The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-08-14
HIGH COST OF
LIVING CAUSE
ONLY REMEDY SEEN IN PUBLIC
OWNERSHIP PROGRAM OF
FARMERS AND WORKERS .F.

The nigh cost OF living problem has
reached such an acute stage that it has
temporarily crowded everything else
into the background. The greatest ep-
idemic of strikes ever known in the
history Of the country, the alarming
growth Of radical sentiment, the
threat of conditions like those now ex-
isting in Europe, have drawn forth q
special message from the president;
special action from a half dozen con-
gressional committees, numerous in
vestigations and many plans and bills
for meeting the crisis. ~. @@
The presidents message is valuable
principally for it's admissions, and is
undoubtedly consensus of the opin-
ions of governmental circles It is
interesting to note the frankly admit
ted evils cf a ssrious, not to S., dam
gerous character, have been allowed to
exist almost without interference un-
til conditions became SO scanlnlous
and critical that the government had
to do something.
damaging ADMISSIONS
The president in his message admits
that: The prices the people Of this
country are paying for everything that
it is necessary for them to use in or
der for them to live are not justified
by shortage in supply, either pre-
sent or prospective, and are in many
cases artifcally and deliberately Great
ed by Vicious practices which ought to
be Immediately checked by law. They
constitute q burden upon us which is
the more unbearable because we know
that it is wilfully imposed by those
who have power. . FIJI
Some Of the methods by which these
prices are produced are already illeg-
al, some Of them criminal. s.-
In the midst Of this admitted Grim
inal profteering, the president fur
ther admits that there twas a greater
supply of food stuffs in. the country
on June / Of this year than at the
same date last year. In the combined
total Of number of the most inn
.portant in dry and cold storage the
excess is quite 10 per cent, and yet
the prices have risen. The supply of
fresh eggs on hand in June Of this
year, for. example, was greater by
nearly 10 per cent than the supply on
hand at the same time last year and
yet the wholesale price was 40 cents
a'dozen as against 80 cents a year ago.
The stock Of fowls had increased more
than 298 per cent and yet the price
had risen also from 34h cents per
pound to 37h cents. The supply of
creamery butter had increased 129
per cent and the price from Al to 53
cents per pound. The supply of salt
beef had been augmented per cent
and the price had gone up from $34
a barrel to $50 barrel. Canned corr
had increased in stock nearly 90 pei
cent, and had remained substantially
the same in price. In few food stuffs
the prices had declined, but nothing
like the proportion in which the supply
had increased. For example, the stock
Of canned tomatoes had increased 10z
per cent and yet the price had de.
clined only rs cents per dozen cans.
For these conditions the presiden,
offers no remedy other than the kind
employed by the United States. govern
ment to no effect for twenty years il
fighting the trusts, punishment Of the
profteers and attempted regulation o1
profits.
Has No Remedy
The presidents analysis Of the stu
alton and the remedy is substantially
the same as that proposed by Attor'
ney General Palmer, and all congress.
ional committees that have been hi
vestigating conditions. His conclu
sions are the same as the conclucion,
lof the federal trade commission thai
the monoplies have completely set =
side the law Of supply and demand il
this country and are creating price.
to suit themselves.
Opposed to this method Of dealing
with the high cost Of living the olt
style politicians at the national CAPT
tol have been suddenly confronted
with q new element ID American poll
tics and q new method Of dealing
with this great nr,nhlann ORGANIZES