The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-08-29
Sharp Debate on High Costs.
CONTINUED from page 1.

He replied, II eS. asked MIN,
Can you reduce your working hours to
six hours day and reduce the price
you get for shaving to 10 or Is cents
and increase. your income? If so,
tell me how you are going to do it,"
He said he did not think it was fair
illustration. / said "Sir, you know
more about your own business than
you know about anybody's else bust
ness. How can you shorten your
hours of labor and lower the price
of your product and increase your in
come at the same time?" Oh, gentle
men, it is silly to talk about lowering
the cost of living without first low
ering the cost of production.
Mr.. Reavis. Will the gentleman
yield?
Mr.. Fordney. yield to the gentle
man from Nebraska.
Mr.. Reavis. The high cost of liv-
ing is merely the result of several
contributing causes.
Mr.. Fordney. Many contributing
causes.
Mr.. Reavis. And the only way to
reduce it is to reduce the cause.
Mr.. Fordney. Yes, absolutely.
Mr.. Reavis. One contributing
cause is the cost of production.
Mr.. Fordney. Yes.
Mr.. Reayis. We understand from
the press that the President is con-
sidering the raising of the wages of
railroad labor to reduce the high cost
of living. Do you know how you can
decrease the result by increasing the
cause which produces that result?
Mr.. Fordney. said few mo-
ments ago that any man who advo-
Gated such thing was demagogue,
and / have nothing to take back on
that subject?
Mr.. Fitzgerald. Will the gentle
man yield? 'f''e
Mr.. Fordney. / yield to the gentle
man from Massachusetts.
Mr.. Fitzgerald. The United Fruit
Co., which has headquarters in Bos-
ton, New York, and other big cities,
according to its own statement, is
making 40 per cent; that is, $40 on
every 500 of capital invested. Its
profits have been so huge in the last
few years, that it has paid off mil
lions of dollars of bonded indebted
ness which would not ordinarily ex-
pire for years. Intact, the other day
that company called in bonds because
its profits were so huge. The COM
pany is now charging from SETS to
$3.50 for bananas that before the war
were sold for from SITS to SO per
hundred. 81 II was a common thing in
the big cities Of the country to find
bananas (which are food as well as
a fruit, selling for from Is to 20
cents dozen, and now they are 40 to
SO cents e dozen. This company
TINES THREE - :,
practically ntrols-this-pa particular
trade, and l want to ask the gentle
man, in all fairness, if he does not
think that 40 per cent profit in these
times is an unconscionable profit?
n Mr.. .F0rdney. Let me say to the
gentleman from Massachusetts, that
unders existing law the administration
has power under war legislation to
regulate those things. .
Mr.. Fitzgerald. I hope that is so.
Mr.. Fordney. We passed these
laws and they remain upon our sta
tute books until we receive notice
from the President that peace has
been declared between our Govern
ment and the Government of Ger
many. No such notice has been given
by our President. Therefore this
power rests in the administration
What is the Department of Justice
doing to correct the very thing that
the gentleman is complaining about?
The power rests there. 1t is not nee
essary for Congress to go any furth-
er than it has gone in the way of
giving the Government greater pow
er, because we have given them all
the power they need, all that We can
give them. Why are they not cor
recting these injustices now?
Mr.. Fitzgerald. Mr.. Speaker, just
wanted to bring out the point that
the gentleman was developing here,
eioe 1hOlC dlC SOile DlR llJeTeSCS III
the country today-and name the
United Fruit Co. as one-that are get
ting unconscionable profits from the
people. If the Department of Justice
has the power and has not exercised
it, then the responsibility rests with
that department; it does not make any
difference what administration it is.
Mr.. Fordney. If they have not the
power under existing laws, which are
war measures, they should come to
Congress and ask for that power.
Mr.. Fitzgerald. / agree to that.
Mr.. Fordney. Because under such
if that corporation or
any other great corporation or set
of individuals in the country is ex-
acting too much profit from the peo-
pie, that condition ought to be cor
rected, and the power rests in the ad
ministration, or it can be given by
the Congress of the United States, If
asked for.