3. The Rights of Consumers

Consumers have certain rights as regards themselves, as regards those dependent upon them, as regards the character of goods and as regards the price of goods. Some of these rights are well recognized, others are still indefinite.

The consumer has a right as regards himself and those dependent upon him. He has a right to know, for example, that when he buys a food product, his health will not be in danger because of poisonous preservatives. The consumer has another right entirely independent of his health or well-being-that is his right to have goods as represented. The markets of the East teem with traders whose one object in life is to misrepresent their goods. Among them the deceit of a customer is considered good business. This attitude was reflected until very recently in the wellknown precept of the English common law caveat emptor—"let the buyer beware!"

During recent times a complete revolution has taken place in the relation of buyer and seller. The seller places certain goods upon his counter. If they are misbranded, he is liable to prosecution. In the great centers of trade, reputable merchants and manufacturers stand ready at any time to make good losses which the consumers feel that they have sustained in purchasing goods that are not what they were represented to be. The consumer is coming to regard his right to goods as represented as one of the fundamental rights in the economic world.

The third, and by far the most important right of the consumer, is his right to goods at reasonable prices. So significant is this right that it will be dealt with at greater length in a subsequent section.

The consuming public, comprising the entire community, is developing certain rights, and is coming to look upon them as belonging naturally to consumers. The consumers are not yet conscious of either their rights or their power. Nevertheless they are learning to understand both. They are insisting upon legislation, demanding reform, and above all else, they are interesting themselves in the prices of things. 4. The Obligations of Consumers

With rights go obligations. Consumers may justly assert certain rights to which they consider themselves entitled. At the same time, as consumers, they necessarily assume the obligations which go with their position as members of the consuming public.

The first obligation of the consumer relates to the kind of goods that he buys. A man with a ten-dollar bill in his pocket can direct the course of production within the limit of ten dollars. For example, he can vote in favor of the manufacturer of shoes by the purchase of a pair of shoes; in favor of a manufacturer of liquor by the purchase of champagne; in favor of the manufacturer of jewelry by the purchase of a watch charm. Hats and shoes are necessaries; cham

pagne and watch charms are luxuries. The consumer is under a blanket obligation to see that the proper kind of goods are produced. If the community is in need of hats and shoes, he must vote for hats and shoes.

The consumer must recognize an equally imperative mandate to conserve the welfare of the future. Grant for the moment that the public sale of alcoholic liquors in a community is disadvantageous to the on-coming generation. The consumer who casts his vote for alcoholic liquors, casts his vote against the future welfare of his own community. The moment he is convinced that alcohol will lower standards, he must vote against alcohol in favor of public health.

The second obligation of the consumer is less important. The consumer must vote for the right quality of goods. Every purchase of a cheap or tawdry article is a vote in favor of establishing such standards in the community. The conscientious consumer will cast his ballot for quality.

The third obligation of the consumer is in some ways the most important. The consumer must cast his vote in favor of reasonable conditions of production.

The conditions surrounding the production of goods differ very widely. Food, clothing and fuel may be turned out by men and women who are well paid and carefully safeguarded against the risks incident to work in their industry, or they may be underpaid, overworked and forced to face constant and unnecessary dangers to life and

health. Which of these two producers shall the consumer patronize? If he buys the goods produced by the first, he is voting for fair conditions of production. If he buys the goods of the second, he is voting for the inhuman conditions of life and work. Such contrasts exist in many industries, and between these two extremes the consumer must choose.

The consumer who takes his obligations seriously has only one path open. Whenever possible he must make his choice in a way that will banish every banishable evil from industrial life. He must cast his vote against child labor; he must cast his vote against the sweat shop; he must cast his vote against the exploitation of women; he must cast his vote against inadequate pay and over-work. In short, he must cast his vote against everything which in any way reflects unfairness as between industry and the worker.

If the American consuming public would recognize this obligation to the workers and would exercise its power by voting energetically against bad working conditions and in favor of good ones, it could revolutionize the lives of millions of toilers.

5. Reasonable Prices

Among the rights upon which the consumer insists, the most tangible one, and the one which must attract the most permanent interest, is the right to reasonable prices. The consumer

may not appreciate the quality of the goods. It is often difficult or impossible for him to know personally about the conditions under which the goods were produced. He does come into contact with prices. Each time that he purchases an article he faces the price problem.

Price is the one thing about goods concerning which the consumer can have a really accurate knowledge. Price is forced upon his attention each time he makes a purchase.

The consumer has a right and an obligation as regards prices. His right is the right to goods at a reasonable price. His obligation is the obligation to pay a price that will allow for fair conditions of production. Provisions for health and safety are frequently expensive. No matter what they cost, the consumer must expect to pay a price that will cover them.

The consumer believes, and with every color of justice, that he has a right to goods at a reasonable price. The difficulty arises when he attempts to make a concrete estimate of what constitutes reasonableness.

What is a reasonable price?

There is, of course, no final way in which such a question can be answered. There are limits, however, within which prices may be called reasonable and beyond which they may be called unreasonable.

The difficulty of defining "reasonable" as applied to price is enhanced by the difference that always exists between the viewpoint of the