Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1919-08-27

Washington, d. C-Athough more
than a week has passed since tho
president made his emergency =ad-
dress to congress recommending Leg
1slatfon to stop profteering-and the
protiteering itself had been going on
a very long time before the president
bestirred himself to speak about tt
the concrete results Of the campaign
so far are pretty slim. A few retail
grocers have been arrested and fined
for charging extortionate prices and
a number of seizures Of storage sup
plies have been made which may r.
suit in condemnation and public sale.
The high cost Of investigating the
high cost of living ID a preliminary
very much to the fore right now, how
ever. Already special appropriations
totaling nearly 100000 have been
asked OF congress by various govern
ment bureaus anxious to make capital
out of the general public sentiment
that something must be DONE" OF all
these requests there would appear to
be only one-a request for $500, 900
from the federal trade commission
that has any direct bearing on the
regulation Of food monopolists, which
is recognized as the only real solution
Of the proflteering problem. "1nves-
tigatfon" is again to be a method OF
sidetrackfng the issue.
Ready to investigate.
Thus the department Of commerce
demands $4,000 to adequately mobi-
lie itself for the high cost Of living
campaign. Just how helpful it would
be Is seen in the admission that a
large percentage of this sum would
be used in demonstrating to packers"
how certain new species of fish can
be made profitable venture for the
market. In other words, while one
arm of the government is prosecut-
ing the packers for violation of the
antitrust laws, another arm seeks to
appropriate money to teach them how
to make greater profits.
Secretary of Agriculture Houston,
who has better record at securing
appropriations than in making the
money secured at all helpful to the
farmers, says he will be content with
an emergency gift of 100000. This,
it Is said, would be expended in get
ting out reports.
The department Of justice only
wants $1,5O0,000. This sum is $780,
600 less than the 100000 given At
torney General Palmer a few months
ago to track down" bomb plotters
and anarchists. Not one anarchist,
so Tar as known, has been arrested as
the result Of this gift, although q
number of innocent citizens have been
arrested, held in jail, and later re-
leased without apologies.
Even the treasury department
wants to dip its fingers In the gen.
eral outpouring of gold. Secretary
Glass says that for $175,000 he can
redisguise his secret service force so
that they will be as successful now
In running down profiteers as they
were in running down "pro-G Germans"
during the war
Judging by the expense necessary
to outfit the crusade against the prof
1teers it ought to be a pretty i'm.
posing affair, once it gets under way.
Profitee<s Defended.
Congress has got to prove within
the next few weeks whether or not it
is sincere in the question Of eliminat.
ing profteering. So far the indica.
tions are that the Sixty-sixth con.
gress, like most of its predecessors,
is far more interested in defending
the citadel of big business than in
Smelling out the respectable thieves
who hide within.
Southern Democrats on the senate
agriculture committee, for instance,
headed by Senator Ellison D. Smith
of South Carolina. have already sue
| ceeded in blocking the request Of At:
torney General Palmer that a drastic
| penalty clause be included in the food
| control act, and that it's provisions
be extended to prevent profteering
in wearing apparel.
Smith objects to this strenuously,
At hearings this week he tried to ex.
plain why.
II am alarmed" he said, 'by this
| constant tendency of socializing bust.
ness. The people are happy and con.
tented. The only unrest l have been
| able to find is due to the fear OF what
congress may do next I'd rather
have revolution than destroy ou1
splendid form of government by this
anrt of legislation
To Legalize Cooperation.
That congress pass pending legisla
ton clearly defining the legality OF
farmers cooperative organizations il
now being insistently demanded by the
spokesman of the farmers at Wash
ington. Recent prosecutions of mill
producers organizations and other co
operative agencies under the fedora
antitrust laws have aroused a storm
Of Indignation. It is pointed out tina,
the government has never been strons
enough to use these laws to break ,ur
big business monopolists, as was sthe
Intention of their enactment, and tina,
insult is now being heaped on injury
by twisting them so as to eliminate
one Of the few means by whichs the
public is able to get sustenance with