The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1920-06-10
Merchandising Sacrifices.

clearly general teelllS on the parl
e OF the public that the present mer-
caandieing sacrifices are open con-
a fession Of profiteering.
You lear this on every hand, and
you do not hear any other reason
! given or explanation made for these
sacrifices in so far as the buying pub
lie is concerned.
Up to this time the reason or eX-
plantations offered by most of the
merchants have sounded like whist
, ling through the graveyard or plain
hoflcw mockery. They 90 not ring
; true.
Whas is still worse and tends to
aggravate the situation is that no
, newspaper in the entire United
States in SO far as we have observed,
with tie single exception of the New
ark Morning Ledger" has offered
and sound or logical reason for the
present price reduction spasm that
would hep stabilize business and
reconcile public sentiment to the new
price condition, which is positively Il
temporary ana passing condition.
There is plenty of real profiteer-
ing, but SO far the department of
justice has entirely overlooked it.
The real profteers never confess,
while the retail mercantile institu-
tons and those manufacturers and
jobbers who have done an honest
/ business on fair margin, considering
all the costs and the risks and the
hazards, have no confession to make.
StamDedcs, whether by cattle or
human beings, come about through I
few frightened ones making a break
and all the others falling into step to
keep from being run over or sacrific-
ed.
| The merchant who undertook to
stem the present price-cutting panic
would get the same treatment as the
same individual at a theater fire
alarm, who knew that there either
was no fire or that there was a sem
sible and safe way to escape, and
tried to dem onstrate the soundness
Of his views by bucking the panic
stricken crowd.
Everybody's doing it, and that is
the answer, all arguments and logic
and facts being thrown to the -four
winds.
The cost in both raw materials and
labor Of every known human neces-
sity is on the increase.
In one newspaper column we see
merchants cutting from l 5 to 40 per
cent on wearing apparel prices, and
in a parallel column we see 10 per
) cent wage increase to textile workers.
We challenge any of the panicky
merchants or the critical buyers to
point out a single staple necessity
the cost of manufacturing and mer-
cLandiging of which is not on the in
: crease instead of on the decrease.
We ask how, if every productive
and transportation and merchandise
ing and distribution cost is on the in
crease. can the selling prices como
: down ard remain so?
;. In answer we are asked, why
!. are the merchants sacrificing theil
|: present stocks if they do not hope tc
!. replace them with merchandise cost.
!. ing much less?"
!. Frankly we can offer no answer
I: that will add to what we have sale
: so many times in these columns fol
I. a year and half.
I: The entire world production is
I. short.
!: General supply is below demand.
!. There is a scarcity Of practically
: everything the human family needs
: Scarcity brings natural increasing
!: prices, and it just as naturally brings
I. artificial increases, because it creates
I; a condition whereby profteering is
: easy.
!. That is a two-edged explanation
: foy high prices
!. But that is an explanation of a
: condition wherein high prices follow
!; as naturally as night follows day.
; This condition prevails today iust
!. as much as if did six months ago,
: And again we are asked, in the
!