The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-08-05
THE HIGH COST OF LIVING.


served.
THE HIGH COST OF LIVING.
Congress and the administration
are now wrestling with the most i'm
portant question before the American
people, the high cost of living. The
present cost of the bare necessities
Of life are not justified. They are
due to speculation and profiteering
Congress has been told by an investi-
eating committee that went thorough
: fy into and through the records OF
the packing trust, that this organiza-
ton of five great packing concerns
is more responsible than any other
factor and that they control the
prices on 70 articles of food.
There will be strikes, unrest and
disturbances just as long as men are
unable to make living. This is true
when wages are low or when they
are high. If wages and salaries adj
vance to undreamed of heights and
the price of living advances just a
little more, the wage Garner and
salary slave are no better off than if
wages and salaries were lower.
Wages are too high, it is admitted
yet the wage Garner has difficulty IN
making his daily, weekly or monthly
wage check meet his living expenses.
That there is profiteering canot be
denied. The tendency has been to
4sboost' prices of everything. 1t was
expected to stop when the war ended
but it did not. Prices are raised con-
stantly and without excuse. There
must be an end to this practice of
boosting prices to meet increasing
expenses. Railroad employees wages
have been increased 48 per cent yet
they threaten to strike for higher
wages and some of them are now on
strike, because the increased wages
will not meet the increased cost of
living.
Railroad freight and passenger rates
have been increased to meet the in
creased cost of transportation due
to increased wages. These increases
in transportation charges are added
to the cost of living and we are now
asked to raise rail road rates again
to give the railroad employees $780,
900, 900 more in wages.
1t begins to look like the govern
ment will have to commander the
food supply of the United Stats and
sell it to the consumers as it is going |
to sell it's surplus war supplies and
bhus cut out speculation and profiteer
ing. Then wages, rents and trnspor-
tation costs can be lowered.
"a ~ ~
Two Moscow women have condemn
I'd The Star-Mirror because it does
rot enthuse over the proposal to con-
;inue to fight John Barleycorn more
han a month after his funeral, which
vas held July /, 1919. Two prominent
BUSINESS men came to the editor and
him on a recent editori-
4 entitled Fighting a Corpse" and
well known pioneer citizen stopped
is car in the middle of the street and
allied the editor to his car to say: II
ont want to take up your time, but
just wanted to compliment your edi-
3rial on Fighting a Corpse,
,ought it was very timely" Censured
Y two women and commended by
,ree men for the same editorial, -
lat is not a bad average, and it
,ows that great minds differ" and
1t may be absolutely sincere.
If the railroads are tied up by the
strike, as now seems likely,
will mean the loss of hundreds of
illions, if not billions of dollars. AS
.nator Igoe of Missouri, said in con-
'ess few days ago, it looks like
e railroad men were holding up the
Iblic much as highwayman does.
ley are asking $500, 900, 900 increase
wages and threatening that if they
not get it they will cause billions
dollars loss to the producers and
of the United States.
strike at the beginning Of grain
d fruit harvest would cause NEST
able damage and loss to the
nerican people. Will we pay the
lckmail or stand the loss?
- - m
With the rapid rehabilitation of
army-and the speed record is 4
ly remarkable the governments
rthIv expenditures have fallen