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RED OLOUD, NEB11BKA, OHIKF
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WOULD EXTEND
WAR CONTROL
OF ALL FOOD
That, and Provision of Penalties
for Profiteering, Advocated
by the President.
TO FORCE SALE OF SURPLUS
In Address to Congress the Chief Ett
tcuttve Makes Assertion That We
"Are Dealing With Very Criti
cal and Difficult Matters."
Washington. Addressing congress
and proposing remedies to cheek the
hlyh cost of living, President Wilson
declared existing luws were Inade
quate ami high prices were not Justi
fied by shortage of supplies, present
or prospective, but were created In
tunny cubes "artificially and deliber
ately" fiy "vicious prnctlcos."
Hi' spoke practically us follows:
UeritUinen of the ConVress:
I have sought this opportunity to ad
dress you because It Is clearly my duty
to cull your attention to the present coBt
of llvltiK und to utkb upon you with all
tUo persuasive forco of which I urn capable
the legislative meinsurcw which would be
most effective In controlling It und bring
ing It down.
Tho prices the people of this country are
paying for everything that It Is necessary
for them to uso In order to live ure not
Justltled by a shortage In supply, either
present or prospective, and arc In many
oases artificially and deliberately created
by vicious practices which ought Imme
diately to be checked by law
Profiteers Lawbreakers.
Home of tho methods by which these
prleos are produced aro already Illegal,
some of them criminal, and those who
employ them will be energetically pro
ceeded against. Hut othors havo not yet
been brought under tho law, and should
be dealt with at once by legislation.
With tho Inrrenso In the prlcps of the
necessaries of life come demands for In
creases in wages demands which ure
Justliled If there be no other means of
enabling men to live.
Upon tho Increase of wages there fol
low close an lncreaso In tho prlco of the
products whose producers havo been nc
corded the Increase not a proportlonnto
Increase, for the manufacturer does not
content himself with that, but nn In
crease considerably greater than tho
added wng cost and for which the added
wage cost Is oftentimes hardly more than
an excuse.
The laborers who do not get an Increase
In pay when thoy demand It are likely
to strike, and the strike only makes mat
ters worse.
It checks production: It It affects the
railways It prevents distribution and
strips the markets; so that there Is pres
ently nothing- to buy, and there Is another
excessive addition to prices resulting from
the scarcity.
Conditions Not "Natural."
Tbese are facts and forces with which
ve have become only too familiar; but
we are not justified because of our famil
iarity with them or because of any hasty
and shallow conclusion thnt they are
"natural" and Inevitable, In sitting Inac
tively by and letting them work their fa
tal results It there Is anything that we
can do to check, correct or reverse them.
We tnuRt, 1 think, frankly admit that
them Is no cumplete Immediate, remedy
to bo had from legislation and executive
action The free processes of supply and
dumand will not operuto of themselves,
and no legislative or executive action can
force them Into full and natural operation
untU there Is peace.
Must Know Terms of Peace.
There can be no conlldrnce In Indus
try, no calculable basis for credits, no
confident buvlnir of systematic selling,
no certain prospect of employment, no
normal restoration of business, no
hopeful attempt nt reconstruction or n
proper reassembling' of tho dislocated
elements of enterprise until pence has
been established, and, so far as may be,
KUttrnnteed. Our national life has no
doubt been Icbs radically disturbed and
dismembered thnn the national life of
other peoples whom tho war more di
rectly affected, with all Its tcrrlblo
ravaging nnd destructive force, but It
hns been nevertheless profoundly af
fected and disarranged, and our Indus
tries, our credits, our productive ca
pacity, our economic processes ure In
extricably Interwoven with those of
other nations and peoples most Intl
mntuly of all with the nations nnd peo
ples upon whom the chief burden and
confusion of tho war fell and who
are now most dependent upon tho co
operative action of the world
Exports Greatest In History.
