Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1920-11-12

test as they had confidently expected
that just as soon as the war was over
prices would Immediately decline and
would soon reach the pre-war basis,
and when this expectation was not
realized they almost unanimously
blamed the retail merchant and his
system of distribution for the main
tenance of the high cost of living.
This attitude of the public has
been aggravated and appealed to by
aspiring politicians and by certain
party organizations who have prom
ised the people immediate relief from
these burdens, many times IGNORING
the economic causes of high prices
and making impossible and unreason-
able deductions from the present com
mercial and financial situation. The
protest of the public has been voiced
by our representatives in congress
and some leaders in public affairs
who without making a close and SCI
entific study of the law of supply and
demand have introduced proposed
laws for the regulation and control
of the general merchandising system
Five of these laws are now in the
files of congress and in a general
way contemplate the bringing about
of these reforms by three general
principles-first the placing of the
original price at the point of pro-
duction on all goods offered for sale
"Second-the fixing of maximum
margin of profit which can be
charged on any OF the commodities OF
life.
"Third-the licensing of all men
engaged in selling anything at retail
TO the public, such licenses to be is
sued by the attorney generals office
under such rules and regulations and
carrying such penalties as may be
prescribed by the attorney general
Against all these forms of regula-
tory control the wide-awake and pro-
gressiye merchants of the United
States are practically unanimous in
asmuCh as by this form of govern
ment control and regulation the bust
ness of the United States would be-
come the most formidable weapon i'll
the hands of a political machine and
would create a greater despotism and
irresponsible oligarchy than that
which brought about the downfall
OF junker rule in Germany
The contention of the Retailers
Association in connection with this
kind of proposed legislation is that
the vital principle of competitive
service would be eliminated and that
the public good and public welfare
are being more greatly safeguarded
by the present methods of individual
initiative and open field competition
II prices and methods of merchandise
ing than they could be by an I'M
American system of socialized reg
ulation.
IF these movements simply con-
templated restrictions upon the mer-
chants themselves or only involved
financial losses to the merchandising
system no one could conscientiously
he
thereby to be conserved. But it is
easily demonstrated that the mer-
chandising system is more vitality as
ISOLATED with the stability and well
fare of the general financial and bus
mess conditions of the country than
any other one activity and that what
ever would cripple or impair the eff
ficiency of the merchandising system
will sooner or later reflect itself in
the security of almost every other
form of investment, and will event
ually affect manufacture, the market
or raw materials, and in fact every
payroll of the United States.
Public opinion in this country is
the last and highest appeal of demo
cratic institutions. Public opinion is
greater than economic law 1t can
make governments or defeat them
1t can win strikes or lose them. 1t
can set up leaderships or overthrow
them, and just now the conditions in
the United States are an eloquent
commentary upon the danger which
can be brought about by misguided
public opinion. For under the public
agitation which has been carried on
against the retail merchant and our
present system OF distribution there
has been a decided break in the
measure of confidence and good will
SO that the volume of trade and the
amount of turnover has been les
sened to that degree in which mer-
chants have refused to buy stocks OF
goods for future delivery, jobbers and
wholesalers in turn have cancelled