Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-07-14
be bidding against each other as al an
auction sale as they are today.
All Given a Chance.

be bidding against each other as at an
auction sale as they are today
All GiFen Chance.
Suppose that some one were to
come forward today with an invention
that would effectively sweep the ocean
Of submarines. a machine invaluable
10 as and 20 our allies Would we al
low him 10 TX mis- own prices No one
would think Of pursuing such policy
We would ask what he wished and II
his price was eEOrbitaut we would
take his invention and talk price later.
But we would negotiate first and be
fair with him. The p0licemau's billy
would not fail on mis- head unless ne
resisted
Difficulties in Price Fixing.
One Of the great difficulties in price
fixing either by groups of industries or
by the government is that some indus
tries are SO much better run than
others or have superior natural ad-
vantages- Here are FIVE railroads run
ming between two points. One can live
and make a profit on a dollar a ton
perhaps four can run on that same
figure. But the fifth needs dollar
ana a quarter. We need all the roads
We therefore cannot make q rate Of
q dollar without bankrupung the 6Gth
road Why not make the rate S1.25 and
take from the four railroads as war
profit the extra % cents or a large
part of it2 Or why not make the rate
81 and pay the difference to the fifth
road out of the governments treas
urye Or. why not pool the earnings of
all and give 10 each only fair pToft2
This is q simple illustration of a per
picking problem which runs all
through the economies Of our sltua-
ton.
We need all the steel we can get.
every furnace must be kept hot One
plant can make il cheaper than 9th
ers Shall we pay that plant only its
cost plus a profit and pay the others
on the same basis2 Who will be
forced to take the profit Of the plants
where the cost IS highest2 Shall We
strike an average that VIII give some a
rich profit and others none at all? Or
shall We allow prices to be fixed by
competition and after allowing to each
a good profit take for the war 10 taxes
all the surplus That can be done
Whatever method is followed the
supreme end TO be sought is the slim
ulatIOn OF output. Every railroad car
just as often as possible And every
mine must yield as much Of its de-
post as can be blasted out That
means efficient pushing. enthusiastic
administration and labor These men
must be made to feel that they are do
ing Uncle Sans work, soldiers in
woodrow Wilson's army. battling to
make the world safe for democracy.
They must have c0untenanCe, appreci-
alton, honor and reward. and none of
them sNmped. The man who killed
the goose that laid the golden egg
thought he was genius but the world
holds him 70 be q fool.
Every Situation Met.
so far as the war needs Of the gov
eminent are concerned. the answer to
any criticism lis that whenever tested
the administration has met the sItua-
ton. For instance, Secretary NcAd0o
iOated the unprecedented Liberty loan
with speed and q sc per cent over sub
ser1ptlont Secretary Baker has sent to
Europe our first division in such
way as 10 NEE. the full expectation Of
both our own people and the allies.
Secretary Daniels has his feet OF de-
siroyers moving lin foreign waters
Secretary HoustOns campaign for
greater food production has succeeded
even beyond eEpecLati0n-and SO with
Secretary Rsdfeid's dealings with for
eigu commerce as expert executive
and Secretary WiIs0n's handling OF
the difficulties arising out of the labor
situation. The trials SO far made
have proved that the cabinet and the
council have ben disappointment
only 10 those who did not wish them
wall 30