During the spring months the rice market kept advancing until by July T'the price was four times normal, viz, about $12 per small tow, Then, too, nearly all other market commodities began to follow a similar trend. Farmers, producers, capitalists, and for the' most part' merchants,. wer profiting greatly, but small fixed salary people and many others were faced With a "high cost of living" problem that they could not solve, Coal increased to $950 per ton and cloth, all, vegetables and fruit increased ac~ cordingly. An active and alert Government sensed the danger of such a situation and have consequently taken steps to control prices, begin= ning with rice, In some districts students and school staff cancelled classes for a day and gave their time to assist the Government to ascertain what rice stocks were stored in city, market town and by private rice Noarders. Tt was found that the surplus rice stocks were ample and even more than average at this time of year. A date for fixed price of rice on the market was set and now by the end of July ea 'Is sold on the market for $9. 1 ig hoped that this price will tually moderate to a lower aver-the present rice' crop is hare vested, The prospects for the rice crop this year is better than average, While other commodities are not showing a very sudden. tendency to lower in price yet, there is already a general weakening in market prices. There seems to be. scarcity of farm products; then, why this strong upward trend in prices? Perhaps it is partly due to the fact that gold, silver and copper are not easily procured now for hoarding purposes, and other commodities are In demand to take their place, rather than merely bank savings,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.