The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1919-08-16
REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
~ EDWARD W. PIckARD.

nv EDWARD w. PIckARp.
The open season for profteers a
come. II there Is q bright spot In tne
worlds sky, that Is It. For the rest
the clouds are black enough to suit
the most confirmed pessimist.
Government oficials, investigating
bodies. individual economistsEall have
been earnestly seeking for h prime
causes of the high cost Of living. The
cold-blooded, greedy proiteer who a
tens on the misfortunes OF the people
n the most easily discerned OF those
causes and Is going to be the hrst to
be dealt with All the sympathy ne
gets must come from himself.
President Wilson appeared before
congress Friday and delivered a schol-
ariy essay on the subject. which In
hsuded various recommendations for
legislative action. and told what the
government already IL doing ! the
way Of curbing the operations Of the
profteers. He urged the permanent
extension of the food control act. a
law regulating cold storage, a law re
curing that all goods entering inter
state shipment be marked with the
producers price. prompt enactment OF
the pending capital issues bin. and.
what seems to the writer most impor-
liant of all. the passage OF a law re
curing federal licensing Of all corpor-
atoms engaged in interstate commerce.
The president did not overlook the
opportunity to push the Immediate
ratification Of the peace treaty and
league covenant. He devoted much OF
his message to assertions, in varied
form, that until peace Is established
only provisional and makeshift results
can be accomplished in the way OF re
ducing living costs. There can be no
settled conditions anywhere in the
world. he declared, until the treaty Is
out Of the way. Such views did not meet
with the approval of most of the Re
publican congressman. and their indig-
nation was aroused by the fact that
the president used the domestic issue
az a weapon In the contest over b
League of Nations.
Most prominent of the alleged proft-
eers are the Chicago packers, the big
ave" who are reputed to control much
Of the worlds food supplies. Some
time ago they were Investigated by the
federal trade commission and that body
r-.l~ -n-1k that Uvao hfttorIu af.
tackled by the defenders Of the pack
ers. Now with that report as a basis
President Wilson has directed the de-
partment Of justice to Institute at once
civil and criminal proceedings against
the big five. The attorney general stat
ed that he was satisfied the evidence
developed indicated a clear violation
Of the antitrust laws, and that Isador
]. Kresel of New York was In charge
Of the prosecution. The packers are
to be accused Of unfairly and Illegally
using their power to manipulate live
and international supplies Of foods. to
control the prices of dressed meats
and other foods, to defraud both the
producers and the consumers Of foods.
to crush competition, TO secur special
privileges from railroads. stock yards
companies and municipalities, and to
profteer. The department Of justice
viii proceed against them not only for
violation Of the antitrust laws but also
under the provisions Of the food law OF
1918 against the boarding Of food.
As for the heads Of the big packing
companies, some Of them profess to
welcome the legal action as giving them
q chance to demonstrate to the public
their innocence. harmlessness and help
lessness, and all Of them repeat their
Oft heard protestations that they are
d victims Of economic conditions be-
yond anybody's control. Their asser-
lions that they make an almost infin-
itesmal profit and often operate at 4
loss do not seem to make much i'm
preston on either the public or the
agencies Of justice. That their state
ments are not always ingenious is in
stanced by the following assertion Of
the commercial research department"
Of n Of the big ave:
"The general high price level is not
due to manipulation. This Is shown
by a recent report Of the war indus
tries board. which proves that prices
In other countries of the world have
risen as much as or more than they
nave In the United States, and that
this has been true v in countries
relatively unaffected by war conditions.
such as Japan and Australia"