The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-12-30
Especial to The Journal.)

NopSCidl W lHC ooai
Washington. ID. c., Dec. 29.-Dras-
tic action is to be taken by the gov
eminent to curD profiteering on nee
essaries, now running rampant from
one end of the country to the other,
for the course of the war.
Boots and shoes, clothing, cotton
and wooden goods, farm implements
and long line of essentials, on
which prices have been skyrocketing,
are to be put under governmental
regulation if congress approves meas
ures that are now being prepared for
its consideration.
And there is little chance that
congress will reject the Proposals of
regulation. that are TO be submitted.
If there is any tendency to hesitate
or to put through denatured pro-
gram of price regulation. it is prob
able President Wilson will go before
congress with a special message in
which he will tell the country just
why these measures are necessary.
In his message to congress Dec.
a, the president pointed out the need
for this legislation, but the interest in
his call for a declaration of war on
Austria largely diverted attention
from this recommendation. No pro-
pUSdI Vi OuI NIOit wa
however, so directly affects every
householder in the country, or means
so much to the morale of the work
ers and wage earners of the nation,
who must support the war with their
labor, as this to insure that they will
not have to pay tribute to- unscrupul-
Gus business for the essentials Of
life.
That the president recognizes.
probably better than any other man
in the country, the extent to which
the war" is used as an excuse for
unjustifiable boosting of prices. is in
dicated in his statement to- congress.
"Recent experience he said, "has
convinced me that the congress must
go. further in authorizing the gov
ernp1ent to set limits to prices. The
law sof supply and demand, / am
sorry to say, has been replaced by
the Jaw of unrestrained selfishness.
While we have eliminated profiteer-
ing in several branches of industry,
it still runs impudently rampant in
others"
Take the case of shoes, for in
stance. The government buys shoes
for the army. 1t purchases, in large
quantities, of course, and gets quan-
tity prices. But it also gets good
materials and workmanship.
The government army shoe which
retails to the men at about $3.50 per
pair, will cost you from 50 to S12
if you try to buy it or shoe of
equal value through the regular
trade.
Why?
Middlemen's profits!
The same is true with regard to
rI A .1Chort
age is claimed because of the OUT
fitting of Uncle Sans army. Prices
are shot up.
But the men in Uncle Sans army
had to be clothed, just the same,
when they We're civilians. Indeed.
with the ma jority of them, they pur-
chased more clothing as civilians
than they do as soldiers. The actual
net demand for materials has not
been increased by the outfitting of All
army-only the demand for GER
tain weave and color of the mate
rial
Yet cotton and wooden goods, have
gone up by leaps and bounds, due to
"the war"
Government investigators report
that the greater part of these in
crea seq 'afe due simply to the fact
that "the war" serves as a psyche
logical excuse for profiteering.
There will be tremendous opposi-
ton, of course, to any plan of whole
sale price regulation. 1t means mil
lions, and millions could profitably be
spent by profiteers to head it off. if
it were possible to head it. Also,
.once regulation is adopted, every
possible obstacle will be thrown in
its path to make it ineffective and
troublesome. But in matter where
the welfare of the great mass Of
speople is at stake, the administration
is ready to undertake the tremendous
labor and effort that will be neces-