Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-11-25

his cost of living 70 per cent and is
asking him to pay more for his
shoes, his clothing. his building
materials and everything else. II
the general public would reduce
the cost Of living the miner would
be, content. But experiments in
the last few months show how fV-
tile is the effort to reduce the cost
Of living. ~
Profiteering can be checked and
certain limits to profits can thus
be arrived at in certain cOmmodi-
ties, but the government was never
permitted by congress to exercise
any control over the prices Of any
thing but food and fuel, while
clothing, building materials, agri-
cultural implements and other
things that are pointed to by the
farmer and the wholesaler and re-
taller as the reason for increased
prices, are uncontrolled. In the
absence of government control
over economic factors generally,
the opportunity to reduce the cost
Of living remains out Of the hands
Of the government agencies and in
the hands of the laws Of supply
and demand. When production is
brought>,up to demand, prices will
begin to descend.
Demnn1 II HeayY.
But a. for coal, transportation
facilities are limited. decking facil-
tiles are inadequate, foreign coun-
tries are crying for American coal
and can't get it, and the American
consumer lis demanding more than
can be gotten. Normal conditions
are not expected to ensue until the
whole world situation clears Up.
In the meantime, 1t is a game Of
get-as-much-as-you-can. Both op-
orators and miners are trying to
do business at a profit. The re-
Fstraining hand Of the government
is upon them both to keep their de-
mands from imposing too large a
burden on the public. The differ
ence. between the miners who want
81 per cent, the operators who Of
fer 20 per cent and the secretary OF
labor who believes % per cent IL
about right. would not take long
to adjust IL the miners were sure
for instance OF the acceptance by
the operators Of the position TAX
| en- by the secretary Of labor and II
the operators in turn were sure
that DR.. Harry A. Garfield, fuel adj
ministrator, could assure them OF
permission to raise the present
maximum price Of coal which was
set during the war and recently re-
imposed when the coal crisis be-
gan.
It is an effort at present to figure
out how the increases in wages
can be absorbed and a simultane.
GUS effort to keep the increase
Of wages down as low as possible
while operators persuade the gov
eminent of the necessity of being
lalowed to charge more to the con-
sumner.
Like Wheat Situation.
The situation is parallel to that
which confronted the country when
Herbert Hoover fixed the price Of
wheat at $3.50. Some people said
it was too high. the farmers said
it wasn't enough and the effect Of
the stabilized price was variously
discounted. In the end, it was
found that while the costs Of un-
controlled commodities went up
the price of -four remained stable
So 1t was with> sugar. The extra
wages in mining ton Of coal may
seem to some people too much t.
pay but it means II absorbed partly
by the operators and partly by the
public that for the next winter al
least the price of coal will be sta
bilized and the incentive Of the op.
orator to produce it will be sum.
cient to give this country and Eu'
rope the coal so urgently required
to keep industry going and the
hf,usehold warm.