The Washington times., 1919-06-28
Industrial Leaders See
No Early Price Decline;
Urge Construction NOw

labor. Also that labor, in the broad
est sense. constitutes over as per
cent OF the cost of most products
Of farm, forest, mine, factory, and
laboratory.
The manufacturer, employer, or
individual who is selling his own la
Dor, brains or product at a high
though reasonable price should not
expect to buy cheaply from others
Let us be careful, in our cry for lower
prices, not to forget that permanent
Improvement Of living conditions is
effected only by increased efficiency
of the forces of production. And ex-
perience shows such increase of ef-
ficiency is at best a slow process, a
process of years and perhaps dec
AIDES"
A. Barton Hepburn, president of
the Chase National Bank, New York,
writes:
Should Fight Reduction.
AS long as the minimum price Of
wheat is fixed by the Government at
$2.25 bushel and other necessities of
the wage Garner are approximately as
high in proportion, there is every rea-
son why labor should contend against
reduction. With a recession in the
cost Of living there should be a cor
responding reduction in the cost of
labor. The employers of labor can
not go on paying present wages, nor,
indeed, any wages, unless their bust
ness continues, and ii has seemed to
me that the closing Of certain indus
tries would throw labor out of en-
pIoyment. In seeking new employ
ment they would accept the reduc-
81 ~
Industry could afford to pay.
Il understand that this is why you
are contending against, and you seek
to induce manufacturers, wholesal-
ers, retailers, and consumers to ac-
cept the present prices for goods and
commodities and continue business,
thereby insuring the employment of
labor at the present level of wages.
You very likely will be successful as
to the large industries, but think
there will be more or less readJust-
ment of the wage scale on Lowell
level in the small industries and in
various localities"
Cause For Rejoicing.
Jacob H. Schiff, the New York
banker, says, in part:
For four years the orderly produc-
ton and maintenance of peace-time
activity has been most violently in
terrupted throughout the civilized
world. causing on the one hand a
heavy depreciation of property and on
the other hand an appalling destruc-
aion Of all those things which are
vital to human happiness, life, and ac-
tivity. The reconstruction is going
to tax our efforts perhaps even harder
than did the war, the latent demand
for labor and commodities being ire
mendous.
There is cause for rejoicing in
these conditions, for intense activity,
even though accompanied by high
prices, is far to be preferred to the
blight of inactivity, stagnation, idle
ness, and suffering attendant upon
unsound, unbalanced production, and
rapidly falling prices.
After all, it is not question so
much Of what price each Of us has to
pay for what we want, but as to what
relation this price bears to our own
income. Those millions OF men and
women whose incomes have grown
apace with or ahead Of the general
price advance have abundant cause
for satisfaction. Yet how often do
we not hear these same people unwit-
tingly complain of high prices, their
attitude being that high prices Is a
privilege InaI belongs 10 themselves
only, in the selling of their own labor
or wares. but has no place in their
scheme Of buying"
Law of supply and Demand.
Thomas Coleman du Pont writes:
THE thing that is going to make
labor and material go down, with
few exceptions or little local varia-
tions, is the law of supply and de-
mand So long as there is a demand
for an article, its price will be high.
The greater the demand the higher
the price, and if the cost Of this arti-
Gle is mostly labor the price Of labor
will continue high on that article, and
so on down the list. We are going
through a transition period, which
has followed and will follow every
disturbance.
"WiIl wages be higher when things