The sun., 1919-08-07
Cost Of Living Guilt.

Cost OF Living Guilt.
Months ago, in the face Of an In
comparable crop Of coming wheat,
millions Of bushels Of which win rot
for lack Of enough American mouths
to eat 1t, Mr.. HoovER. then head Of
the Grain Administration, declared
that the consumers OF this country
must buy their bread nevertheless at
famine prices.
Mr.. Hoover was not content to de-
cree this burden upon the. public in a
year Of abundance; he further pro-
claimed that wheat would really be
worth $3.50 a bushel. This could only
mean. with wheat held back, that oil
grains would be like gold. Instan.
taneously the price of corn for any
future season or month Of this year
of 1919 shot skyward. So did the
price of pork. So did the price OF
other provisions. And ever since that
time the American people have been
paying those prices at the cost in their
living expenses of billions Of dollars.
| Day before yesterday. at the mere
prospect Of normal wheat conditions
for American consumers, when Mr..
BARNES, the present head OF the Grain
Administration, went into conference
with Mr.. WILSON, the bottom dropped
out Of the inflated corn market in
Chicago. The bottom dropped out Of
the inflated pork market. The bot
tom dropped out Of the inflated gen.
eral provision market.
Why1 Because the grain and pro-
vision markets took It for granted
that when Mr.. BARNES was summoned
to tho White House he was going to
receive instructions from the Chief
Magistrate of the nation to let the
American people have their grain on
u reasonable and economic basis.
Jumping to that conclusion. they felt
that their inflated market Jig was up.
They began to sell grain and provi-
sions prodigiously and wildly. And
down went the prices.
But yesterday morning Mr.. BARNES
announced through the newspapers
that Notwithstanding all the wheat in
hand or IN sight the Grain Admins
tration was not going to give the Amer
lean people their wheat on reason.
able and economic basis. Instantane-
ously again corn and pork and general
provisions shot back to their high
levels. This is what the American
people owe, and how they owe II, to
Mr.. WILSON'S Administration.
There isn't any mitigation for this
guilt for the high cost Of living in
Mr.. BARNEs's statement that he Is
going to have -four distributed at a
reduction Of a dollar a barrel. The
big trouble is not the direct cost Of
dour. It never has been. It Is not
the direct consumption of bread. It
never has been. The big trouble, the
crucial trouble, IL oorn-corn, which
Mr.. Hoover drove up months ago, and
which, when the threat Of q natural
market drove It down, Mr. BARNEs
again drives up. Corn which feeds
cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry. Corn
which, therefore, feeds man. Corn
which is mans beef. mutton, poultry,
pork, butter, milk, eggs and cheese
has doubled and trebled the cost of
living Of the American people.
When Mr.. BARNES talks further
about holding our price up to the
worlds price Of wheat he talks the
language OF Spectator In the Chi
cago wheat pit. What has the world
price of wheat got to do with this
American nation, possessed of 30 much
wheat that 1t can neither eat 1t at
home nor sell 1t abroad7 What differ
ence should 1t make to this American
nation II the price Of wheat some
where abroad were a hundred dollars
bushel, or II somewhere else abroad
1t were a thousand dollars a bushel 7
What possible excuse could that be
for piling on the backs of the Ameri-
can people billions Of dollars OF food
costs and Of high living costs-piling
It on their backs when there was no
earthly chance of our selling all our
surplus wheat anywhere under the
sun whatever the world pricei
Thus is the responsibility for the
terrific and dangerous cost Of living
in this land Of plenty branded upon
the very brow Of Mr.. WILSON'S Ad-
ministration.