Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-30
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TEA AND COFFEE.
The Consumer Getting a Better Article vi
the Reduced Values ofthe Goods.

the Reduced TaIcses offhe Clouds.
The fact that the Wholesale price of te,
and coffee has fallen considerably recent,
has been stated in New York dispatches
and elsewhere. For several years past th,
price of tea has been steadily declining
while a market report Of Saturday stated
that coffee was lower in New York than hat
ever been known before. A reporter who
has failed to note any corresponding re-
duction in this branch of his household ex
penses interviewed some of the leading
dealers with view to discovering, if pos
sible, whether the public was getting any
of the benefit of the cheap rates. He first
spoke with member of firm which deals
almost exclusively in teas and coffees, and
asked for information on this interesting
point.
The dealer said it was true that there
had been a considerable decline in tea dur
ing the past three years. He thought the
reduction during this season amounted to
about Is per cent. but it was almost en-
tirely on the medium grades. Fine teas
manded very nearly the old figures. There
udO AOt DSCh SAAy 0COAAAC LII Vic ICtd1l PIlC0
of teas, but he and other dealers sold a
much better quality for the same money.
People got into the habit of buying 40,
so, 60. or IS cent tea, and could not be
persuaded to change their standard. But
they got the benefit of the reduction
in the improved quality, for where
competition was as close as it is in
Chicago dealers had to give a good
article in order to do business. He
showed samples of tea at twenty five cents
per pound, or ten pounds for 81, and said
that the quality was quite fair. He did
not believe that teas were adulterated, al
though probably the Chinese and Japs
used some harmless coloring matter on
certain grades.
The reporter said that wholesale dealer
had stated that tea which he had sold at
twenty five cents would be sold by the job
Der at thirty and by the retailer at fifty
cents, and asked if this was not a rather
steep percentage of profit.
II believe it is" was the reply; shat is
more than we make on that grade of
tea"
what would you consider fair profit
to the retailer?''
Il think about o5 per cent. We have 10
sell in small quantities, 20 keep clerks, sup
ply packages, and deliver the goods. The
last item is quite an object, for people
think nothing of demanding that half
pound package shall be delivered at For
tieth street, or near Lincoln park. Then
they want it right away, even though the
wagon has made its rounds for the day.
''What about cotfees:"
Rios have gone down very low, but Javas,
Mochas, and the fine grades generally are
none too plentiful. Coffee is sold very
cheap in this city, and the consumer gets
good value for his money. You can buy
prime Rio at 18 and zoe; just as good as
could ask. II you want fancy
Java you must pay for it,"
Another dealer who was questioned said
that he handled only the better grades of
tea and coffee, and that there had been lit
tie or no reduction in these-nOt more than
a cent or two. He corrobOrated the state
ment that Rio coffee was lower than at any
previous time, land gave it as his opinion that
the reduction would never get round to
the consumer. He based this opinion on
his belief that coffee at present figures was
a frst-class speculation and that it would
be bought up by men who would hold it
opinion, any great surplus, but the South
American crop had been a good one. As
to the amount of profit exacted by the re-
tail dealers he could give little informa-
ton, but ne thought as usual the poor. who
buy in small quantities and often on
credit, had to pay pretty heavy percent
age of it, and were not likely to get much
benefit from tn decline.
A third dealer, doing general grocery
business, and handling all grades of tea
and coffee, was asked to give his views. He
repeated what had been said by the others
about the consumer getting better quail
ty'at the old figures, and agreed that there
had been no cut in prices. Of course, I'M
der this system the consumer is at the mer-
cy of the retailer, who mayor may not
give him an extra good tea for his fifty or
sixty cents. Bat the dealer referred to
said that competition settled this, and that
with the tea dealers 1t was competition
Of quality rather than of price. He be-
lieved that if the duty of fifteen cents per
pound was reimposed it would keep great
deal of worthless tea out of the country.
Dust and sweepings and rubbish generally
had been sold Ill New York for
eight or ten cents per pound, and had
helped to demoralize the market. He
thought ten t, twelve cents per pound was a
fair profit for the retailers, and was about
all any of them got. But they had to
make up on something else for their losses
on sugar, and probably they stuck the
price on to tea in good many cases. In
his opinion, the jobbers were getting the
lions share of profit just at this time. He
had been told by some of them that if it
was not for what they made on tea they
could not live at all, and he knew that in
some cases jobbers had made as much as
if not more than the retailers.
What about coffee?"
''Oh, coffee is away down. We have been
reducing the price of coffee right along,
and sell first-class Rio for sixteen, eighteen
and twenty cents. People who buy half
pounds and even less quantities at their
corner groceries must expect to have to
pay extra. These little stores have to
make up on something, for there are many
things on which the profit is very small. 1
can tell you the retail grocery trade is a
very poor business, unless a man can buy
from first hands and save the jobbers'
profit"
Other dealers talked with held about the
same views. One suggested that some of
the profit went into the gift enterprise
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