do that in Ottum
Ma need not hide his light under
Eushel here He would be recognized
bigger man that the president OF
We United States. He would have to
Z, miracle worker. The price of po-
toes is not fixed in Ottumwa. nor can
be materially lowered in Ottumwa
ne nation is the market place and the
'nditions that rule for hundred
lies in every direction will rule here