The sun., 1919-08-07
Cost OF Living Guilt.

Cost OF Living Guilt.
Months ago, In the face Of an in
comparable crop Of coming wheat.
millions of bushels of which will rot
for lack of enough American mouths
to eat 1t, Mr.. Hoover, then head Of
the Grain Administration, declared
that the consumers OF this country
must buy their bread nevertheless at
famine prices
Mr.. Hoover was not content to de-
cree this burden upon the public in a
year Of abundance; he further pro-
claimed that wheat would really be
worth $3.50 bushel. This could only
mean, with wheat held back, that oil
grains would be like gold. Instan-
taneously the price of corn for any
future season or month Of this year
Of 1919 shot skywhrd. So did The
price of pork. So did the price of
other provisions. And ever since that
time the American people have been
paying those prices at the cost in their
living expenses of billions Of dollars.
Day before yesterday. at the mere
prospect of normal wheat conditions
for American consumers, when Mr..
BARNES, the present head Of the Grain
Administration, went into conference
with Mr.. WILSON, the bottom dropped
out of the inflated corn market In
Chicago. The bottom dropped out Of
the inflated pork market The bot.
tom dropped out of the inflated gen.
eral provision market.
Why? Because the grain and pro-
vision markets took it for granted
that when Mr.. BARNES was summoned
to the White House he was going to
receive Instructions from the Chief
Magistrate of the nation to let the
American people have their grain on
reasonable and economic basis
Jumping to that conclusion. they felt
that their inflated market Jig was up
They began to sell grain and provi'
sions prodigiously and wildly. And
down went the prices.
But yesterday morning Mr.. BARNES
announced through the newspapers
that Notwithstanding all the wheat In
hand or in sight the Grain Admins
trntion was not going to give the Amer
lean people their wheat on reason
able and economic basis. Instantane
ously again corn and pork and general
provisions shot back to their high
levels. This is what the American
people owe, and how they owe It, Il
Mr.. WILSON'S Administration.
There isn't any mitigation for this
guilt for the high cost of living II
Mr.. HARNESS statement that he Il
going to have flour distributed at {
reduction Of n dollar n barrel. The
big trouble is not the direct cost o.
dour. 1t never has been. 1t is mo-
the direct consumption of bread.
never has been. The big trouble. thu
crucial trouble, Is corn-corn, which
Mr.. HOOVER drove up months ago. ant
which, when the threat Of a natura
market drove 1t down, Mr.. BARNEs
again drives up. Corn which feed
cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry. Corr
which, therefore, feeds man. Corr
which is mans beef, mutton, poultry
pork, butter, milk, eggs and chess
has doubled and trebled the cost o
living of the American people.
When Mr.. BARNES talks furthe
about holding our price up to tn,
worlds price of wheat he talks tn
language of a Spectator in the Chi
cago wheat pit What has the worlt
price of wheat got to do with thi
American nation. possessed of so mucl
wheat that 1t can neither eat 1t a
home nor sell It abroad? What differ
ence should 1t make to this American
nation If the price of wheat some
where abroad were hundred dollar
q bushel, or If somewhere else abroa'
| it were thousand dollars q bushel
( What possible excuse could that b
for piling on the backs of the Ameri
can people billions of dollars of foo
costs and Of high living costs-pilin
it on their backs when there was N
earthly chance Of our selling all on
surplus wheat anywhere under tn
sun whatever the world price7
Thus Is the responsibility for tn
terrific and dangerous cost of livin
in this land of plenty branded upo
the very brow of Mr.. WILSON'S AZ
ministratlon.