Norwich bulletin., 1920-03-12

why things which used to be plenty became mighty scarce. If those twen- ty million men, in peace times, pro- duced only a dollars worth apiece of foods or goods per day, that would still be s20,000,000 worth a day: all of it suddenly shut off. It is perfectly natural that such tremendous re- duction in production should result in scarcity And scarcity always did and always will mean high prices for the things which are scarce. When there is enough of anything to go around, prices are what we call normal; when there is more than enough, prices are low; when there is not enough, prices are high. The only reason why dia- monds are dearer than glass is that there are so few of them, compara- lively; nowhere near enough to use for window ,panes and lemonade glasses. Take the one item of sugar for illus tration. Before the war Germany made all her own sugar from her own ] beets, home-raised and home-refined. Not only that. but she exported good many million bags to other countries. When the war broke out the men who had been occupied in producing sugar were taken from that work, en masse, | and set to the task of butchering Bel | gian babies and footing Belgian farms and factories. Etc, etc. First re- suit was that Germany hadn't sugar | enough for it's own use. Second result, l it had none to- send to other countries. | Third result, those other countries had | to hunt up their supplies from sources which had hitherto been mainly drawn i on by the United States. Fourth re- suit, there wasn't enough to supply us 1 and all these new buyers. Fifth re- l suit, the price went up just as prices always do when there's only a ton supply for a two-ton demand.
 But now the wars over, it is asked, | why don't prices go down? Well, 1t
 isn't over yet, in a good many parts of
 Europe. Furthermore, it cost the lives
 of pretty nearly 5,o90,0o0 men who
 used to produce things. The 15.o00, ,00C
 who have gone back to work cant
 produce as much as 10000, 900 could
 Still further, the four years of wal
 broke up the whole organization o'
 industry in many lands, and it will
 take more than a single year to ge
 back to normal conditions, even fol
 the surviving residue.
 All these considerations are to b, 1 kept in mind. Those of us who car
 remember the Civil war of 1861 1-6i
 know that prices went up then, ever
 as they have done now. I can recal
 when, on this farm, we hunted all ovel
 our woods for scattering maple treei
 to make syrup and sugar, becaus even brown sugar-the only kind W,
 could buy at the stores, was eighteeI i and twenty cents a pound. In com
 mon with others, we experimenteC
 with parched rye and corn as substi tutes for coffee, because we couldn'
 any of us afford real coffee Spice . wood leaves and sweet fern twig
 were infused to take the place or tea
 And for at least two years we wen without wheat bread, using rye an,
 rye -injun instead, because whea flour was out of our rural reach.
 h But we lived through it. and thing
 settled back to normal after while
 The only real cause for complain about present conditions is that the! don't seem to be settling down as fas
 as they ought to. That is, in thi
 country Our man loss during the wa was much less, owing to our late en trance, than that of any other grea power We ought, other things beini equal, to recover more speedily an, completely. Instead If which, thing seem to be getting worse.
 That's what puzzles us and wha ought to set us seriously thinking an s wisely acting. And it's right ther that our text, "the High Cost of Loaf ing calls for candid consideration. The war brought with it a perfec orgy of spending and profiteering. patriotic people simply poured none 5 intJ the government treasury and gov
 er1n ent scattered it out with scoop
 sEovels. Economy became of no i'm < pr;tance compared with accomplish 4 ment. What a thing cost was n
 longer considered. If it was wanted
 was had. And, labor being wante
 more than anything else 1t was bi
 for at steadily increasing rates
 was F for, not only with highs
 wages. put with easier condition
 Everything was offered to secure u
 work that was urgently needed. Houl
 were reduced; incapacities overlool
 ed; incompetents mellycoddled; me E allowed to loaf for weeks in order