of farm labor. On the other hand, it is charged that large numbers of farmers are holding their grain, cattle and hogs, expecting a still greater advance in prices. The Department of Agriculture estimates that there are 30,000,000 more bushels of wheat remaining on the farms than a year ago, and the reserves of corn and oats are also much larger. While this tendency of the farmers to hold back supplies from the market has its disadvantage for the consumer, probably no one can blame them for holding their grain and stock for the best prices they can get. It is not a condition that can be remedied by legislation unless it can be shown. that the farmers have entered into a combination to control prices. A free trade paper suggests that the abolition of protective duties on food products will prevent the farmers from obtaining an inordinate profit at the expense of consumers; but it is safe to say that neither of the great political parties dare to try the experiment. No politician North or South is going to make a favorable impression on the farmers by telling them that the prices of their products are too high, and that the tariff must be reduced or wholly taken off to make them cheaper to the con

sumers.

A leading Indiana farmer says that farmers cannot directly reach the consumers any more, because of the obstructions put in their way by middlemen; and gives as one illustration that a hog sold by a farmer for $18 costs the consumer $40 in the city market. The Philadelphia Inquirer says the farmer is not getting the increase; but the consumer is made to contribute to the greed of the middleman. The handlers of food be

tween producer and consumer get the most of the profits.

Statistics show that while the population of the United States has increased 25 per cent. in the last ten years, the increase in most of the foodstuffs has not kept pace: Corn and wheat, 20 per cent.; oats, 10 per cent.; rye, 15 per cent.; cattle, 2 per cent.; and there has been larger increases only in milk, butter and sheep. Living is also dear because of prodigality, wastefulness and lack of care and judgment in purchasing supplies. Investigation by the Massachusetts department of weights and measures has shown that the selling of foodstuffs in packages costs householders from 33 1/3 to 150 per cent. more than it would if the same articles were purchased in bulk. In a recent address, Col. Henry L. Higginson said that while the farmers get some of the increase in prices, no corporation or combination is responsible for the increased cost of living. The leading causes are extravagance and wastefulness in housekeeping, and extravagance in government, which means high

taxes.

In regard to the influence of the cold storage system on prices of food products, the Washington (D. C.) Chamber of Commerce makes a report, in which it is stated that the effect has been to slightly increase the market price, both wholesale and retail, of products during the plentiful seasons, and to decidedly reduce what would otherwise be the wholesale and retail prices of the same articles during periods of scarcity. The report dwells with more emphasis upon the point of the healthfulness of the products after undergoing a pro

tracted period of storage, and says if the articles are so kept for an unreasonable or indefinite time the effect upon the consumer must be deleterious. Similar reports have been issued in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere, as the result of investigation; and remedial legislation by Congress and State legislatures is recommended to regulate the storage of food products; by printing the date upon the individual article stored, and prescribing fixed allowable periods of storage of each particular class of articles. Senator Lodge has recently offered a recommendation in the Senate, that the Government limit to one year the time that perishable food products can be kept in cold storage before becoming outlawed as articles of in

terstate commerce.

The U. S. Senate Inquiry.

We have only meagre reports of the testimony given to the Senate committee that is investigating the high cost of living. Cattlemen have appeared to testify that the rise in land values, more expensive feed and increase in labor wages have made cattle raising unprofitable, and are deterring many from engaging in the business. Samuel H. Cowan, of Texas, said to increase the supply of meat animals, we must first create an incentive to raise such animals. If the tariff is taken off, while it would let in any number of Mexican and Canadian cattle, it would kill the industry in the States and force the cattle ranger out of the business. This would only be to destroy the industry and not to build it up, and after all the matter should be regulated by the laws of supply and demand.

Sundry importers have testified that the tariff causes much of the higher cost of living; and yet they admit that the principal cause is that people are demanding a better class of goods and consequently must pay more. None of them have been able to explain why prices have increased on some articles on which the tariff rates were reduced, while they have decreased on other things on which the duties were incrased or left unchanged.

