The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-08-23

of copper, for example, costs will range
from 10 to rs cents. The system of
taxing excess profits is an automatic
equalizer that takes care of such diff
| ferences.
| (The reader will note that We say
nothing about 5 or cents costs for
copper. We do not believe there is
any such thing. the official reports of
everal companies to the contrary,
Notwithstanding. Such figures are but
partial costs, useful for comparative
purposes SO long as other producers
figure in approximately the same way,
,but they are not true costs. The read
err will recollect that we have express
sed these views for many years back
1t does not matter particularly what
negotiations are consummated between
the government and the producers
The government may make an arbiS@
trarily low price for itself, and the
producers may consent to it. The re-
suit would be that the profits of the
producers would be diminished, and
therefore they would pay less taxes to
the government; or else the supply of
the commodity having been diminished
by the governments subtraction, other
users would have to pay more. In
either case there would be no great
difference to the government nor to
the producers.
1t was not that which gave the
shock to the markets and the indus
tries, but it was the vague ukase that
the prices Of commodities to every
body must be reduced. This was like
threat to throw a crow'bar into the
machinery, If the economics of the
great war has shown one thing more
clearly than another, 1t has been the
innate stubborness and. selnshness OF
labor. The labor leaders said that
prices for copper and iron, coal, ETC.,
might he reduced, but they were not
going to stand for any reduction in
wages, There was. too, some reason
In their talk. inasmuch as there was |
no prospect of the cost of living be- |
ing reduced On the contrary, con-
gress at this very time was inserting
IN the food bill provision of 50 as
the minimum price of wheat, although |.
previous to the war dollar wheat was
The acme of agraran hopes
Washington is now beginning to see
he inconsistency of shuddering over
70 cents for copper and being en-
81 for wheat. 1t be-
Ems to see, moreover, how tampering
With the machinery is having bad re-
'ults, such as the fomenting of labor
roubles, which was one of the things {
nat business men warned about in the {
arly days of the price controversy. I
washington is, perhaps, finally coming :
see. also. that business men are +
atriots, not hogs, and anxious to +
erve their country. Probably 1t is L
eing perceived, moreover that this =
'ar should be fought with a spirit of +
omestic optimism, rather than pes +
lmism. We look, therefore, for a y
hange In the attitude of Washington a
nd the passage into oblivion of the G
st-of-production theory and many u
theirs. u
The prices for commodities are going n
be governed by the law of supply H
nd demand. simply for the reason In
lat nothing else will work The gov ~ :,
'nment will probably so organize it. Jo
III that it will be able to buy inteln- Jo
'ntiy and without disturbance of the 20
arKets' This last thing is really the X
'al toward which it is laboring, al K,
ough 1t has so far failed to appre- ~
ate It. II
Ii