10 and 16 cents; lard for 15 cents; chocolate, 32 cents; cocoa, 40 cents; baking powder, 40 cents; almonds, 50 cents; dried apples, 12 cents; asparagus, 32 cents a can; canned beans, 18 cents, and so on all along the list, in every instance the prices being from 5 to 10 cents higher than they were three or four years ago.

She

The high cost of living appeals directly to the housewife, that thrifty, far-seeing and far-calculating economist, who ever shapes her purchases to her means. understands what this great increase in prices means. One can imagine the disadvantage under which the woman of 1903 labors in trying to make one dollar go as far as two did for the woman of 1894 or 1897. Suppose that the modern housewife, in making the ordinary purchases for her household, buys at the butcher's three pounds of sirloin steak at 20 cents a pound; two pounds of mutton chops at 18 cents a pound; two pounds of ham at 20 cents a pound; at the grocer's a basket of potatoes at 18 cents; two dozen eggs at 32 cents a dozen; five pounds of butter at 26 cents a pound; one pound of cheese at 18 cents; one pound of rice at 8 cents; three and one-half pounds of granulated sugar for 19 cents; a head of cauliflower at 18 cents, and a head of lettuce at 8 cents. It's rather a big day's marketing-but suppose she does buy those things. They will cost her $4.19.

Suppose the same woman, dealing with the same markets, buying approximately the same grade of goods, had bought the same things in 1894. Here is what they would have cost her: Three pounds of sirloin steak, 12 cents a pound; two pounds of mutton chops, 8 cents a pound; two pounds of ham, 12 cents a pound; a basket of potatoes, 10 cents; two dozen eggs, 15 cents a dozen; five pounds of butter at 16 cents a pound; one pound of cheese, 12 cents; one pound of rice, 5

In many instances wages have...

of the United States in six years.

.$2,052,000,000 7,536,000,000

27%

cents; three and one-half pounds of granulated sugar, 14 cents; one head of cauliflower, 10 cents; one head of lettuce, 5 cents. The total bill in 1894 would have been $3.22.

What Causes High Prices.

Who is responsible for the high prices? The man or the woman who complains to the butcher that he asks too much for his meat will be promptly met with the excuse that it is all, on account of the meat

trust.

If a grocer is chided for asking more for his goods than he did two or three weeks ago he holds up both hands and says: "It's the trusts."

Farm products are higher, and in explanation it is said that there is a farmers' trust.

Breadstuffs are higher, it is said, because of the railway trust. And it is the same in all lines. About four years ago the so-called trusts began to be formed. The New York Journal of Commerce estimated that the capitalization of industrial consolidations amounted to $7,536,000,000, the largest flotations being in 1899 and 1901. There are nearly 250 separate combinations in many lines of business, and it is not an unusual thing to learn of a combination controlling 70 or 80, or even 90 per cent. of the output of its particular line. Take, for instance, the National Biscuit Company. It has 128 different plants in different cities, while the Consolidated Tobacco Company makes 95 per cent. of the cigarettes consumed in America, controls nearly all the plug tobacco and snuff concerns and is extending its business into England.

What about the charge that freight rates have gone so high that prices on breadstuffs and farm produce have been affected?

as

In order to place competition on even a basis as possible the railroads of the United States have entered into two kinds of agreements-uniform classification and uniform tariffs. In order to clasify freights uniformly the various trunk lines are associated through their representatives in what are known as classification committees. The entire country is divided among three such committees, the Official, the Western and the Southern. All roads lying north of the Ohio and the Potomac rivers and east of the Mississippi and Chicago represent the official classification. Those west of Chicago and the Mississippi river are in the Western committee, and those south of

the Ohio and Potomac rivers and east of the Mississippi are in the Southern com-. mittee. As a rule the classification committee is composed of general freight agents or traffic managers, and the membership ranges from fifteen to forty-two. Each committee has a chairman not representing any road, but who is paid a good salary. It is said that the classification committee does not fix the actual freight rates, but it is noticeable that by adroitly shifting an article from one class to another it has succeeded since January, 1900, in advancing freight rates from 20 to 100 per cent.