Much tesimony has been given the committee on the effects of cold storage on the cost of living-some claiming that it is a great equalizer of prices without imposing any real burden upon the consumer, while others claim it is an important factor in increasing the cost of living.

The committee has issued a bulletin showing the comparative cost of food products in Detroit and Windsor, Ont. In the tariff debate Senator Bacon submitted to the Senate a newspaper article which alleged that because of the tariff food products commanded a far higher price. in Detroit than in Windsor, which is the river and the just across Canadian boundary. The bulletin just issued reproduces the advertising pages of a Detroit and of a Windsor paper, in which prices are quoted on thirty-three food products. In most instances the prices are identical, or the difference is so slight as to be immaterial. There are slight differences, however, and on fourteen items the prices are lower in Detroit and on eight they are lower in Windsor. In the case of sugar, the Canadian grocers advertise "eighteen pounds for $1," and the American grocers "ten pounds for 47 cents," so that $1 would buy

twenty-one pounds of sugar in Detroit and only eighteen pounds in Windsor.

The Massachusetts Inquiry.

The Massachusetts Commission to investigate the cost of living have held several sessions since March 25. A large number of individuals engaged in trade have appeared by invitation to give their views. One conspicuous feature of the hearing has been the prominence given to the wastefulness of the American mode of living.

Among others, E. G. Preston of the R. H. White Company, has testified that the prices on goods carried in the department stores have not increased much in the past ten years. Furniture prices, he said, are lower than they were ten years ago, as regards case furniture, such as bureaus, cabinets, chiffoniers, etc. The principal increases are in clothing, carpets and rugs, and prints and dress goods. F. L. Hiller, manager of the Tremont store of the S. S. Pierce Co., said there had been practically a general rise in groceries except coffee. He did not believe that trusts are wholly responsible. Some of the increase is due to the package system.

Most of the representatives of clothing houses agree that the tariiff has nothing to do with the increased cost of clothing, as there has been no change in the wool schedules. The advance in the cost of medium grade clothing is attributed to increased cost of labor and merchandising. Samuel S. Dale said the effect of the American Woolen Company upon the trade was a good one, as it prevented sudden fluctuations in the

price of wool. The cheaper grades of goods were most affected by the tariff. M. A. Smith, of the Aetna Mills, said the labor cost was higher than two years ago, as were the prices of materials. William Whitman said the price of wool was not excessive. Increased production has brought lower prices for the American people on their own productions in their own market.

Chairman Luce and E. F. McSweeney, who had visited Canada to look over the situation, reported that almost the same ratio of increases from basic prices prevailed in the Dominion as in the United States.

Representatives of beef-packing houses denied that there was any combination among packers to keep up prices, and agreed that the present prices were the result of a great demand and a short supply. Mr. A. L. Robinson contended that within a year such a thing as high prices will be unheard of, for the reason that we have promise of crops that will break all records. He advocated, however, a repeal of the tariff on hay as a help to the New England farmer. F. L. Fisher, of Norwood, said that because of the marked advance in the price cost of feed, stock and labor, there would be justification for an increase of fully 15 per cent. in the price of milk.

One perfectly apparent cause of increased living expenses is the inclination, always strong in this country and now more potent than ever before, to avoid bother, to minimize labor, to get to the desired end in the shortest and easiest way possible. We are all disposed to pay freely for convenience, though the cost of the relief from work and care which we buy is often greater than it is usually supposed to be.Cleveland Leader.

Among the witnesses before the Congressional Committee which is investigating the Cost of Living was Mr. Henry M. Steel, formerly a woolen manufacturer in Bradford, Eng., and now in the same business in Bristol, Pa., having brought his machinery hither after the enactment of the McKinley tariff, in 1890. From his experience as a manufacturer and merchant, and from his studies of industrial conditions, het was peculiarly well qualified to shed light upon the subject, and what he said is entitled to the highest confidence, particularly his testimony concerning men's clothing. statement follows:

The

"The general trend of American life applied in relative proportion to the different circumstances of our people has been progressively in the direction of a more liberal expenditure. This is a good feature and indicates advance toward better living conditions. It is, however, the fundamental cause of greater living expense, and the question of the present living expense can be plainly stated not as one of the 'higher cost of living,' but as the 'cost of higher living.'