We are Just now shipping moro goods
out of our ports to foreign markets than
we evor shipped boforo not foodstuffs
merely, but stuffs and materials of every
sort; but this Is no Index of what our
foreign sales will continue to be or of
the effect the volume of our exports
will have on supplies and prices. It Is
Impossible yet to predict how far or
how long foreign purchasers will be
able to find the money or the credit to
pay for or sustain such purchases on
such a scale; how soon or to what extent
foreign manufacturers can resume their
former production, foreign farmers get
their accustomed crops from their own
fields; foreign mines resume their former
output, foreign merchants set up again
their; old machinery of trade with the
ends of the earth. All these things must
remain uncertain until peace Is estab
lished and the nations of the world have
concerted the methods by which normal
life and Industry are to be restored.
All that we shall do In the mean
time to restrain profiteering' and put
the life of our people upon a tolerable
footing will be makeshift nnd provi
sional. There can be no settled condi
tion here or slsewhere until the treaty
of peace Is out of the way and the
work of liquidating the war has be
come the chief concern of our govern
ment and of the other governments of
the world.
"Europe will not, cannot recoup her
ALL TAKE EXCESSIVE PROFITS
Federal Trade Commission Makes
Public Faets Concerning Present
High Prices of Shoes.
Washington. Tho t edcrnl trade com
mission, vh!ch recently conducted nn
Investigation Into the leather Industry,
Inquiring especially into tho prices of
shoos, made public a summary of Its
report to conjrress.
In Its introduction to the summary
toe commission says:
capital or put her resttcss. distracted
peoples to work until she knows exact
ly where she stands In respect to
peace; nnd what we will do Is for her
the chief question upon which her qui
etude of mind nnd confidence of pur
pose depends While there Is any pos
ability thnt tho peace terms may be
changed or may be held long In abey
ance, or may not be enforced because
of divisions of opinion nmong the pow
ers associated against Germany It Is
Idle to look for permnnent relief
Immediate Relief Measures.
By wnv of Itnmedlnto relief, surplus
stocks of both food and clothing In tho
hands of th government Will be sold and
of course sold at prices at which thero
Is no pront. And by way of a more per
manent correction of prices surplus
stocks In private hands will be drawn nut
of storage and put upon tho market. For
tunately under the teims of tho food-control
net the hoarding of foodstuffs can
be checked and prevented, and they will
be, with the greatest energy. Foodstuffs
can bo drawn out of storage and sold by
legal nrtlon which tho department of
Justice will Institute wherever necessary;
but as soon as the sltuntlon Is systemati
cally dealt with It Is not likely that tho
courts will often huvo to be resorted to
Much of the accumulating of stocks has
no doubt been due to the sort of specu
lation which always results from uncertainty.
Would Have Prices Plainly Marked.
I would also recommend that It be
required that nil goods destined for In
terstate commerce should In eer case
where theli form or package makes it
possible be plainly marked with the
price nt which they left the hands of
the producer Such u rvquirerr eut
would bear a close analogy to err lulu
provisions of the pure food act, by which
It Is required that certain detailed In
formation be given on the labels of
packagi s of foods und drugs
And it does not seem to me that wo
could conllne ourselves to detailed
measures of this kind. If it Is Imbed
our purpose to assume natlotnl control
of the processr of distribution I
take It for grafted that thnt Is our
purpose and our duty. Nothing; less
will HUIlIee We need not hesitate to
n.inute a national question in n na
tional way. Wo should j:o bevond tln
measures I have suggested. We should
formulate u law requiring a fedenl'
license of all corporations engagol in
Intorstntu commerce nnd embodying In
the license, or In the conditions under
which it is to bo issued, specific regu
lations designed to secure competitive
belling and prevent unconscionable
prollts In the method of marketing
Law Would Do Much.
Such a law would afford u welcome op
portunity to effect other much-needed re
forms In tho business of Intot stale ship
ment and In Vie methods of corporations
which aro engaged hi It, but for tho mo
ment I confine my recommendations to tho
object Immediately In hand, which is to
lower the cost of living.
Wo are dealing, gentlemen of the con
gress, I need hardly say, with very ci Ideal
and very difficult matters. We should go
forward with confidence along the road
we see, but we should nlso seek to com
prehend the whole of the scone amidst
which we act Thero is no ground for
some of the fearful forecasts I hear ut
tered about me, but the condition of the
woria is unquestionably very gravo and
we should face It comprehendlngly. The
situation of our own country Is execp
tlonatcly fortunate. We of all peoples
can afford to keep our heads and to de
termine upon moderate and sensible
courses of action which will Insure us
against the passions and distempers which
are working such deep unhapplness for
some of the distressed nations on the
other side of the sea.
