The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-03-26

/ wanted jobs was much greater than
the number of places available. The
returning soldier seeking job was
| offered much smaller wage than he
knew was paid for the same WORK
while he had been fighting. 1t in
censed him. He figured that he had
| given four years out of his life, had
come home tired and broke. He look
ed upon the decline in wages as a
positive discrimination against him.
Comparison Breeds Discomfort
Everywhere have heard these men
say: 1--WE are out of luck. The
bands played and we were appauded
when we left to fight. While we were
gone the wages went up. We don't
begrudge the men who stayed at
home the wages they got, but it's
| damn funny that when we come back
down go wages. The cost Of living
don't go down. / guess we're out Of
luck"
l found two phrases lnseparable IN
the speech of the discontented the
high cost of living;" 1.-The protiteer."
Workingmen with whom / talked,
freely admitted that some OF the high
cost of living was the legitimate re-
suit of the great demand for every
thing and the natural shortage, but in
the same breath they insisted that
much of it was due to the mercenary,
ghOulish profiteer.
The prOtiteer took blood money dur
ing the worlds greatest tragedy. He
exacted usury from the toiler Mt home
and the fighting man at the front.
He drew dividends out of the tears
and walls of broken-hearted women
and fright-stricken children. lie
minted his gold out of agony, starva-
ton, heartaches. He stands today
the Judas of the war, the most de-
spised man Of earth.
The profiteer is not an Englishman.
FrenChman, Italian or American.
He is found in every country of the
world, man without nationality,
without conscience, without humanity
He is the pimp of civilization. lie is
still on the job.
The profteer has given the United
States a terrible black eye. A com
mon comment of Europe is, 1.-THE
United States made money out OF the
war" These people do not refer to
the money we made legltimately.
They point to the fact, fact that
has been given great publicity In Eu-
rope, that in August, 1914, there were
about 1000 millionares in the United
States, while at the time of the sign
ing of the armistice 1t was estimated
the millionaire colony had increased
by $4,000 making n total of 10000
millionares in the United States. The
profiteer is still on the job. He Is
. holding up the world. starving, cold
/. world.
Profiteerinp CAGE In Point.
, Under date Of November II, 1919. j..
S. Bache & Co., members Of the New
, York stock exchange, in their financial
letter say: TN mercantile circles
: there is proceeding at the present time
!. vast amount of speculation on a
? very large scale in commodities. An
{ Incident Is cited to us of one con-
. Germ that is carrying $15,OOO,oO0 worth
p of vegetable oils, which are In great
. demand. and the concern is holding
them for higher prices. This is q
&. distinct damage TO the consumers, and
' keeps living prices in these things
, used daily, at top and increasing lev
I els. Speculation of this kind is q
: real detriment to the community"
T The pair Of shoes the workingman
n once bought for $3.50 are now IS and
SO. 1t is true that the cost of labor
and material have gone up. hut moi
enough to warrant any such exorbi
Z tant prices. Business men have TAX
u en- advantage OF the situation, and jus
y tify their iarcenies on the ground OF
! the law of supply and demand. A
l shoe man with a prominent Chicago
y firm. a man long in the business, toll
II me that the present unwarranted ant
!, outrageous price of shoes was due t.
i the fact that American shoe manufac
II turers could get almost any price TO
II shoes from the barefOoted people o
y Europe.
u Governments are blamed for no
dealing with this species Of holdur
u The discontinued ask why ISM
e profteering treason-why shouidn'
v these Fagans be sent to the wall witt
y firing squad as an escort"