The  fact  that  this  same  table  sells  for  $15.00  today  is  no  uncommon
thing,  because  prices  change  with  conditions.  You  know  that  the  world
moves  and  that  progress  is  being  made  every  day,  with  the  result  that  it's
easier  and  correspondingly  cheaper  to  manufacture  hundreds  of  articles
today  than  during  the  same  period  of  last  year.  For  example  :  We  recall
that  some  four  years  ago  we  were  putting  coal  into  our  15-500  horse  power
boilers  by  means  of  wheelbarrows.  Today  we  dump  the  coal  into  a  big
hopper,  from  which  it  is  elevated  by  means  of  buckets  to  another  hopper
and  taken  therefrom  by  sort  of  a  trolley  car  to  our  boilers,  which  are  now
self-feeding  and  self-firing.  This  change  has  made  a  natural  reduction
in  our  power  house  expenses,  while  in  turn  the  same  item  has  enabled  us
to  make  certain  reductions  in  our  manufacturing  cost.
To  bring  the  question  nearer  home,  suppose  you  think  a  moment
about  some  of  the  prices  you  are  paying  in  your  own  stores  for  groceries  or
like  articles.  You  know  full  well  as  we  that  nearly  everything  has  advanced
since  last  year,  because  conditions  in  the  commercial  world  appear  to  have
made  such  a  thing  imperative.  We  don't  believe  that  the  advanced  prices
which  ordinarily  exist  are  justified;  nevertheless,  they  are  in  evidence,
ever  reminding  us  that  yesterday  is  not  a  criterion  for  today,  nor  can  we
take  today  and  use  it  as  an  accurate  prediction  for  what  may  occur  to-
morrow.