But we may be Involved In their dis
tresses unless we Tielp, and help with en
ergy and Intelligence.
Disregarding the surplus stock In the
hands of the government, there was a
greater supply of foodstuffs In this coun
try on June 1 of this yenr than at the
same date last year. In the combined to
tal of n number of the most Important
foods In dry and cold storage tho excess
Is qulto 19 per cent And yot prices have
risen.
Law Department Active.
The nttorncy general has ben making
a careful study of the sltuttlon as a
whole und of tho laws that can be np
plled to better It and Is convinced that,
under tho stimulation nnd temptation of
exceptional circumstances, combinations
of producers nnd combinations of traders
nave been formed for tho control of sup
plies and of prices which are clearly In
restraint of trade, and ngalnst these pros
ecutions will be promptly Instituted nnd
actively pushed which will In all likeli
hood hnvo u prompt corrective effect.
Thero Is reason to bellovo that tho prices
of leather, of coal, of lumber and of tex
tiles havo been materially affected by
forms of concert and co-operation among
the producers nnd marketers of theso and
other universally necessary commodities
which It will bo possible to redress. No
watchful or onergetlc effort will be
spared to accomplish this necessary re
nult, I trust that there will not bo many
cases In which prosecution will bo neces
sary. Public action will no doubt cnuso
many who huve perhaps unwittingly
adopted Illegal methods to abauuon them
promptly and of their own motion.
Tho department of commerce, the
department of agriculture, the depart
ment of labor and the federal trade
commission can do a great deal toward
supplying tho public systematically
nnd at short Intervals, with Informa
tion regarding the actual supply of
particular commodities that Is In ex
istence end nvallable with regard to
supplies which aro In existence but not
with regnrd to tho methods of price fixing-
which are being usod by dealers In
certain foodstuffs nnd other necessities.
Retailers In Part to Blame.
Thero can be little doubt that retail
ers are In part sometimes In large
part responsible for exorbitant prices;
and It Is quite practicable for the gov
ernment through the agencies I have
mentioned, to supply the public with
full Information as to the prices at
which retailers buy and as to the costs
of transportation they pay In order
that It may be known Just what mar
Kin of profit they are demanding. Opin
ion nnd concerted action on the part of
purchasers can probably do the rest.
Let mo urge. In tho first place, that
the present foodstuff control net should
be extended both as to the period of time
during which It shall remain In operation
and as to the commodities to which It
shall apply.
Its provision against hoarding should be
made to apply not only to food but also
to feed stuffs, to fuel, to clothing, and to
many other commodities which are In
disputably necessaries of llfo. Ah It
stands now It Is limited In operation to
"Tho federnl trade commission lias
found thnt the high price of shoes
cannot be Justified by underlying eco
nomic conditions. The commission
nfter exhaustive inquiry Into the price
of hides, leather nnd shoes, is report
ing to congress that the Inrgcr packers
control the hide supply nnd hnvo
tnlccn execssivo profits and passed In
creased costs to subsequent steps In
manufacture nnd distribution ; thnt tho
tanner hns taken exceptional profits;
that the manufacturer of shoes hns
takes unusual margins, and the prices
the period of Mte war and becomes In
operative upon the formal proclamation
or ponce. But 1 should Judge that It was
clearly within the constitutional power of
the congress to make similar permanent
provisions and regulations with regard to
all goods destined for Interstate com
merce und to excludo them from Inter
stnte shipment If tho requirements of the
law ore not compiled with.
Botuo such regulation Is Imparatlvely
necyssary
If would materially add to the serv
iceability of tho law, for tho purpose we
now have In view, If It were also pre
scribed that all goods released from stor
age for Interstate shipment should have
plainly marked upon each packago the
selling or market price nt which they
went Into storage. By this means the
purchaser would ulwuys be ublo to learn
whnt prollts stood between him and tho
producer or the wholesale dculer.