There is the greatest of harmony between the official classification committee and the Trunk Lines Association, which includes the roads connecting the Atlantic coast cities with Chicago. It is this association that fixes the actual rates by classes and also the so-called "commodity rates"-in other words, rates on commodities not included in any of the regular classifications.

Even within the last year, not content with the enormous rise in freight rates since 1900, nearly all the railroads have still farther advanced rates.

The following shows the average rate in cents received by some of the roads for hauling a ton of freight one mile: 1903. 1902. 1901. .606 .604 .564

Wabash
Hocking Valley
Southern
Erie

Norfolk & Western. St. Paul...

Northwestern

1.040

.990

.586

.582

.630 .600

Chicago, R. I. & P..
Pennsylvania
New York Central

These advances, which are slight in comparison to the advances of the last five years, together with the meat trust. help your butcher in his explanation.

In the last two or three years combinations in the grocery line have caused considerable anxiety among the smaller dealers. Aside from the usual competition in trade "chain stores" have made their appearance. Among the wholesalers "price fixing" is said to prevail. In 1895 the wholesalers induced the sugar refiners to adopt an "equality" plan for the purpose of overcoming competition. It provided for the payment of a rebate to the wholesalers by the refiners upon condition that they maintain the prices fixed by the refiner. On the other hand the refiners were to confine their business strictly to the jobbing interests and thus cut off all

competition. In certain States wholesale grocers are beginning to show a tendency to forestall competition by organizing under the corporate form, which is allowed by law, in this way getting all the benefits of a trust.

And thus all along the line we see food prices steadily climb upward. In the old

days competition was said to be the life of trade. Also it was said to make a fat larder. In the new days, with competition dead, how many may say, with Sydney Smith:

"Fate can not harm me;
I have dined today?"

Canadian Legislation.

I feel that most of the various organizations I have had the honor of representing in matters of legislation at Ottawa could be interested in noting what legislation has been before the House interesting to them and myself during the past session. It will be unnecessary for me to go into all the details of my work at Ottawa or to say anything as to the support or opposition which I received in connection with the several bills I have been intérested in.

In the first place we have had passed this session a bill known as the Railway Labor Dispute Settlement Bill. This bill, as I have already explained through the journals, is a compulsory investigation law. You will no doubt understand that this bill is a compromise for the Compulsory Arbitration Bill that was introduced at the previous session.

We have also succeeded in having incorporated in the Consolidated Railway Act of the Dominion a Safety Appliance Law, which compels the railway companies on or before the 1st of January, 1906, to have all their cars and engines equipped with automatic couplers, airbrakes and standard height of couplers, and all box freight cars to be fitted with side and end ladders. This is a great victory for the railway trainmen of the country, and I am quite sure that all the men engaged in the train service will very much appreciate this gain in the legislation.

We had another bill before the House which had reference to insurance societies that exist on one or two roads in the country. But the act that we introduced had special reference to an agreement employes were compelled to sign on entering the service of those companies. We have not succeeded in carrying this bill, and I

wish to say for the information of those who are interested in this legislation that the Minister of Justice, speaking in the House in opposition to the bill, stated that agreements with railway companies for relief from the payment of indemnities are, to use his words, ultra vires, or in other words that they are illegal, and that unless the laws of the province give them the right to operate a contractingout system in their organization, they can not be maintained in law. I might also state that this is the opinion of the great majority of the legal talent in the House of Commons and I believe that, if this matter were tested in the courts, it would be so held.

