Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-08-09

piy on hand at the same time last
 year and yet the wholesale price was 4U cents oozen as agalnst 50 cents
 a year ago. The stock of frozer
 Iowis had increased more than ZJe
 per cent and yet the price had riser
 also, from 34 l-Z cents per pound
 to 5l l-Z cents. The supply of cream
 cry butter had increased l29 per cent
 and the price from Al to 33 cents
 per pouna. The supply of salt beet
 mad been augmented three per cent
 and the price had gone up rom $34 a
 barrel to $36 barrel. Canned corn
 had increased in stock nearly 92 per cent and had renamed substantially
 the same Tn price. Tn few food stuffs the prices had declined, but III nothing like the proportion ln which the suppiy had increased. For ex- ample, the stock of canned tomatoes, haa increased l02 per cent and yet the prlce had declined only 20 cents per dozen cans. In some cases there mad been the usual result of an in- crease ot price following decrease of supply put in almost every ln- stance the increase of price had been dlsapproportlonate to the decrease in stock.
 Prosecution Planned.
 l 'The attorney general has been making a care1ul study of the situa- ton as d WhOle and of the laws rnaU can be applied to better It and IS convinced that, under the stimulatlon and temptation of exceptional clr- cumStances, combinations of pro- ducers ana combinations of traders have been formed for the control of , supplies and of prices winch are clearly in restraint ot trade, and agalnst these prosecutions will be promptly instituted and actively pushed which will in all Likelihood nave prompt corrective effect. There is reason to believe that the prices of leatne-, of coal, of lumber, and of textiles have been materially affected by forms ot concert and CO., operatio namong the producers and marketers of these and other univer- sally necessary commodities which 1t will be possible to redress. No Watchful renergetic effort will be spared to accomplish this necessary ! result.
 "I trust that there will not be many cases in which prosecution will be , necessary. Public action will no doubt cause many who have perhaps unwittingly adopted illegal methods to abandon them promptly and of their own motion.
 Publicity An Aid.
 And, publicity can accomplish a great deal. The purchaser can often l take care of himself if he knows what facts and influences he is deal ing with; and purchasers are not dis inclined to do anything, either singly or collectively, that may be necessary for their lf-protection, the Depart ment of Commerce., the Department of Agriculture, the Department of La- Dor, and the Federal Trade Commits sion can do a great deal toward sup plying the public, systematically and at short intervals, with information ! regarding the actual supply of parti- cular commodities that is in existence and available, with hoarding, and with regard to the methods of price fixing which are being used by dealers in certain food stuffs and other neces- saries. There can be little doubt that retailers are in part-sometimes in large part-responsible for exorbi- tant prices; and it is quite practica- ble for the government, through the agencies ] have mentioned, to supply the public with full information as to the prices at which retailers buy and as to the costs of transportation they pay, in order that it may be known just what margin of profit they are demanding. Opinion and concerted action on the part of purchasers can probably do the rest.
 "That is, these agencies may per- form this indispensable service pro- vided the congress will supply them with the necessary funds to prosecute their inquiries and keep their price lists up to date. Hitherto the appro- priations committees of the house have not always, I fear, seen the full value of these inquiries, and the de- partments and commissions have been very much straitened, for means to render this service. That adeuuate funds be provided by appropriation for this purpose, and provided as promptly as possible, is one of the means of greatly ameliorating the present distressing conditions of live lihood, that have come to urge, in this attempt to. concert with you the best ways to serve the country in this l emergency. It is one of the abso- lutely necessary means, underlying many others, and can be supplied at once. l
 Laws Now Inadequate.
 There are many other ways. Exist | ing law is inadequate. There are many perfectly legimate methods by which the government can exercise re- straint and guidance.
 "Let me urge in the first place, that the present food control act should be extended bot has to the period of the time during which it shall remain in operation and as to the commodities to which it shall ap- ply. Its provisions against hoarding should be made to apply not only to food but also to feadstuffs, to fuel, to clothing, and to many other com which are indisputably neces-