Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-12-08
The Reluctant Price.
ny Frederic !. Hassin

Informed on all hands that prices arc
toppIing, but the topple IL certainly long
time in reaching the ultimate consumer.
A few dollars saved on an oyereoat, gnso-
line cent gallon cheaper, and few
staple food products perosptibly lower y
about the extent Of the benefits which
have come % one typical member of That
harried class
And n large crop of differences of opin-
ion can he gathered as 70 how fsr ana now
fact t,rices nre coming down IN the lnme-
diats future Some tell us that forces are
at work which must inevitably bring OIL
prices down q great deal IN relatively
abort time. But Others assure us thnt az
that as soon az the currency n stabllined
and Congress hrs amended the tarh law
40 AZ 20 keep out imports, as II undoubtedly
intends 20 do. prices will tend 20 stick AZ
high figure for a long time.
Tho situation Of present seems 70 De
Aha. before a substantial price reduction
can reach the ultimate consumer, each oi
the factors in the production and distri-
button Of the necessaries of life has got 70
.ake loss. And each of them, not un.
naturally, is unwilling ~ do 80. h'aoh oi
them prefers that the ultimate consumer
should 20 on taking the loss, ~ ne ms
been doing for the past several years.
II cannot be denied that the strong
point IN the position Of the ultimate con
/ sumner is that ho does not buy mu en-. ne
/ has AZ last revolted against high prices
| II h. will only continue n buy scantily
| and m hunt for the bsrgainB which crop
! IN here and there in increasing numbers,
! prices will undoubtedly continue 70 come
/ dnrvn for A while, nt least. Tariff changes
/ md tho end Of dehation may check the
] tsnd.roy. but prices will already have
come down q good ways and y VIII De
/ hard 10 force them up again. nis Pro
e... viii he hard on the retailer for while,
4 lyut psrhpas better for all concerned N the
lony rin than a continued campaign oi
ertrsvagant buying.
THE PaocEss
/ This seems 70 he the present process q,
/ prire reduction The retailer bas hsro
/ time selling the goods on ms shell, Dot hs
naturally hates n take loss or them, or
even reduced profit, - he holds out ior
/ The old prices ~ lorg 90 he possibly can,
and sdver4ises reduction sale only wnsn
/ forced 20 do 80 BY the need for money;
/ nesntirn. he refuses n buy new orders
i n good. from th. wholesaler and the man
ffsSt,,rar even a. somewhat lower prices
+ The result i that the manufactures,
rather than produce goods which ne can
not sell 81 a good price Or cannot sell 2,
All. closes his factory for . wniie and
/ throw. half of his force out n work nese
men out Of work cannot buy, and e. thei'
number grows, the demand foT goods WhicH
comes 70 the retailer steadily decreases
But he must sell something N order =
r,ay his rent ard mis- interest charges anc
other overhead expenses 20 ne = forced
70 reduce prices, and that forces ne man y
-. ~
There seerns % Re 20 doubt but that thb
r,rocess viii brinQ prices down. lust as sure
AZ a store thrown into the air will fall. T.
ernnlovment is steadily increasing anc
prices will come down Just about ~ pro
/ portion 70 that increase.
MEANS SUFFERING
Il 1. A cruel process. IL means haTt
struggle and some failures among retailer
and manufacturers Of the smaller anc
vveaker sort II means already nundred
Of thousands of men out Of worK- ana Inei
men out Of work mean hungry men
an1 what : worse. hungry children anC
bunr-,- mothers. The Zst OF the matte
= tTat man. III his industrial system, ha!
o-.stad a machine which ne does no
understand and cannot run. No one .
really happy about this proccs. excep
| +ha ultimate consumer. and ne g no
/ very haUpv because he . not only n
/ ultimate consumer who gets the REDUCES
rrica but also the shopkeeper, the ma
ufactuer and the laboTer, VINO lose mon
av The ONLY class which really STANDS I
make a clear gain IS the salarled class. y
course. salaries may come down. but the
will not come down as rapidly or easli
as wages.
The government employee, for exampit
who got an inadequate raise Of % pt
cent during the war, and almost staryet
nav soon find himself better ot tha
some friend OF his who runs q store, an
who made barrels Of money during n
war. but who s now in way 70 lose som
Of IL.
. So the slaried man, Il he can resist
j. reduction, stands 70 gain, but eyeTyon
J. else stands 70 lose. And apparently theT
IS no way 70 avoid this loss except 20 pas
i on 70 the other fellow. That IS WIS
: everyone IS trying 70 90.
Consider the apple, Tor instance. Fo
still pay FIVE cents apiece, or ten cents ic
I three. selected Ben Davis apples st frll
stand on city street. DO YOU Know VI M.
the farmer got for those apples? Vel
I farners near here got about 50 barre
The empty wooden barrels N which the
mack apples cost them 81 % each. II
cost Of having the apples picked vs.
IS cents a barrel BY the time ne ha
hauled the apples TO railway station. Il
farmef was lucky if he broke even. Naa
farmer left the apples hanging on z
: trees. Many another took them 20
I cider mill. had the juice pressed out. (
It get hard, and tried 70 drown his sorro
: IN il.
FARMER LOSES.
I What does this mean? Il means pr
marily that the farmer IS the first goa
I He is the goat also in wheat. Wheat thi
! II cost him s. Is bushel 10 rslse .accor
I mg 10 the Department Of Agrlcultur
! recrtlN brought IN the market Sl.S5
! bushei. But do YOU notice that bread
I any cheaper or IN anythiI < ike the pr
4. portion that wheat has declined N pnc
! You do not
I You, the consumer, are the goat
I one end, and the farmer Is the goat az q
( other end, as Is the laborer The farmer
I really laborcr IN most eases, alJhoul
/ he Is just beginning TO realize the ia,
I That Is he has reIthcr the capial nor 9
I organization 10 enable him 70 hold O,
I lie must sell the sweat Of hls brow IL
I by day, or at least year by year. in ord
I 10 live. as does the working man.
I Hence the wholesaler, the jobber, al