Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1919-08-13
THE BLAME FOR
HIGH COST LIVING
Continued from first page

lar uprising had the roads been in
private hands. OF course. all this in
crease in freight rates has been load
ed on the cost of living. 1t is a part
OF the endless chain of price hosting
by the present administration. And
yet we are now told that one way to
correct the high cost of living is to
boost these rates still higher"
In addition, Mr.. Riddick said:
Il charge that every condition
affecting high and mounting living
costs capable of governmental cor
rection, President Wilson and his ad-
ministration are directly responsible.
Il further charge that every mea-
sure of correction possible of enact
ment by Congress, is at the Presi-
dents disposal right now and that
the effort of the President to throw
the public off the scent by declining
to use the means at his hand, and at
tempting to throw the responsibility
for correction upon Congress, repre-
sents most reprehensible, partisan,
campaign attempt to camouflage
neglect of duty with the appearance
of desire to serve the public.
The biggest contribution to high
living costs has been the waste and
extravaganza of the administration,
still continued. Money has been pour
ed out as if the chief object of the
administration was to spend all the
money of all the people OF this coun-
try over and over again. The country
is filled with monuments to a saturn
ALA Of spending, the like of which
never before was dreamed of in all
history of frenzied finance. The gov
eminent payroll has been swelled
to gigantic proportions. Hundreds of
millions of dollars have been wasted
in cost plus and other similar con-
tracts which have placed a premium
on waste. War supplies have been
purchased at the sellers prices. And
at the waste, not merely OF millions
but billions.
Billions Of dollars have been
loaned to foreign nations with all the
liberality characteristic of the polit-
ician spending other peoples money.
All this has, of course, forced up
prices to dizzy heights by fixing fc-
titious bases of values.
"Vast stores not only of food,
but of clothing and other supplies,
bought as if it were expected the war
would last forever, and as if the
country would be called upon to feed
and clothe the whole solar system,
have been withheld from the market
Only now the War department, al
the demand of Congress, is reluctant
ly releasing some of the canned
goods that have been piled mountain
high in the storehouses. Supplies OF
shoes and clothing of Incompetent
oiDiC ho5lltuoC al z Sllll llCiu Oul VI
the market, while prices continue to
mount higher and higher.
''The people will no longer be fool
ed by what Mr.. Heron refers to as
the Presidents divine cunning
TIE people will no longer be fooled
They will be heard from in Novem-
Der, 1920, as they were heard from
last November, and will send into
Permanent seclusion the political
party that got into power by promis-
ing to paralyze plutocracy, and to
closely regard the rights OF the peo-
pie, but which at the end OF its lease
of power, is found to have negl. Ct
ed all the opportunities at hand =
fulfill its promises, and is found only
with cunning leadership, attempting
to throw over onto Republican Con-
gress responsibility for doing in six
weeks what it confessed it was either
unwilling or incompetent to do in
civ ynare >,