East St. Louis Daily Journal

CIVIC CLUB LEADER SAYS ORGANIZATION WILL LIKELY TAKE UP FIGHT ON H. C. L.

Largest Woman's Club in East St. Louis to Consider Finish Fight Here.

MANY PLEDGED TO EXTEND AID

Believes Every Woman Organization in City Will Join in Nation wide Movement.

The Civic Club, the largest organization of women in East St. Louis, will be the first in the city to join the state-wide campaign against the high cost of living, a movement inaugurated recently in Chicago, it was learned yesterday from Mrs. W. K. Henderson, 605 North Fourteenth street, president of the club.

The Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs is whole-heartedly supporting the campaign and is seeking to enlist the aid of every organization in the state. Many letters and a great deal of literature on the subject has been sent Mrs. Henderson and will be introduced to the members of the Civic Club at the first regular meeting to be held.

Individual activities and holiday affairs have so interfered, Mrs. Henderson said, that no effort has been made to call a meeting of the club, but the campaign to pull down high prices is attracting such universal interest that it is probable a meeting will be held before New Year. If this effort is successful announcement of the time of meeting will be made through the Daily Journal.

Many individual women in the city already have expressed approval of the new movement and have pledged their support to a local campaign. With the formation of an organization, each member conserving and economizing in every way, it is believed that the fight to bring prices back to normal level will be materially felt here.

With the Civic Club as a nucleus it is planned to introduce the idea to every women's club in the city. Among the first will be the Eastern Star. Mrs. Henderson said, as she expects to tell of what the women are doing in other parts of the state at the next meeting of the order. Efforts to get the members interested in the fight and to join the movement to combat the high price evil will be made at that time, she added.

Headquarters of the women's movement have been opened in Chicago, and the offices there are supplying clubs in the different cities with literature and pamphlets which will be used in the drive. Complaint blanks also are being sent to special agents in all parts of the state and these are to be filled out whenever and wherever a case of profiteering is discovered.

Besides profiteering and the prosecution which will follow, the women are to be actively interested in the campaign of not buying if the price is considered higher than the article is worth. If the price is excessive, without actually entering into the profiteering class, the way to combat it is to refuse to buy, state leaders have pointed out.

It is not a disgrace not to be able to buy, leaders declare, but it is when any price is paid merely because the purchaser "wants" that certain article and no other. To have a shopper say "I can afford to pay but I will not because the price is too high" is the goal for which the leaders are striving. No boycott is necessary to bring down the prices, but cautious and conservative buying will do this in a very short time.

"General U. B. Sane" is the new leader elected by the state fair price committee and he has been introduced to the leaders in Chicago. His presence was figurative at that meeting, the initial organization convention of the women directing the state fight against the cost of living, but his presence, nevertheless, was felt.

These leaders are now preparing to introduce "General Sane" to his army of women of Illinois.

Educational campaign, sanity in advertising of food and wearing apparel, direction of campaigns against unnecessary buying to force costs down and the outlining by Assistant District Attorney R. A. Milroy, expert in prosecution of food cases for the government, of the proper preparation of cases against profiteers, were the principal points brought before the meeting.

This was followed by a general discussion

(Continued on Page Two.)
CONCLUDED FROM PAGE ONE
Civic Club Leader
Says
Organization
Will Likely Take Up
Fight on H. C. L.

Discussion by the committee on methods of waging the great war against the expenses of keeping alive.

Following the meeting a resolution was passed to petition congress to issue a proclamation of a patriotic nature, calling on merchants throughout the country, in view of the present economic situation, to "adhere to costs as closely as possible" until the country is tided over its period of stress.

The petition will be drawn up and forwarded to Washington as soon as concurrence by the chairmen of other state fair price committees is obtained.