The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-06-18
Statemtn by ]. Ogden Armour

The greatest danger to our eco
nomic structure today arises from the
failure of many to recognize new
and higher level of prices, based on
! permanently increased cost of labor,
and high taxation.
Those who postpone building or
buying in the hope of materially low
er prices, are specializing in the flu.
ture misfortune Of the nation. For
falling prices, when reaching the
point where profit is eliminated, mean
panic, depression, unemployment, and
other troubles.
In the final analysis rs per cent or
more of the cost of most commodi-
ties consists of labor, and reductions
in the market price Of commodities
are, therefore, inevitably reflected in
the compensation of labor.
Nothing in the labor situation war
rants anyone in expecting materially
Hover cost of commodities in gener
al, and building in particular. Wages
will not be less for several fundamen.
tai reasons, viz:
/. The practical stoppage of i'm
migration since 1914, depriving Am
erica of the several million workers
who would normally have come t.
our shores.
2. The retention by the nations
military and naval establishments O.
nearly 100000 workers, which ma!
continue for an indefinite period.
3. The creation Of new industries
such as shipbuilding, and manufac
ture of chemicals and dyes, requiring
hundreds Of thousands Of workers.
4. The urgent demand for building
and construction Of every class, du'
to their having been forcibly helI
back for several years.
5. The shortage of the world
food supply.
6. The proportionately higher lev
els Of commodity prices existing prae
tically all over Europe.
On the one hand, then, we are fac
ing a serious shortage of labor a
soon as we approach normal indus
trial activity, and on the other han
there is confronting us tremendou
unsatisfied demand for many necess
ties which 1t was difficult or impos
sible to obtain during the war.
Normally under such conditions W
could have expected a flood Of low
priced goods from the Old World
. while now we find that prices in Ell
/ rope have risen proportionately niue
higher than in America, and the dc
mand for commodities and labor, t
make up for the wastage of war,
even more keenly felt there tina
here.
The manufacturer who now quote
the lowest possible price with tn
high cost of labor, and guarantee
this to be so, doing his buying freel
on the same basis, ranks as our high
est type Of patriotic citizen. A ney
level of prices has been established
from which there can be no materia
recession until inventive genius sue
ceeds in correspondingly increasing
. labor's productive capacity by me
chanical means.
James 3. Forsan, First National
Bank, Chicago
While 1t is my belief that the ger
eral trend of prices during the mex
/ decade may be downward, l do nc
I anticipate any sudden or violent tun
! BILE in the near future beyond tn
elimination Of war prices made neces
I lsary to stimulate production in higl
cost plants. We can not "eat on
cake and have It." We ran not i'm
!! mediately have low-priced prodult
with high-costs labor.
At no time was honest labor NOR
! indispensable than during the wa
and during that period the averag