Tho world must pay fur tho appalling
destruction wrought by tho groat wur,
nnd wo nro part of the world. Wo must
pay our share. For nve years now the In
dustry of ull Europe has beon slack and
dlsctrdered Tho normal crops huvo not
been produced, the normal quantity of
manufactured goods has not been turned
out.
Not until thero are the usual crops
and the usual production of manufactured
goods on the other side of the Atlantic
can Europe return to tho former condi
tions, nnd It was upon the former condi
tions, not I lie present, that our economic
iclatlous with Europe weru built up.
We must fnco the fact that unless we
help Kuropo to get back to her normal
life and production a chaos will ousuu
there which will luovlttbly be communl
cuted to this country. For the piesunt, It
Is manifest, wo must qulcl.cn, not slacken,
our own production
U. S. Must Hold World Steady.
, We, and wc almost, alone, now Mill tho
world steady Upon our steadfastness and
self-possession tU'iHmi! tho iiiTulis of na
tions oveiuheie. It Is In this supremo
crisis-tlils rlsls fur n It mankind that
American must prove her mettle
In the presence of a world confused, dis
tracted, sir must show herself self-possessed
pelf-eontulned, catublo of sobel
and efToitlw) action HIki s ived Kuropo
b her m lion in arms, she must now save
It by her action In pence.
in uav,ing i:uropo she will save herself,
us she dlil upon the irtttlctlclds of the
war. The calmness und capiclty with
wl.Ich she deals with and musteis tho
problems of peace will be tho llnal lest I
and pronf of her place among tho peoples
of the world
And. If only In our own Interest, wc
must help the people overseas Kuropo Is I
our biggest customer We must keep he
going or thousands of out shops and
scores of nur mines must close Thero Is
no such thing as letting her go to ruin
without ourselves sharing In the disaster
In such circumstances, fate to face
with such tests, passion rmist be discard
ed l'asslon nnd a disregard for the
rights of others Itnve no place In the
counsels of u free people. Wo need light,
not bent, in theso solemn times of self
examination and saving fiction
Hvcryone who Is In real touch with the
silent mnsses of our great people knows
that tho old strong fiber nnd steady self
control are still there, firm ngalnst vio
lence or any distempered action thnt
would throw their affairs Into confusion.
I am serenely confident that they will
reudlly llnd themselves, no matter what
the circumstances, nnd that they will ad
dress themselves to the tasks of peace
with the snmu devotion and the same
stalwart preference for what Is right that
they displayed to Ore admiration of the
whole world In the midst of war.
Sinister Influences at Work.
And I enter another confident hope, i
havo spoken today chiefly of measures
of Imperative regulation and legal com
pulsion, of prosocutlons and the sharp
correction of selfish processes; and these
no doubt are necessary.
But there are other forces that we may
count on besides those resident In the
department of Justice. We havo Just
fully awukened to what has been going
on and to tho Influences, many of them
ery selfish and sinister, that havo been
producing high prices and Imposing an
intolerable burden on the muss of our
people.
'l-ii have brought It all Into the open
will accomplish the greater part of tire
result wu seek.
I nppenl with cntlro confidence to
our producers, our middlemen nnd our
met chants to deal fairly with the peo
ple. It Is their opportunity to show
that they comprehend, that they In
tend to net Justly, und that they have
the public Interest sincerely at heart
Labor Must Consider.
1 believe, too, that tho more ex
treme leadurs of organized labor will
presently yield to a sober second
thought, and llko tho great mass of
their associates, think nnd act like
true Americans. They will sco tout
strikes undertaken nt this critical time
aro certain to mako matters worse,
not bettor worse for them and for
everybody else.
The worst thing, the most fatal
thing that can bo dono now Is to stop
or Interrupt production, or to Interfere
with the distribution of goods by tlio
railways and the shipping1 of tti
country.
There nre many things that ought
to bo corrcctud In tho relations be
tween capital nnd labor. In respect
of wages und conditions of labor nnd
other things evon moro far-reaching,
and I, for one, am ready to go Into
conference ubout theso matter with
any group of my fellow countrymen
who know what they are talking about
and are willing to remedy existing
conditions by frank counsel rather
than by violent contest.
