The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-06-08
SHE'S TOPPING; LOOK OUT!

charging "all the traffic will
bear" and without regard to cost.
Here we have examples of a
kind of financing that will wreck
any country. The laborer has his
time to sell, the manufacturer
and the dealer their goods. If
either charges call the traffic
will bear" or refuses to render
full equivalent in service, the
consequence is passed on to the
= consumer.
Everybody is the consumer.
First of all and mainly, the la
borer himself, because while the
employer works for profit the
laborer works for living.
If, therefore. the carpenter and
the plumber charge twice what
their time is worth and do half
days work every twenty-four
hours, that fact alone will send
rents above the ability of the la
borer to live in a good house,
whatever his wage.
The owner may be to blame as
temporary profiteer, but no
power on earth could keep up
high rents if there were houses
enough for all the people.
The next effect Of this double
ended profiteering Of both the
employee and the manufacturer
is to break down the buying
power of the public when the
factory will be closed, capital
will be idle and the laborer will
be thrown out of a job.
Until now it has seemed that
the fool public would take almost
anything at any price that may
be named, so determined Is 1t to
get rid of it's money; but the
signs OF break are not few, nor
are they hard to read to one
who has his ear to the ground.
This insane exploitation OF the
public. which is only another way
of exploiting ourselves and one
another, must stop If we are to
avoid conditions worse than war.
Our brethren of the trowel and
the jackpiane, the ripsaw and
the paint brush. the factory and
the countinghouse. may as well
understand that all this Is hav-
ing a direct and controlling In
fluence upon the initial cost OF
food upon the farm. These gen.
tlemen are all complaining about
the cost Of food. Let them be
advised that it takes three hours
of labor to produce a hundred
pounds of milk, and figured on
the basis of the wages they de-
mand that means 1878 hun
dred for farm labor alone. This is
more than was allowed the pro-
ducers in the Chicago district
for the entire expense of produc-
ton, including profits; indeed.
the price allowed did not cover
thirty cents an hour for labor
with no profits
AS the hundred pounds of milk
will make but little over forty
six Quarts, this means eight cents
a quart for farm labor alone. AS
labor is less than one.third the
cost of wholesale milk produc-
ton. and as delivery generally
costs as much as production the
consumer can amuse himself in
odd hours by figuring how much
his milk would cost on the basis
of 1925 an hour for labor. II he
can get it under SO cents a quart
he will do exceedingly we'll
According to our best Informa-
ton. it takes about an hours
work of a man and an equal
amount of horse labor to produce
a bushel of wheat. That means
at the rate in question $3.50 a
bushel for labor alone, to say
nothing of land. fertilizers, trans
portation. taxes, insurance, and
so on. which would add enough
to mean at least 81 or IS wheat
The gentle art Of passing the
burden on to the consumer is be
ginning to make business intoE
cradle and life impossible; the
end is stagnation, with no profit
able investment for capital and
no Jobs for labor. How, then,
shall we live? The farmer can
support himself. but what about
capital and labor?