The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-09-21
THE CRIME OF pRoF1TEERMG.


BY Hamlin Garland of The vigilantes.
To my mind, one of the noblest phases
of this war is the outburst of generous
giving on the part of the great mer-
chants and manufacturers of America 1t
would be an injustice not to admit this.
The impulse which leads man to
forego a salary of seventy five thous
and dollars per annum or to neglect an
enormous business for position on the
government roll at one dollar per year
is magnificent. / for one am not dis
posed to cavil or criticize by saying: 1T
is easy to give up salary of that size
because 1t argues a wealth which is suf-
fcient without it, | am willing to
grant the fine spirit which leads men
like Baruch, Rosenwald, Crane and
House to give of their time and money
and genius to the cause for which we are
fighting. My only care is to see that
give in the same proportion and in
the same mood.
Without doubt there Is less of con
scienceless profiteering in this war than
in either the Civil war or the Spanish
war, but having granted this, we are
still confronted with the fact that there
are in America to-day a great many
men seeking ways to levy tribute on
those who are unable to elude their de-
mands.
The shopkeeper no less than the man
ufaeturer, the pork packer as well as the
cotton grower, are in this attack on the
pockets of the consumer. The process
in the case of manufactured articles Is
simple Take, for convenient example,
shoes. 1t is true that hides are some
what higher, that labor is costlier, but
as matter of fact a few cents will
pay for the difference in the cost Of the
shoes on which the retailer now asks a
profit of four dollars. He has doubled
the price, not because he must but be-
cause he can. This is a crime and should
be punished as SUCH
No one will object e fair profit on
the part of the manu- urer and the
dealer, but to this remoyst less profteer-
ing the government must put a stop. 1t
is taking an unfair advantage of pur-
chasers who are helpless to protector
whose individual protests carry no
weight
The profteering principle extends to
the smallest artiele--a lead pencil, for
another instance Pencils have gone
from five to ten cents not because the
extra lead costs a fraction of cent
more, but because to ra:se the price
from five cents to ii dime is the dealers
notion OF proper war profit.
There i some excuse for a salaried !
man or wage Garner Woo demands an |
increase in pay, for the lcaping cost of |
living is forcing such demands, but there |
IS no valid excuse for the man who |
merely seeks to increase his profits. 1t is !
a crime against the helpless when deal |
ers and manufacturers deliberately con |
spire against the families of the sol. |
diers who have gone away to fight |
against a military depotism Their fam
lies must be protected against the prof |
iteer at home
Much can be done by the government |
by laws rigidly enforced, but still more
can be done by a system of ostracism,
Of social condemnation We can add to |
the rising spirit of generous forbearance
by recognizing ii wherever we and il. |
and we can make profteering odious as
we'll as against the law, by openly con
demning those who practice Il.
To me there is something peculiarly
repulsiye in the greedy spirit of the prof
iteer | can excuse the German spy for
it is conceivable that he is working un-
der orders like a soldier, | can forgive
the enemy alien for after all his heart
Is German or Austrian, but for the man
who takes advantage of his fellow citi-
yens in time of war have deep hatred.
He is to me traitor to all that ia fine
and generous in American manhood, an
enemy citizen doing the work of the
kaiser quite as effectively as though he
carried gun, His action is a crime. and
should be so treated by society and by
the department of justice.
These are times when bravery and
generosity are in the ascendant. As the
war goes on the need Of these great vir-
tues will increase, but also and alas! the
for profteering will aug.
ment and unless some check is placed
upon it we will all feel the pinch of the
profteering greedy claw. We must back
up the government in its work, but we
should also characterize clearly and
strongly our hatred of the robber no
matter where he may be found.