South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-05-16

IWiNt the United States depart
ment OF agriculture and the United
States department Of justice
there's something very droIl. one
Of EN- sees the dOughuut, che other
sees the hole"
Some months ago Atty Gen. Alex
ander Mitchell Palmer decided that
the high cost OF living must be low
cred few notches. Therefore. he
hired a gentleman named Howard
Edward Figg, gave him the nifty
title OF special assistant 10 the
attorney general. and issued the
crisp command 90 lower away
Every nov and then since the
issuance OF that famous command
announcements has been made that
the price OF this. that aud tia other
had been slightly reduced.
The prolific family OF ultimate
consumers. however, claims the
Come-dOwn was 50 enthusiastically
fractional as 20 be uBobservabic
with the unspectacled eye.
Early I'm his lowering activities
AR Flgg took "a sli-ht sidc-sWipc at
The farmers or the country, appar-
emily a bit pCevcd az their -rum-
bling about the prevailing high
prices OF articles they we're obliged
20 buy. lie issued the following
mathematical and compare two
essay on prices received and paid.
which Il IS presumed n assumed
would put a quick quictus on GER
tain agitating aEricUlturisr=-
The following very interesting
facts nave been disclosed as a re-
suit OF certain Investigations / have
made in the clothing industry.
The dollars that a man pays for
clothing is not a fair measure of the
coat. The amount OF time and
energy required to cam the cquiva
lent Of a suit OF clothes is more
nearly a true measure.
THE farmer who has corn 10 sell
can get a suit for less corn today
than he could fn 1914. lie then
sold so bushels OF corn 20 get the
money 10 pay for a S2j suit of
clothes. Now his so bushels of corn
will obtain for him a $50 suit and
leave him SO over.
For 33 bushels Of wheat in 1914
he could obtain a $25 suit. 1t now
takes only IS bushels to buy a $50
suit. In 1913 il took 200 pounds
IF cotton TO buy a $25 suit. 1t now
takes 15s pounds TO buy a $50 suit.
In 1915 9S pounds of butter paid
for a $25 suit. Now 98 pounds of
butter buys a $50 suit. For 161
pounds OF wool you could get a SOS
suit a few years ago. Now the
sheep raiser, for 118 p pounds. can
; buy a $50 suit
Somehow or other the farmers
according to a high official of tho
department OF agriculture. failed Ia
-dnd much solace I'm Mr.. Figg's fig
ures. and decided TO do a little fig
uring OF their own.
There is a wide variance between
the farmer figuring and the Fige
figures.
One farmer who raises hogs and
beef cattle IS said TO have figured
one night from the finish Of supper
until bedtime. He found that in
1914 no was able TO buy 81 pounds
OF lard for his wife with 100 pounds
OF live hog. whereas in 1919 that
amount OF hog would only procure
46 pounds OF lard
In figuring tho pI,rcha sing value
of his beef cattle he discovered a
still greater discrepancy between
1914 and 1919. With 100 pounds OF
beef animal, 50 grain sacks could
have been bought in 1914. in 1919
the number dwindled to 20 sacks
- nAlAtA tlAAt VI
In 1914 when this farmer built
q new cowshed he snapped the
equivalent of 100 pounds of beef for
304 board feet Of lumber. Last
year when lis barn needed repair
ing Il made him sweat profusely q
find that he could get but 1877 fee
of lumber for 100 pounds of beef
107 feet less.
When IL came to acquiring barbeC
wire TO FIX up the fences around hi.
place. this farmer could hardly be.
lieve the result of his figures. II,
went over them four times befor,
being fully convinced OF their accu
racy. In 1914 he merely had Z,
supply 40 pounds of beef animal {,
get loo pounds OF good fencing wire
In 1919 it took 141a pounds NOR,
beef TO get the same 100 pounds o.
wire
This farmer also kept a few dairl
cattle which. Of course, necess1uatet
the occasional buying Of milk can!
10 be used In shipping the milk 4
the city. In 1914 the value of al
average milk cow was equal 10 ..
1O-gallon milk cans. but in 1919 h,
could get only is 4 cans for such
COW.
The official OF the department. q
agriculture continued the presenta
ton of the farmers side OF the argu
ment by presenting the following in
tereSting comparisons:
In order that the production o.
wheat might be stimulated, the gov