El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-08-20

D I NE-ALk MISS IL A MIRIAM
l. 1 sent my little boy to a store in
our neighborhood the other day for
some red bananas and the clerk told
him they were ten cents a piece. or
81 a dozen. The same establishment
. asks twenty-five cents a can for the
I soups that may be had anywhere two
3 cans for quarter. Other prices were
in proportion Needless to say, we do
not trade at this store, but when
I demonstrated with the proprietor for
his prices. he sneeringly remarked
[ that ne had plenty of customers VINO
/ could afford those prices and did so
without any question. is there any
! redress for this prOfiteering. now that
the food administration mas oeen
A HOUSEEPER
The only redress for profiteering Of
/ this sort is not TO paJronize a shop
that makes gross Overcharging a part
fof its system And ] realize FULLY now
B helpless one housekeeDer is, compared
with nine and ninety who give these
matters little intelligent thought
But these good women who shop
via the telephone, servants or make
q practice of ordering without in
quiring the price, have much 10
dnsWer for regarding the unuernour-
ishment Of our children
The other day 1 was invited to
drawing room meeting TO consider
the inroadS OF unrest in this country
And il would have been amusing II
it had not been pitlful. the ignorance
OF the kind, foolish, rich women who
without knowing it are working day
and night TO bring about this evil
They are like people on an iceperg IN
age Of their social basis, but they con-
tinue to drift toward the land OF to-
morrow.
know No Economics.
The speaker at the drawing room
meeting is a woman of great wealth.
ereat Sweetness and knows less. per
haps, of the economic condition IN
this country than a worklngman
seven year old child The lady de
plores Bolshevism-and rightly-and
she says something ought to be done
to check its iuroads-and again she
is right-but unknOwingly she de-
votes much Of her wealth bringing
about this scOurge.
she lets OUT all OF he response
bilities. her marketing is done entire
" BIZ her steward, chef. or some such
functiOnary. These people pay any
price asked, for any commodity, ana
receive a handsome percentage from
the various tradesmen on their pur-
chases. She never inquiries into any
thing that goes on in her household
Such a thing as investigating her
kitchen-she is too busy for that
At the end Of the month an ac-
countant writes out her checks and
she signs them The lady did a good
deal OF war work and she feels. in
employing a large domestic staff at
spectacular wages, she is useful
and exemplary American But does
she ever stop to think, she and her
tiles. that they are bringing about
Bolshevisim by enabling food prof.
teers to force the market up. up, up,
till the necessaries of life are out Of
reach, not only OF the poor, but for
the moderately well to do.
She announced in her talk that she
feared the worst" and well she
might, for IN paying any price asked
she is helping to SOW the Whirlwind-
she has great wealth, It would be
utterly Impossible for her TO spend
her income, she pays because she can
afford II. and then wonders why there
is so much unrest"
Impossible for Workers
When her establishment needs a
third assistant kitchen maid-or some
such functionary-he major domO
goes forging among middle class es-
Adjustments and secures a domestic
from a family Of workers at a stag
gering increase in wages. The jump,
in the particular case recorded. was
from $40 10 3. And the good lady
wonders why young women holding
excellent government positions seem
to be disconnected" Her establish
ment could have done very well with
out an assistant kitchen maid and
have left a family, where everyone
worked in possession OF its solitary
servant
It would seem after looking over
the current prices OF food that the
last penny has been extracted from
suffering public and some realiza-
ton must come TO the prOfiteers 10
o. =
keeping what they already have,
they'll let up a bit.
A statement issued last week by
New Nork's board Of health, pulls M
every thinking person with round
turn. It is that One-fifth OF New York
City's children are underfed- The
board Of health statement is as fol-
lows; AT the present time one child
out Of every five. in New York City.
is so undernourished as TO demand
immediate attention. While at least
two additional children out Of every
five are on the border line between
good health and malnutrition."
In its bulletin the board Of health
points out that undernourishment rs
direct result Of the changed eco
nomic conditions of the country re-
sultinE from the war" Families with /
a narrow margin Of living cannot but !
suffer as a result of these conditions
And adds that according to federal {
since the war began has been IS per
cent, while the average increase in /
the cost Of food has been about 100
per cent.
Investiga. by the board Of
health in 2200 families show that
each family having two children IN
der six years Of age had decreased
the use Of milk 3 per cent And that
Pas children under six years Of age
were drinking tea and coffee. instead
Of milk. and in 500 families the moth
ers said their children were losing
weight and in other instances not
gaining.
If the women Of the country
would cooperate in regard to the
foOh situation. much good could be
accomplished. Where there are young
children, milk must be had. whatever
the price. IL these children are 10 be
kept in good health A quart day
for every child under six years Of age