The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-06-18
HOW MUCH WILL
PRICES FALL !?
SYMPOSIUM OF STATEMENTS SOME OF AMERICAS LEADING
BUSINESS MEN, COMPILED ROGER w. BABsoN DIRECTOR
GENERAL OF THE INFORMATION AND EDUCATION SERVICE
OF THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

weekly wage OF all WORKERS was
greatly advanced.
Out of the war has come strong
realization of the value of labor to
civilization, and we must accustom
ourselves to the evident fact that a
permanently higher scale Of wages or
compensation has been established for
the worlds worker, both skilled and
unskilled.
In all lines Of industry, to make a
fail profit, selling prices must be in
proportion to the cost Of production.
including the enhanced cost Of labor.
This fact should be recognized In buy.
ing as well as in selling.
There exists in the world today,
and there will exist for some time to
come, a tremendous latent demand
for goods and service and relative
shortage of workers caused by the
war. The high cost of living has not
yet begun to recede, and it would be
an erroneous policy at present to at
tempt to cut prices at the expense Of
labor.
Mai. Gen. George w. Goethals.
I The immediate problem that con-
fronts us is the resumption of bust
ness, including particularly building
construction, manufacturing, and
mining
Business is being retarded because
we are hoping for, or fearing, lower
prices. Whether these fears, or
hopes, are ever going to be realized
no one can say, but above the maze
of conflicting arguments that are be.
ing applied to the situation, one fact
stands out prominently:
i We can return to neither pre-war
conditions nor pre-war prices.
Every thoughtful employer Of la
Dor realizes that the wage Garner is
entitled to proportionately more Of
the comforts and conveniences Of life
than fell to his share before the war
Every thoughtfu1 buyer should real
lie that the price he pays for goods
must be in proportion to the increased
|, cost of labor. Also that labor, in thu
broadcast sense, constitutes over x
/ per cent of the cost of most products
, of farm, forest, mine, factory, and lab
. oratory.
The manufacturing employer, o.
individual who IS selling his own la
, Dor, brains, or product at a higf
though reasonable price should no
expect to buy cheaply from others
Let us be careful in our cry for low
/ er prices, not to forget that perma
nent improvement of living conditions
, is effected only by increased efflcien
, cy of the forces Of production. Ant
experience shows such increase o
efficiency is at best slow process, {
, process of years and perhaps decades
, Jacob H. Schiff, of Kuhn, Loeb G. Co
, In the period from May, 1918, tt
October, 1918, commodity prices IL
the United States had advanced about
, 1O7 per cent above the 1913 level; ir
Canada lis per cent, in Great Brit
ain 1873 per cent, and in France 29s
per cent From October, 1918, unit
, March this year, in spite Of the most
violent cry for lower prices, even by
those who are undoubted benefciar
les of high prices, the decline, accord
ing to Dunn's index figures, averaged
only SO per cent. During April, II
spite of the agreement to lower stee
! prices, other commodities rose tt
such an extent that the average price
, level on April was only 81 per cen
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