Arizona republican., 1920-08-02
MONDAY MORNING. AUGUST ?. 1920
A liar should have a good memory. -Quintilian.
The Latest Tax On the People


 The freight increases which the interstate com merce commission Saturday allowed the railroads imposes additional burden of SIP year every citizen United States assuming that there for family of five the annual tax is sso year. But that the whole story it is not half of That would if the increase could passed along without tion, but that done exactly done Any indirect tariff. the people concerned, freight charges constitute indirect grows approaches the uItimate consumer.
 It naturally, unavoidably. becomes a part of the larger basis of which dealer through whom commodities pass profit. By interruptions deolers the additional a pretext for extravagant profit the of the latter being times the of the actual increase. That is especially the in commodities of light or moderate weight such purchased by families On heavy commodities there will be less tendency to add unreasonably to the cost in conse quence of additional freight charges
 As to the increase of passenger and Pullman fares there be less complaint except insofar they in crease the cost transacting business which the people at large concerned That will about in the way increased expenses of com mercial travellers, of buyers for merchants. This additional expense must course. added to the basis upon which profits estimated
 Persons who travel merely for pleasure other wise unnecessarily, connot be heard complain. If they cannot afford the higher tariff they can enjoy the luxury of remaining at home
 That these increases were necessary there can be doubt. With the award recently made by the labor board and believe properly made. the rail- be given greater earning would have gone the wall. The roads were handed back n a diapita disarranged diton with higher basis Of cost of operation than had railroad history The trouble began unnecessarily in August four years ago when cowardly congress at the behest of intimidated president enacted the Adauson law greatly increas- ing wages many, but not all. classes of railway laborers. There nothing in living conditions at time that warranted such singling out of one class labor for preferment especially when it must foreseen that it would unrest in the world until all classes labor had received similar and until entirely level had been created. Thus started endless round of circle-higher wages, higher cost of liv- ing higher wages to meet it and higher cost of ing n consequence.
 That the war alone would have increased the cost of living of course is debatable. not then in and the administration and the congress declared that would not be Whatever the effect of might be the cost of living in America it was only anticipatory, and could properly be met only should begin to feel it
 But after government took over the railroads it granted additional increases of wages whenever they were demanded if the demands were backed by organizations powerful enough to influence elections Thus a basis high in every line was estab- lshed and in the production of most commodities wages are ruling factor of cost
 If is easily perceived that the latest increase in the cost of living consequence of the these in creased freight charges dhough now an unavoidable one, is only another impulse in chase around the .vcious circle" which though gaining exercise and induging in movement we are making no pro- aress One thing to be said concerning but not Tn of the present administrations has afforded the world the approach to perpetual motion the world has If the administration could he perpetuated no doubt, the motion would be main tained to point where the machine would blow up