The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1943-05-20

Treasurer of the AFL, is going
ment to roll back food prices
something practical is done to cl
chasing power Of labor's wages.
The talk is not all aimed at
labor's protest against recent
rected at the manner in which E!
the power of the National War
to any case for wage adjustme
freeze without Il corresponding limita-
tion upon the cost of living.
Now. says Mr. Meany, "the wage
earners of America are at Il point
where the outrageous price of food
staples is destroying their ability tC
contribute fully and completely to the
job that must be done To win the war.
Mr.. Meany reported on surveys OF
food prices made by the AFL in cities
that are a good cross-Section of Amer
lea S industrial life.
Food Prices Surveyed
"Our survey Of food prices in these
communities shows that, taking into
consideration all the basic, staple ar
ticles of food which the American
wage earners needs for his table, the
average increase of items listed ranges
from rise of GO.5 per cent in Mil
Cumberland. Md.
In the city of st. Louis our survey
covered 60 items, full range of the
things the worker must put on his
table Forty of these 60 food items
have increased more than 80 per cent
and the average increase of all 6J
items is S7.4 per cent.
"In Atlanta, with total of 40 items
of Il similar character, we find that 81
items have increased more than 30 per
cent. The average increase for all As
items in Atlanta is 70 per cent.
But bad as this looks, this does not
tell the full story. The highest per
centage of increase is registered for
the simplest, the most Fundamental
foods plain, common foods like cab
bage string beans, potatoes, eggs, lard
and hamburger.
Thus in st. Louis we find that cab
bage, in May of 1913, is up 200 per
cent as compared with January OF
1911; potatoes are up 2il per cent
eggs up SO per cent; lard up $50 per
cent; frankfurters up 100 per cent {,
hamburger up l27 per cent. pork loin
up 133 per cent boiled ham up 12-
per cent. ,,ou.l
And what do we find in Atlanta
with the common, essential foods!
Eggs up 73 per cent; bacon up 81 per
cent; pork lon up III per cent; lamlI
up lOS per cent; onions up 100 per
cent; lard up DIG per cent.
The appalling thing about these
tremendous increases in the prices OF
simple, ordinary items in the national
diet is that they have occurred under
what has been described as Il program
of price control.
This program is years old, yet
only today is OPA getting around to
placing dollars and-cents ceilings on
many foods.
The common people of this nation
don't want food prices held nt their
be satisfied with minor reductions
What We want is the rolling back ot
food prices all along tn" line. we
want them rolled back to the levels OF
MAY 1912 2-onc year ago.
"ro roll food prices back to the
levels of May -, 1912, will require the
employment of subsidies.
I'VE read that the sum of S3OO,OOO,
600 is To be made available for such
subsidies Three hundred million dol
enabling the common people of Amer
lea 10 buy the food which they must
put on their tables.
Three hundred million dollars may
sound like II lot of money, until we
realize that this Is little more than
what our government is spending in
one day, every day in the week lo
carry on this war. Ninety -SiN billion
one hundred and forty one million dol
lars per year for war production, and
officials by straining themselves ear
appropriate $500, 100000 To help solve
the food problem of Americas produc
tion army. Peanuts
I'VE N labor favor economic stabll
ization We know that all the people
and especially the working people
would suffer under initiation, We d'
not want 10 see IL race between wages
and prices which could only end II
disaster. Economic stabiIiZation is nee
essary and desirable, but ii must b'
applied with handed Justice Il
both sides of the line. This can not b,
done until prices are rolled back sulli
cenlly 50 that they are within reach
of the wage-earners' pay envelope
War Labor Bourd Boosts