Earner of Moderate Wages Never So Well Circumstanced.

"In considering this question, one cannot take the cost of living at a definite limited period. Certain causes may act in one period either to advance or depress prices by influence of brief continuance. A dis

passionate view of industrial and economic conditions extending over a long period undoubtedly shows that compared with conditions before and since the Civil War the earner of moderate wages was never so well circumstanced as he is at the present day. Statistics seem to prove that the wages of the working people have gradually increased, and that, outside of the present cost of food, ten years' average prices of the ordinary articles purchased by wage earners and those receiving the smaller incomes have not materially increased, in fact, in some instances are lower than previously, when the scale of wages was not as high as at the present time. Also improvements in machinery have tended to improve both quality and appearance and cheapen the cost of production. I state positively that the present industrial, physical and social condition of people of small means is practically in all respects far superior to and on a higher plane than was the case a number of years ago. Fabrics of Wool Considerably Higher

Thirty Years Ago Than Today.

"I have been connected with the sale of fabrics made of wool for over half a century, and claim that my knowledge and experience in regard thereto is equal to that of any present authority, as well as contrary to the theories of the doctrinaires, including magazine writers and some of our newspapers, who make mendacious assertions in regard to wool

and its products, resulting in the misleading of the general public. To my certain knowledge, fabrics of wool, whether made on the worsted or woolen system, were considerably higher thirty years ago than today. I recall, for instance, a 12 ounce, all wool fabric which we sold at that period at $1.62 1/2 per yard, and today a similar cloth can be bought at $1.00 per yard, or less-62 1/2 per cent. higher then than now.

The Fabrics of Old Times Would Be Largely Unsalable Today.

"My business career commenced in 1856, and was continued for over five years in a country general store in the central part of Pennsylvania, which experience gives me a practical knowledge of the values of that time. At that period money was scarce, and merchandising was conducted very largely on a trading and credit basis. The financial circulating medium was largely that of the notes of country banks, founded frequently with no substantial capital, whose notes were sent to distant points to avoid their quick redemption and whose failures were a daily occurrence. The every day clothing of men of small earnings was of coarse quality and indifferent durability. It was largely made of fabrics which are now obsolete and entirely unsalable, and which were sold at that time at twice the price at which they could be disposed of today. To make this statement definite, I instance two of such fabrics.

Jeans and Satinets.

"The best grade of jeans, a rough fabric with a cotton warp and a wool filling, retailed at about 50 cents per yard, 27 inches wide, and the best grade of satinets at a somewhat higher price. The satinet was also a

cotton warp fabric with a wool filling which appeared on the outside. face of the cloth, and flocks (fine woolen dust) felted on the back to produce weight. In those days the trousers were lined as well as the coat. After a few weeks' wear, when the flocks in the back of the cloth separated from the fabric by attrition, the wearer of satinet garments found an accumulation of flocks at the bottom of his trousers and inside of the skirt of his coat.

No Men's Wear Fabric So Poor Today or Such Poor Vale.

"Notwithstanding the ignorant statements so freely made in public journals, which describe fabrics of the present day as poor and containing shoddy, cotton, etc., there is no men's wear fabric of today's manufacture which can be compared in poorness with the two fabrics I have mentioned. Further, for the same money there can be purchased today. fabrics of twice the old value. I recall a ready made pair of trousers retailed at a period before the Civil War for $5.00 made of a cotton warp adulterated cassimeres, which today could be bought at not more than $2.50-100 per cent. higher then than now. The reason this particular garment is recalled to my memory is because I wore such a pair myself and I remember they were very unsatisfactory.

The High Civil War Prices. "During the time of the Civil War prices of even ordinary necessities of life were enormous. Common unbleached muslin sold at $1.00 per yard, white sugar at 28 cents per pound, and other articles in proportion. A pair of good black doeskin trousers of imported material cost. $25, which sum today will buy two