The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-06-08
WOMEN FIGHT PRoFITEERING.
Wear no Gloves-Use Old Shoes-Eat
no Potatoes.

Ispolnt, and no one Is surprised that the
hgentler sex, more especially the numerous
Ihousewlfe section of it, has resolved upon
| the adoption of its own practical methods
for the suppression of profteerlng.
| The women of Australia are taking the
matter into their own hands. Their cru
SADIE against the profiteers started III Vic
toria, where housewives attending the
markets in and around Melbourne COM
bined against purchasing and using pota-
| toes, which had scared to fourpence per
pound, although there was no scarcity OF
the product, but supplies were simply
| held back in order to initiate the price OF
one of the first necessaries of life. Ihe
effects of this was electrical, and very
soon the price came down by rapid
run to a rate which left fair margin OF
profit to the seller.
The success of this has encouraged
direct action in other parts of Australia
and there is every reason to believe that
a permanent organization will be estab- |
hshed which will exercise a potent in
fluence over the fxation of prices upon
food, clothing and household commodities
generally. Beleveing that the subject Is
one which will be interesting tc readers
of The Dearborn independent, / have no
|
tails of the movement in Sydney which
the women of that city have commenced
for the purpose of strangling the prohteer-
ing system.
A prominent organizer in the movement
on being interviewed, declared that it was
no idle boast to say that the campaign
against high prices now set in motion will
be more effective than any action yet
taken. or promised by the state. Within
a fortnight after the launching OF the
Housewives Association, IN Sydney
no fewer than seven thousand members
were enrolled as the nucleus of a pro-
fiteering fighting force; and 1t is antlcl-
pated that 20 600 housewives in New
South Wales win soon be pledged as a
determined and united body to fight the
prohteer in all his strongholds, and by a.
simple but effective weapon, not buying
his goods.
As the objective of a preliminary Skin
mish, the 1000 women already in line
| have declared that gloves must be cut
+, out, and from now on these 1000 women
will refuse to wear gloves until gloves are
reduced to a reasonable price The next
/ stage of attack is to be footwear. and al
/ ready the 1000 women, and the many
| recruits which are being added to their
e number each day, are looking up all their
. old boots and shoes and getting them re-
t paired, so that they may withstand the
' projected "siege of time it Is proposed
t to set up against the retail boot establish
n ments For some weeks past, In every
state of Australia, large numbers of par
: ents have been sending their children
0 barefooted to the public schools as pro-
test against the extortions practised up
e on them; and being summertime, most OF
t the children rather enjoy the innovation
II Of walking and running about III their
bare feet On arrival at the schools they
! were provided with means for cleansing
purposes, and this cold-water wash has
been very much appreciated by the chill
+ dren after the exposure of their bare feet
to the hot sun during the journey be
tween their homes and the sheltering
lschoolhouses
Having established the boot and shoe
boycott, the Housewives Association will
next direct its attention and activities to
the question Of hosiery. and they anticl
E pate a rapid and complete victory over the
. profteer when they marshal the whole OF
, their forces against him in all the prin-
9 cipal centers of the Commo wealth,
, Coming next to food supplies. the mem
u hers of the Housewives Association STATE
that they intend to deal very drastically
/ with the food proiitcer, and potatoes
= and meat are the two articles of food Il
which early attention VIII he devoted
Their modus operahdi cannot fail to b'
= most effective in forcing the enemy t.
capitulate This is how they are goinl
- about their work Twenty Thousand
! women is the minimum membership the,
are aiming at, and they will provide tn
whole of this first army corps with
l distinctive badge Every one of thes
women will wear her badge when she goe
shopping, and each week she will be pre-
vided with a eahet from headquarters
showing what the fair and reasonabl
prices of all food commodities and article
of clothing should be- The prices ind
Gated on this list will make. allowance 10
an honest percentage of proht, and n
more, in each center throughout the state
Il If one of the members of the associatio
is asked to pay more than the schedule
i fair price, she will ask why, and colleC
all the information available as to VIII
more is being asked This mformatlo
will be forwarded to the central con
mittee, which win thereupon take acti0
or not t. deal with the profteer accordlc
to his explanation If the committee co
siders the explanation IS unsatlsfactor
it will lay il charge against the proilte'
before an independent and responslb
tribunal which the state government VI
be requested to appoint
The leaders of this womens movemel
believe that the moral effect of the al
profiteering badge worn by its membe
will be very great. A retailer won
know. Immediately a woman wearing Il
badge came into his shop, that he had
be on his best behavior; that his pnc
would not have to include more than
fair measure of profit, or there would
trouble in store for him. The bad
would cost members one shilling per We
the money collected to be utilized as
fighting fund against protiteermg-but
would more than pay for itself IN the
duced price of the necessaries of life
less than a week The association al
intends to issue list of shops IN each d
trict each week where only fair prices