Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-02-03
MEREDITH OUTLINES PLANS FOR LOWERING
 HIGH LIVING COSTS
Problem Not One for Any Special Class Says New
 Secretary

Washington, Feb. Elimination
 of useless employees in productive
 business. speeding up of industry
 commensurate with the present ac.
 tivity of the farmers and determina-
 tion of retailers and jobbers to exact only reasonable profit were recom-
 mended as a solution for the high cost of living problem by Edwin T.
 Meredith, on taking the oath of of
 1lce today as secretary of agricul-
 ture
 The cost of living problem, he as
 serted, cannot be solved through ef- forts of one class, but all business and all labor must recognize the solution as common duty or less and less will there be of farm pro- ducts to divide among the people and higher and higher will go the price of that produced"
 Farmers of America" said the secretary, fare willing to assume their part of the responsibilities in meeting any problem threatening the welfare and stability of our coun- try, but this high cost of living prob lem is q mutual one, and they ask that it be approached by all the peo- pie as common problem. They ask that those engaged in distribution eliminate the lost motion and put so great a burden upon production az there is upon it today In other words, they ask that there be an adequate number of producers of wealth, and this includes property and food of all kinds and only such distributors as is necessary to per- form the services required. They ask that the banks, railroads, whole sale houses. retail establishment factories, all of which are vitally necessary to the farmer, and recogniz- ed by him as such, be speeded up along with him, that the work now done by three men may be done, if possible by two and the burden of transportation and distribution be thereby frightened.
 Business men must look to the operation of their establishments and see that no useless employe is re- tained to add to the cost of distribu- ting what the farmer now produces Useless employees must be released from non-productive work that they may go into productive work and ado 10 the sum total that may be dis tributed among all. Let us have SIN tenths of our people in production and four-tenths in distribution. that there may be six-tenths of what a man can produce each day for each of us, rather than have four-tenths in production and six-tenths in dis- tribution which gives us only four tenths of what man can produce each day for each of us.
 "The farmer asks that the labor CTS in the mines, the factory, and the mills, who are also real pro- ducers along with the farmers make an effort comparable to his to see that there is just as little labor ex- pense as possible in each article turned out by their hands, thereby helping the farmers, who in turn will help the laborer. Given this and the manufacturers, jobbers and re. tailers taking a. reasonable profit and recognizing the harm that must come from profiteeringl upon the farmer. the question of the high cost of living will solve itself.
 "On the other hand, if the whole country, all business and all labor, does not recognize this as com mon problem, and do those things which give the farmer fair com pensation for hi sefforts; to do those things which make farming remune- rative, pleasant and as attractive as other lines of endeavor, the condi- tions will not improve. On the con trary more and more will the, young men leave the farms, the more and more will the older men become dis and less and less will there be of farm produce to divide among the people for their susten- ance and higher and higher will go the price of that which is produced"