The Washington herald., 1922-03-11
FOOD PRICE-FIxINc, TRIED
<yeoe YEARS. BRINGS ILLS.


As a result OF forty-six centuries
Of food control. one clear lesson
seems TO have been taught. that IL.
that In attempting 20 ease the bur
dens of the people in a time OF
high prices by srtincisliy setting a
limit TO them. the people are not
relieved but only exchange one 80
of Ills for another which 10 freatsr.
This il what Miss Lacy. librarian.
Bureau Of Markets and Crop Esti-
mates. Department of Agriculture,
told. the Agricultural History So
Among the Ills brought about
through price fixing are: ID The
Withholding of goods from the mar
ket; CD the dividing Of the com
munity into two hostile camps. one
only Of which considers that the
government acts in its interest: (t)
the practical difhculties Of inforc-
ing such Limitation In prices. which
In the very nature OF the case re-
quires the cooperation OF both pro-
Queer and consumer to make IL ef-
fective.
The man, or class OF men. who
controls the supply Of essential
foods, IL in possession Of the SUI
preme power" she said Govern
ments have had TO exercise this
control In order to hold the SUI
preme power. One Of the most fire.
quent methods OF control used has
been the limitation Of the price by
legal ensctments'
Egypt took entire control OF the
grain trade almost 1000 years be-
fore Christ and saved the people
from starvation. but took over the
land in return.
China controlled her grain sup
ply according TO her historians as
far back as lI2a before Christ and
worked out about 500 b. c. a sys-
tenn of control OF supply and de-
mand which kept prices normal.
She seems to have been the only
country which recognized the whole
price question as being a symptom
and not the disease itself. and be-
cause she recognized this fact.
any other country to solving the
problem OF supplying the people
with the food they needed at a price
they could pay.
Athens 900 years B. c. regulated
I the grain trade and set prices by
legal enactment. but found herself
unable to inforce them.
Rome in 500 A. q. made q colos-
sal experiment In controlling prices
by legal enactment, but IL utterly
failed
Great Britain fixed prices In 1873
A. ID. and had on her statute books
laws fixing the price OF bread con
tinuously for more than 500 years.
The price OF wheat. fish and wine
was also regulated. but all such Laws
were sbrogated in 1915. because of
their failure to accomplish the pur-
/ pose for which they were designed.
The Dutch Republic was over
thrown in 1855. and at least one ms
{ torisn OF note declares that price
sponsible for its downfall.
India has learned in the hard
school OF experience that even in
times OF famine price-hxing is a very
dangerous expedient because Il re-
moved one OF the most powerful
checks on consumption, namely. high
prices.
The Colonial United States tried
the same experiment at various
places and times. but failed utterly
TO secure satisfactory results.
Revolutionary France tried the
same measures. but the protsgonists
OF the movement persisted on the
| Eumotine. The dreary story OF
Frances efforts to limit prices is dis
| tinguished from that OF the other
countries we have noted because OF
the proposal OF Barbaroux 10 enlist
the aid Of both producer and con-
sumner in the effort OF the govern
ment to control the food supply in
the interest of the peoples welfare.
This proposition was not carried out.
but IL furnished the first indication
Of the goal OF cooperation spwsrds
which we are still pressing"