Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-08-20
ABNORMAL BUSINESS STANDARDS.

In ordinary times there is little disposition to scru-
tnize the profits made byproducers manufacturers mid
emen, wholesalers and retailers 1t is assumed that
petition will take of prices and that in general any
branch Of industry probably entitled to whatever extra
roft it make through special ability and efficiency
But these are not normal times Competition is not
operating as usual Supplies are not accessible usual
Transportation and credit and other factors are in abnor
NAL condition All the affairs of the world are unset
tied People are harder put to it than usual to make both
ends meet
In this disturbed situation there is little disposition
to endure the png up OF fortunes by clever out Of
the necessities OF the people, 1t is time for an abnormal
restriction OF profits rather than an abnormal swelling
of them
Every business connected with the staple commodities
Of life must be looked into and the economic wrongs Of
1000 600 people must be righted.
. Senators Borah and Poindexter are opposed to the
League OF Nations because they mbIed with the very
ideas that wrecked Germany---the imperiasc notion
OF this country being able to whip the whole world and
therefore, should not become member Of any organza-
ton designed to keep the peace OF the world This is the
position they appear to take anyway and it appeals to the
ngoes of which this country has large number but as
matter of fact neither of these senators had fixed
idea on any public question Borah was known in Idaho
always as Slippery B and his personalreputation was
rnch that he regarded hero around pool halls and
barrooms. 1t is very doubtful if he has developed into
much Of statesman since going to Washington and he
probably found fitting kick in Pondexter ma
tona ticket made up of P0ndexter and Borah might be
right as giving recognition to element our popu-
aon which has never received much consideration in this
country before outside the pale of the police courts
They have so-called public markets in good many
towns and cities like Portland established when that par
ticular sweeping the country and now they
don't know what to do with them Most Of the producers
epresented there Italian and Greek gardners with
occasional Japanese and Chinese and they get their
tooths renfree combining to put prices just as high as
hey In other words it's mighty fine for the foreign
city truck gardner, and the public is again the goat
The police of the nation seeking Clarence John
son, exconvct supposed to be the brutal murderer of
Mrs Eunice Freeman prison worker And to think that
when they get him Oregon maudlin sentamentasm has
made it impossible to hang such fiends
Some Of those senators assert that they learned moth
ing from their interview with President Wilson yester
day. OF not the country long ago gave up
expecting of that bunch to learn anything from any
source.
The meat packers are trying to popularze beef by
advertising its virtues That's all right as far as it goes
but why not take shorter to popularity by avetis
ing lower prices?
The only thing about that surplus army food supply
the government is selling that there isn't enough of i'll
to make much of an impression on ravenous civilian