Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-09-19
COST OF HIGH LIVING
Dial Says The Trouble IS ExtraV-
aganCe.
OPPOSED 10 PRICE FIXING idea

Senior Senator from South Carolina is
OF Opinion that High Living is
More in Evidence than is High Cost
Wage Farmers Buy Shirts at $12
Each.
Senator Dial Of South Carolina had
a say a few days ago in opposition to
the proposition to establish price fixing
commissions throughout the country.
His remarks as published in the Con-
grcssional Record Of September 10 are
Us follows:
Mr.. DIAL. Mr.. president, during war
times it made no difference whether
or not IA act was constitutional or
legal, whatever the government wanted
the people were willing to let it have.
Now the war is practically over-not
legally over, but to all intents and pur-
poocs it is ended-and 1t occurs to me
it is time to stop extending war
measures. 1 know of no ground upon
which this proposed law can be based
except as war measure. and we hope
that the present condition even Of legal
war will not continue longer than a
few days or a very short time at most.
Mr.. President, l am opposed to
boarding; 1 am opposed to profitecr-
ing; 1 am opposed to robbery in any
shape; but this bill goes further than
the war measure, for 1t includes arti-
cles that were not included in the orig
inal food-control act. To that extent,
certainly think this bill ought not to
BE passed. The country has become
accustomed to the former law, but now
here it is proposed to include wearing
apparel. The enactment of the. bill
will disorgarizc business;, Legitimate
affairs Of the people would be tamrered
with and all thrown out Of gear for
some considerable time.
Under this bill the people would be
liable to be hailed in court, prosecuted,
and tried upon an indefinite charge and
under indefinite definitions of what
profltecring is. do not know what 1t
is. What would mean profitecring to
one person would. not. appear to be
profiteering in anothes person. So 1
am utterly opposed toy disturbing the
business conditions of this country and
allowing our people to be harrassed
with this unnecessary law, as take 1t
to be. Ceptainly it ought not to be ex-
tended under any circumstances to in
cludc articles not enumerated In the ex-
isting law. It would result in having
mon halcd before court, their repu,
tations bcsmirched for some act that
even the courts would not know the
definition of, and would never be told
until after the jury passed upon 1t.
repeat, what would be profiteering to
one man would not be profiteerihg, per-
haps, to another.
To have fair-price commission go
around.over the country--a commission
composed Of inexperienced men-would
greatly disturb business, and I hope
that will not be done. have offered
an amendment to strike out the words
wearing apparel" on page 2, line 4.
Mr.. Harrison. Mr.. president, will
tho senate yield?
Mi. Dial. Yes.
Mr.. Harrison. The senator realizes,
I presume, that If wearing apparel
should be stricken from this bill we
would not be able to get at the pro-
fiteers who are making big profits
or shoes.
Mr.. Dial. The trouble, Mr.. presi-
dent, and the chief cause of the high
cost of living is that people have quit
the farms and have gone to town.
They want to get into houses, instead
of working outdoors. left here the
other night on a train. A gentleman
happened to be sitting, by me in the
smoker, who, as it turned out, was a
former client Of mine. He was q manu-
facturcr of shoes; he owned a shoe
factory; and he told me the other day
his wife bought pair Of shoes which
cost her Sc, and that was the highest
price she had ever paid for pair Of
shoes. In a day or two his stenogra-
pher came in wearing new pair OF
shoes and he asked her what her shoes
cost, and she said they cost her SIG.
He told her she was not able to pay
that much for shoes, but she answered
that she made the money and she was
going to buy such shoes as she desired
to buy. That is one reason why the
cost of living is high; it is high living.
People are spending money unncces-
sarily.
The other day heard colored man
stepping into store in my adjoining
county and asking to see some shirts.
They showed him a 81 shirt and he
said that was not fine enough. Then
they showed him Sc shirt and he
said that was not good enough. He
was next shown a SO shirt, and he
said he would take three Of those; and
he pulled out three $40 bills and paid
for. them. That is one reason for the
high cost Of living.
l heard a man say the other day he
stepped into a store where they had
pile of shirts as high as his head.
A youth entered the store and asked
the merchant the price Of the shirts.
The merchant told him they were Sc,
and If he wanted any of those shirts