Arizona republican., 1919-09-08
More Careful euyino

Neseveral merchants of Phoenix have reported a tendency toward carefulness of buying the part of their patrons. that they observed before not falling off of trade but discrimination a pur- pose to make the money more purchases by the bayng of cheaper grades of goods had formerly eontented them.
 The same thing has been reported from many other sections of the country and that tendency been slFen the cause for whatever material reduction unatfhas far been brought about of the cost of liyiHg It has not been very marked yet anywhere, bptllt has more noticeable in the large cities and in industrial communities for two reasons A Dne of them is the changed purchases of the peppe and the other is that it is in the markets of sfh communities that the effect the seizures by fedekal state authorities of hoarded food supplies has been more felt. While not much of these con- fscated hoardngs yet been offered for sale the effect of the seizures has been slightly to lower prices
 The main effect, though. has been produced by She public which appears to started on the road toaecoEery from the mania for throwing money away The peoRle who have been crazed by high wages ap- pear to bc coming realize that if one draw f1 $50 or $75 week has nothing left at the end of the week he is in better shape than he was when hszwases were s25 sso a week. He finds that the hier cost of necessities is making sufficient hole in bis higher pay.
 1t is becoming clearly understood that the goyeF1pent cannot do much to help Both the repub- lican congress and the democratic administration are holding out hope of relief by legislation action This hope cannot be realized to more than ony slightly appreciabie extent. There can be no price fixing that will of great benefit to the con sumer Extreme of profiteerng can of course be easily detected and punished; hoarding can be prevented but when all that done prices will be reduced only measuraby.
 The people themselves by no curbing of extra vagance and by exercise of economy can bring about restoration of before prices for there are other causes of high prices which neither the government nor the public can touch But the people by limiting their necessities through the exclusion of fancffuIly priced luxuries which they had come to regard as necessities may hiring about slight lower ing of the level of the cost of living Time will do the rest
 While Phoenix has felt the worldwide pinch of high prices it along with other communities which were not affected by industries has suffered less than any of the industrial sections There has been less of extravagance here. Comparatively few of it's workers have been in receipt of abnormalIy high wages. Outside of the building trades, wages have been increased only about sufficiently to keep pace with the legitimate increase of the cost of living so few of us have been crazed by high wages and have been thereby led into extravaganza
 The most of us accepted the burden mt mo, me by the war made sacrifices and entered into a cam paign of thrift There has been comparatively little of that relaxation and which have been so disastrous to other parts of the country and which have contributed to increased prices since the war. than any other cause