Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1917 — DRASTIC ACTION NECESSARY [ARTICLE]

DRASTIC ACTION NECESSARY

Government Must Take a Hand to Prevent Price Boosting. When we read about the scarcity of cars for shipping as an excuse for the boosting of coal prices and that of other necessities it makes one sick with disgust. The railroads claim that they have plenty of cars to supply the demand, especially for coal, and this is conclusively proven by the number of empty cars that are seen in the railroad yards and on the sidings. The writer made a trip to Lafayette Wednesday on the Monon and will venture the assertion that he saw at least 150 empty coal cars, along the line, nearly all of which had apparently been empty for weeks and perhaps months, as indicated by the streaks of rust on the steel cars and the absence of any marks on the wooden cars indicating that they had been recently used. If the state or national government would take a hand in this unwarranted price boosting and send a bunch of the rascals to prison for a long term of years at hard labor we - would hear no more about shortage of production or failure to get cars to ship necessities. Drastic measures must be taken to put a stop to the tribute being levied by this bunch of worse than thieves or highwaymen.