Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1922-07-05
you DELIBERATELY LIED

Such was the accusation made to my
face in the Northwestern railway de-
pot, Madison, June 26th, in regard to
statements made by the writer in an
address delivered at the Sank County
Holstein Breeders Meet of last week.
suppose had / been hot-blooded and
real courageous, / should have lower
ed myself to the plane of my aecuser
by giving, Or trying to give him a
bloody nose.
When demand was made for spec
ifications, his answer was pitiful for
it revealed mind shrouded with dark
lest prejudices.
In my talk at the Breeders Meeting
about costs of living, / tried to ex-
plain that in my opinion, it was mo-
lnopoly in land, coal, gas, credit, trans
portation and other basic necessities,
not labor costs-that sends living ex-
penses soaring higher and ever higher
high wages and salaries come as the
inevitable result of high rents, high
coal, high transportation charges
to force wages and salaries down is to
destroy the farmers market.
The noted Babson says, "Our mar
ket is first of all right here at home.
This is our biggest and latest chance.
The great future market for the Unit
ed States products lies in the increas-
ed purchasing power of the wageearn-
ing Masses" / beg of you my broth
err farmers to look to unfair freight
rates, monopoly priced coal and gas as
causes of your ills rather than good
wages and good standards of living.
To illustrate how increased freight
rates may be doubled up or increased
by profit on profit, on profit perhaps
ten times over like compromising in
terest every ten days for a year.
used concrete case of local dealer
in my home city. He buys plows in
South Bend of the Oliver Company.
The plows are invoiced to him at ten
dollars each, but freight and carriage
add two dollars to the price of each
pillow. To cover selling costs and make
a profit, the dealer adds twenty-five
percent, not to the invoice price of ten
dollars, but to invoice price plus freight
and carriage and sells the plows at
fifteen dollars each. The next person
sells them again at fifteen dollars plus
a thirty percent profit and so on for a
half dozen turn overs until the initial
freight charge of two dollars has
grown to four or five dollars to the
last or ultimate consumer.
This illustration of that which oc-
ours thousands and tens of thousands
of times daily in our exchanges was
what my well-dressed, good looking
friend from Reedsburg stigmatized
as a deliberate lie" told to deceive.
The lie consisted according to my
friend in this. "Mr. Sebenthal is To-
cal dealer and when he sells the plows
to the farmers the deals are ended"
Well, the day was very, very windy
and the speakers had not only the
wind to contend with, but clouds of
dense, dark prejudices brought from
Reedsburg by bunch of Stalwarts.
The wind, a mere trifiing incident, the
prejudice appalling.
/ think / should add that my friend
recovered enough of the spirit of a
gentleman to apologize for thought
less insult.
To be told shat you deliberately
lied" from one viewpoint is more
pleasing than soft words of praise,
from another viewpoint it breaks
ones heart. From one you know that
you have gotten under the skin, from
the second, you are reminded of the
truth in these words of another, "that
there is no more malignant growth
in our national life than prejudice"
GEO. F. C0MINGS,
Madison. Wisconsin.