TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI 531 



and instead of telephoning her food orders, would go to the stores 

 and do her buying carefully, she would be less inclined to wail about the 

 high living cost. If she will make some effort to discover what prices 

 are being charged at various stores and will show a willingness to sub- 

 stitute cheaper but equally nutritious meats for the more expensive cuts, 

 inexpensive, high nutritive ratio groceries for expensive delicacies, and 

 simple goods of, lasting quality for elaborate, modish gowns, etc., she will 

 have taken a big step toward the reduction of the high cost of living 

 insofar as it applies to her. Credit wisely used is a valuable business 

 medium, but it is a weakness of human nature to buy more extravagantly 

 on a credit basis than when it is the habit to deposit actual money; in 

 other words, buying on a cash basis will assist materially in curbing 

 reckless buying. 



As stated, I am not at all confident of any permanent benefits being 

 affected through legislation, which does not seek to bring about one or 

 more of the economic remedies outlined above, but at the same time, I 

 do believe that some beneficial results may be obtained through the 

 establishment of a Fair Price Committee. A measure of this kind will 

 not, 6i course, check reckless buying, but it will at least have a tendency 

 to prevent the merchants taking advantage of this present day 

 extravagance. 



Such a committee might be composed of the following: one member 

 of the Dairy and Food Commission, one member of the Attorney General's 

 staff, neither of whom shall receive compensation, and three qualified 

 disinterested representatives of the public, who shall receive a stated 

 remuneration per diem and whatever expenses may be incurred, for their 

 services. 



Obviously, the question of what would constitute a fair price for a 

 given commodity would be largely a question affecting not only that 

 commodity, but the conditions confronting the Individual merchant as 

 well, and for this reason an enormous amount of time and labor would be 

 involved in attempting to set prices which would be fair to both the buyer 

 and seller. In fact, it would be impossible for a single committee, con- 

 stituted in the manner outlined, to do their work, even though the mem- 

 bers of this committee devoted their entire time to it. It is for this 

 reason that I advocate a Fair Price Committee, the distinction being that 

 Instead of attempting to fix prices, the Committee should act as a board 

 sitting in judgment on the prices set by the merchants themselves. In 

 other words, it would be a board whose function it would be to hear com- 

 plaints of unfairness and take all the facts involved in the case into 

 consideration before rendering a decision. Roughly, its procedure 

 would be as follows: Upon receipt of a complaint of unfair prices, an 

 inspector of this department would be detailed to inquire into the merits 

 of the case. The Inspector would have no power to render decisions nor 

 to order the merchant to make a price revision; he would simply report 

 to the Fair Price Board whether or not, in his estimation, the complaint 

 was justified and submit the facts as he saw them. In this way, many 

 unfounded complaints would be eliminated and only those which appear 

 to have merit be brought to the attention of the board. Since there is 



