The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1920-06-04

collectively bargain-that is, jointly
agree to market their produce as they
choose
At the same time fraudulent and
other profiteering was gotten after
by the committees on agriculture and
reported to the House and Senate.
Various devices for adding to the
wrappings OF bacon and ham sold to
the farmers and other consumers
were done away with and net weight
was fixed upon the meat itself. This
now means full weight for such
| food to the consumer. Slack pack
ages, which were allowed to contai.
but one-third in food contents and
the remainder of the space to go
empty, were stopped by law. Spices.
potato chips, and similar products
were put up in this way. Thus box
holding eight ounces of this stur' was
permitted to hold only two ounces.
Then, too, many profiteer manufac-
turers had a gentle habit of putting
on the market liquid products for the
table, such as oils and extracts, in
concave bottles. On the shelf in the
grocery they seemed of goodly size
and the price did not appear so high.
But upon closer examination it was
seen that the bottle was so shaped as
to give little room for contents.
This practice led to much unfair |
competition. The honest producer
was confronted with method of get
ting business practiced by the profit
teer. The perpetrators were hailed
before the House Committee on Agri-
culture and shown up. Candy manu-
facturers were hardest hit. Boxes
were shown to be arranged with false
bottoms and then the entire weight
of the candy placed on the outside in
such small figures that the purchas-
er would not see he was getting a
half pound instead of the pound he
appeared to be getting. The testi-
mony indicated that the practice had
been allowed to grow up during the
war period and that no attempt had
been made to stop it. The Republic
cans stepped in and ended the prac-
tice by stringent legislation.
In the first year of their assump-
tion of power the Republicans also
placed upon the statute books the
to get after profiteers under
which the clothing manufacturers
have been attacked for excessive and
exorbitant prices. They sought to
make it possible for the farmer to
work out his salvation in the easiest
way possible. They found that the
cold storage warehouses of the coun-
try were burdened with supplies and
in many instances filled to capacity.
There was no agency for forcing this
food on the market, and as a result
here was little difficulty in maintain
ing prices, provided the huge stock
could be withheld from regular chan
nels, consequently, law was enacted
that any article of food
placed in cold storage should have
marked upon it the fact that it is
,old storage food, the date when put
n and when taken out of cold stor-
lge, and the names and location of
Ill warehouses in which stored. I'm
anitary refrigerator conditions were
orbidden. That this law should have
n immediate effect is evidenced by
he fact that at the beginning of the
asst fiscal year there were in cold
forage in the Unied Saes 1914
0S,000 pounds of pork. products,
62,000,000 pounds of frozen beef,
100000 pounds of poultry, ST.
10000 pounds of butter and 7,OO0,-
90. cases of eggs.
The President has had the power
} stop profiteering. Much of it he
as had through the Attorney Gener-
!, Neither have bestirred them
lives so as to attract notice TO the
ct