General Interest First.
No remedy Is possible while men aro
In n temper, and there can be no set
tlement which does not have as Its
motive und standard the, general In
terest. Must All Work Together.
Threats and undue Insistence upon
the Interest of a single class, make set
tlement Impossible, I believe, as I i
have hitherto had occnslon to say to
the congress, that the Industry and life .
of our people and of the world will
suffer Irreparable damage If employers
nnd workmen nre to go on In u perpet
ual contest, as antagonists. They
must, on one plan or another, be effec
tively associated. Have we not stead
iness nnd self-possession nnd business
sense enough to work out that result?
In the meantime now and In the
days of readjustment and recuperation
thnt ure ahead of us let us resort
more nnd moro to frank and Intlmnto
counsel and make ourselves a great
and triumphal nation, making our
selves a united forco In the llfo of the
world. It will not then have looked to
i us for leadership In vain.
chnrged by the retailer are not, Justi
fiable, each factor In the Industry ad
ding to tho burden he had to bear be
fore he passed It on to tho next"
Mentis for reducing the present high
prices nro recommended by tho com
mission in this paragraph:
"Snino relief from the intolerable
prices pnld by consumers for shoes
jnay bo bad by (1) n rigid enforce
ment of the laws ngalnst monopolistic
control of commodities, (2) legislation
forbidding producers of hides engag
ing In the tannine business."
low taken i rum another airplane .show lug the .Martin bomber which has
Siiites, passing tin1 Washington monument.
CLEARING AN
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At Newark, N. .1., a small army of men Is busily engaged In clearing JJeller
the llrst United States nerlnl mull landing field In the country. Our photograpb
' cimrKC 0f dynamite beneath a mighty
SIMON LAKE'S NEW
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This new salvaging bubmarlue, designed by .Sliiinn Lake, permltling men Iv.Vll I II 1 II II 111 Ul n rflsSlBil
without divers' costumes to walk on the bottom of the ocean, was put to a J$& ii 11 1 11 fl lr nt II (T0PH
severe test In New York harbor over the wreck of a government boat sunk ljUyjJMjBMP
during the wur. At the right Is n photograph of Mr. Lake. ' JBkfZiJMBSgm
BIDDING THE YEOMEN (F) FAREWELL
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This photograph shows the yeomun (K) unit milrinones nt tuu United
States nnvy being mustered out on the prounds of tho Vhlt,o House. To the
strains of Jukz, reviewed by Secretary Daniels and nnvnl ofllcers, nnd with
momenta Interspersed with wit und sorrow, tho fnrcwcll was plcturesquo In
its setting. They will bo retained for clorical servlco in the nuvy department,
assuming civil status.
MARTIN BOMBER FLYING OVER WASHINGTON
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AERIAL MAIL FIELD WITH DYNAMITE
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tree stump, which Is torn from the grounds, roots nnd nil.
SALVAGING SUBMARINE
fjpSSOTECT
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started mi a tup around the United
,
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field which, when completed, will be
shows tho moment of detonation of
HAS MET 20 PRESIDENTS
When President Wilson shook handa
tho other day with Mrs. II. W. Soraers.
wlfo of General Somers of Civil war
fame, he was the twentieth chief ex
ecutive of tho United States to whom
shu bad been Introduced. Mrs. Somers
made her debut nt tho Whlto Uouso
on the arm of Dnnlel Webster when
William Harrison was president. Tho
aged lady declares thnt since that time
she has attended many of tho social
functions given by presidents nnd that
sho was Intimately acquainted with
many of tho executives. Washington
has been her home for 00 years. Dih
spite her udvanced age she Is very
active and in tho stormiest or hottest
weather can bo seen among her wards
the poor.
Heard at Longwood.
"So Illuuk, our old hard
hitter.
doehu't pluy any more. Is he
recon-
died to married lifer
"I giics so. Tho other morning Ii
saw him sifting ashes through his
old tennis racket."
On the Beach.
"This seashore resort reminds ra
of Sunday morning."
"So quiet, eh?"
"Not thnt. Tho belles nre peeling;
don't you know." Boston Transcript.
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