I was also interested in a bill introduced by Hon. John Charlton to amend the Alien Labor Act. The effect of this bill was to admit the importation into this country of skilled labor. The words "skilled labor" would practically include every man who followed a trade, from the drain digger to the most skilled mechanic, because any man who follows an occupation is skilled, or ought to be; so that I felt the necessity of opposing this bill and wish to say that it had no show of ever passing after it was explained to the House.

We then had a bill known as the Loughead Bill. This measure created a considerable amount of interest throughout the country and, if it had become law, would have had very serious consequences to those of us who are in the international organizations. After the bill was presented I had an argument with Senator Loughead. He did not use very strong efforts to have his bill become law (that is, so far as his open acts were concerned), and I believe he felt that he had made a mistake. However, there were others in the Senate who supported the bill of Senator Loughead, and who

used very bitter arguments in sustaining their contentions. It passed the Senate by a majority of about two to one, but we had the fortunate protection of the House of Commons which had to pass the bill before it became law. I may say that the bill has not been heard of since it was sent by the Senate to the House of Com

mons.

We had another bill that was introduced in the Senate by Senator Beique, a gentleman who is continually professing his good will to somebody or something in everything he says or does. At the same time, I have grave doubts as to the gentleman's good intentions toward the labor people of this country. His bill was supposed to be for free labor, and was so radical in its principles that I had the promise of the government and also of the opposition that the bill should not be made law.

You will see that I have had my hands full during the session just closed, and that we have succeeded in passing some very good laws and preventing some very bad laws from being enacted. I hope the result of the work of the session will be satisfactory to you, and I desire to thank the members of the different organizations for their courteous treatment of me and the assistance they have given me at times when I desired it. J. H. HALL, Legislative Representative.

Current Comment.

Militarism.-According to the press reports, labor organizations are responsible for much lawlessness in different parts of the country in connection with strikes that are in progress. Every crime that has been charged to labor has been only charged, not proven, and these charges can usually be traced to those having a direct interest in the downfall of organized labor.

In large cities when labor troubles occur there is always an element ready to stir up disorder, for lawlessness is their natural state and, as a rule, they are not members of any organized labor union, but if some of them were it would not be anything strange, for lawless men or men with criminal tendencies are to be found in all walks of life; even the pulpit is not free from them.

That now and then such men should be found in the ranks of labor with its millions of individuals, is not to be wondered at, rather wonder at the fact that

so few of them fall under temptation of the briber or are goaded to rash acts by the injustice of those who administer the laws so unequally.

When a strike occurs the first thing the employer does is to demand protection or, in other words, armed soldiers to intimidate the strikers. Usually these demands are made immediately following a strike and before any overt act has been committed by the strikers, and is nothing more or less than the first move to intimidate them.

The first thing then the striker sees employed against him is force, and force once employed naturally incurs the resistance of force. It is getting to be the fashion for governors to send troops without troubling themselves to find out whether their presence is really needed or not, but to insure to the governor the support of the powers that be when he desires some favor that their influence might aid him in securing.

The militia, puffed with its own importance and usually composed of boys and officered by youths with an aggravated idea of their own importance, proceeds to run things with a high hand and do about as it pleases under the plea that under martial law any act it chooses to commit against the rights of citizens is permissible.

There should be no need of troops in any locality during any trouble that may occur, as there should be, and undoubtedly there are, enough good citizens in every part of the country to see that the law is obeyed and that life and property are safe.

This does not mean that there need not be individual outbreaks any more than it means that there would not be murders in an otherwise peaceful community, but the one does not require the calling out of the militia any more than the other.

The governor of a State takes heed of the fact that the Honorable Blank or Mr. Doe has telegraphed to him that agreeable to the request of the owners of the D- Mills or M- Mines troops should be sent, and he sends them, overlooking the fact that Mr. Doe has the back of his vest lined with bonds of these corporations or that the Honorable Blank owes his position as senator to the influence of these same employers.

In fact, it doesn't matter about the right of the case or how much injustice is inflicted on strikers; they are poor, they are only working people, in a year they will forget the wrong done them and