The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-02-11

ton of meat products to meet THU
demand AS corn is the principa
, food of meat animals, this means al
unusual demand for corn and a con
sequent high price. With these fac
tors in view and the fact that the
president of the United States has
fixed the price of wheat for the mex,
years crop at $2.20 per bushel
there is no possibility of any decline
In the cost of living. In addition to
this, we have four million men in
uniforms. while they remain in the
army they use much more clothing
than they do in civil life. Army
training has so changed the physical
character of these men that their
civilian clothing will not fit them
when they are demobilized. The fat
man has grown thin and the thin
man has taken on flesh, consequently
each OF these men must buy a new
civilian outfit when he returns to
private life. This is going to make
such demand for cloth and, in turn.
for cotton and wool that prices for
these commodities must remain high
until after the army is demobilized
1t will be readily seen that all Of
these factors tend toward the main
tenance of the high cost of living for
the next six to twelve months. Gov
| eminent price fixing agencies have
endeavored to fix the price of COM
mod1t1es upon basis properly re-
lated to the cost Of living, and while
there may be some industries which
have been securing more than q US
ual profit and the prices of whose
commodities must be reduced some
whta before the cost of living de-
clines, in the main 1t is not possible
to reduce the products of labor until
the cost Of living comes down so that
labor itself can AFFORD to take lower
wages.
Reduction in the Price Of Labor
The steel companies, as under
stand 1t, in their recent reduction
In price have given up any unusual
profit that they have been making
and that generally speaking, no fur
Their reductions can be made reduc-
ing wages.
1t is the general policy of the bust
ness men OF this country not to re-
duce wages except as the cost of liv-
ing goes down. This means that it
cannot be expected that there will be |
any radical decline in the price of
commodities except as the cost of liv- |
ing is reduced" so that the general
barometer which will determine the
fiuctuation Of price is the amount of |
money that the farmer gets for the
commodities that he raises, and If the
implement dealer will keep in touch
with the market Of the products of
the farmer the dealer will be able
to gauge the market upon the pro-
ducts he sells, for when the price of
the farmers produce commences to
go down so that the cost of labor can
be correspondingly decreased, then
will the price of implements and
other commodities be affected so that
declines therein may be anticipated
These reductions, Of coursef occur
ing some reasonable period after
farmers prices have declined, so that
these declines reach the consumer of
[arm products.
The Duty of the Dealer
1t is the duty of the implement ,
dealer to conduct his business in a
normal and logical way so that the ]
'armer may be able to produce the
biggest crop in his history. It is G
Up to the American farmer now to {
determine whether or not this S
country will supply the needs of Eli {
'ope and thus enable us to quiet the s
'ocial dissolution so prevalent get
he people of those countries back in |
o sane way of thinking, and this /
an only be accom- plished for hungry '
'eople with food. 1t is impossible Y
o make satisfactory treaty Of peace s
With people who are underfed, and r
is impossible to get Europe back v
lpon stable social basis until the I
hreat of famine has been removed.
his all means that the American n
armer is facing the most prosperous 4
eriod Of his existence and that the Il
ext year will bring to him arlger t.
eturns than he has ever enjoyed be- h
ore. 1t is the duty of the imple-
lent dealer to see that these returns
re not handicapped by inability to
ecure implements in the usual +
uantity to carry on his farm opera "
lons +,