The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1919-09-04
THE HIGH COST OF LIVING.

Several reasons have been given for
the present high cost of living but the
chief and underlying cause is that there
exists largely diminished and an made
Quate supply of those things which the
world needs. During the period from
1890 down to 1914 the production of the
world was about equal to it's needs.
There was seldom time when there
was a consideTabl surplus nor was there
a time when there was a general short
age of more than few productions of
the farm, the factory or the mine. The
natural law Of supply and demand gov
erned prices except in instances where
profteers and spectators for time cor
nered the supply. This law is still pre-
dominant and under it the problem of re-
giucing the high cost of living must be
solved if lasting solution is to be reach
ed. The world must produce more by
industry and waste less by extravaganza,
or prices will not only remain high but
will mount still higher. The first econ
omic need in all countries affected by the
war is that the home production shall be
brought up to the home needs. More
work in producing the necessities of ex-
jstence is the only thing which will pre-
vent serious crisis not only in this
country but in the world before many
months have passed. Here in the Unit
Q - = ] +Io4
on increasing wages, shortening hours of
labor and boosting prices OF commodi-
ties This is an hallucination, and I'M
less we regain our sanity the progress
which we have made in the last 143 years
of our national existence will some day
seem like mocking dream. Currency
imitation, vast exports of food stutfs,
high taxes, government extravag ances
IN prices paid both for labor and supplies,
Drofiteering and all other assigned causes
have beer IN some degree contTibutory
10 the high cost of living. Against I'M
der production it is no use for the Presl
dent to phrase nor for Congress to enact,
DuI Hull SliOuld ma W bNSA4 NOilS eA'@N
much might now be done by the govern
ment to control these concomitants Of
inadequate supply. Perhaps, of these,
profiteering is the worst. Here is some
testimony from u S. Senator Walsh of
Massachusetts,, one of the ablest Demo-
Gratis in this country. On the 18th day
ha cold in tho tbat
in his opinion, "The present high prices
are due primarily to the worst conditions
of criminal profteering that any country
has seen n recent wears About two
years ago President Wilson asked Con-
gress to pass law 20 prevent boarding
and profteering in food products. Con-
gress passed a law which Mr.. Wilson ap-
proved 1t then became his duty to see
that this law was enforced We are not
aware that he made any attempt to en-
force that law till about three weeks
ago. IN the campaign of 1912 the Demo-
Gratis claimed that the country was in
the bands of plutocrats and profiteers
and there we're vociferous promises of
return to gid economy and Jeffersonian
simplicity. Seven years have passed
since ther and in every one of these
years conditions have been worse than
IN the year before. PROTECTING can be
prevented 1t must be prevented, A
wise and energetic handling of our own
economic problems is Just now vastly
more important to us than is Shantung,
Armenia or any of the matters involved
il the covenant of the League of Nations.
Let US SET our own house in order first.