Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-09-05
High Official Declares They Wei
come Grand Jury and win
Bring in Evidence.
FARMERS TRUST THE LATEST
Merchants Claim it Exists in Da-
Wis County and Fixes Prices
For Vegetables.
Public Are Invited 20 Attend Meeting
Tonight NJ Barratt Hall TO
Hear Secy. Greene.

Tonight at BaTatt Hall TO
Hear sccy. Greene.
Rallying after the fierce onslaught
Of a. week ago. the Butchers and Groc-
ers' association is today putting UP a
Drawer front than &c has yet shown.
and its officials are declaring with APP
parent bravado that they viii welcome
the more complete the better. and that
such an investigation viii clear them
OF any charge Of taking oxtortiouate
profits.
More than that. one of their highest
officials declares that tine leading groc-
ers and butchers are shaving away for
the rent man. and be points 10 in
stances in which the rents controlled
by certain interests. and estates have
recently been boosted until store oc-
cupauts are now paying almost double
what they did q year ago. and more
,han the business can possibly justify,
he claims.
one prominent butcher who wishes
his name kept out, as do nearly all
trades people who are willing TO d.
vulge information on commercial sub
jects declared this morning that he
hesitated this summer for many weeks
between @ knowledge that the rent raise
demanded OF him was prohibitive. and
the knowledge that o. he didn't pay
It and try 10 At along be would Sim
ply have TO close shop and go out
OF business. He even went so far as
TO open his ledger and show balance
sheets for the private Information Of
the reporter. Indicating net gain fof
1905 of lees than 9 per cent, on a busl-
ness running up into the hundreds
Of thousands, and net gain in 1906 OF
just a little over per cent. He
declares that while something is radl-
cauy wrong iu Salt Lake. the blame
will not he found u rest with the re-
taller whom he says must simply play
cats paw for the bigger trusts who hold
the goods 90 them al prices that COM
pel their schedules.
A large retail and wholesale grocery
store opened It's books 10 News"
reporter in n similar fashion this morn
ing. TO demonstrate by the balance
sheets for several years that the re
tail department was not clearing over
per cent net each year The merchant
declares a grand jury is welcome &c
them.
And from another dealer in produce
comes a striking charge. II is that in
stead OF there being a retailers trust
10 fX the price of food stuffs on Market
row. 20 be paid 20 the farmer, there is
iu fact an exact reverse Of this condi-
ton. GO out 10 BeCk's hot springs,
declared the grocer. Stand there IN
the early morning hours and ask the
string of wagon drivers from Davis
county. their prices for all commodities.
You win fine that every driver has the
same price II you know the combina-
ton you viii know that they have
strung a telephone system 10 every
farm house and that the farmers are
orpauized 10 show them salt Lakers
thing or two about trusts 4 little tele-
phoning each evening fixes the prices
FOR the following morning, and no gro
Ger Is able to buck the combination win
success. while 90 is the farmer who real
ly gets the money on the vegetables
ana the retailer gets only his little 10
per cent. two-thlrds OF which goes 10
the expenses OF conducting the store
JOBBER's VIEW.
L. O. Taft. a son OF Seth Taft, a
Utah pioneer. who for ~ years has con-
dNrtod jobbing business IN Utah
country.and nov has Offices IN the Atlas
block. declared today that he could take
any investigating committee 10 his price
lists. showing the prices OF commodl-
ties an over the United states, ana that
these prices would justify the local re-
tail prices 20 the mind of any practical
commercial man.
OF which you complain he said, "by
shipping butter iu here from any point
In me United states where % is enough
lower 20 pay the freight / would do go,
but butter from New YORK 20 san
Wrancisco ls about even with the local
market and tho situation can't pc re-
lleved by an the grand juries IN thc
re- demonstrate that retailers are
not ovcrchargiug FOR apples at s.
ber bushcl Mctcalf showed invoices
Tor appIcs r. %. b.. Provo. az 81. go
Der bushcl. with the demand mu1n
greater than the available supply,
owing % the fact that this years fruit
crop was "a failure.
sEcY. GREENEs LECTURE.
j NJ. Marriott. president OF the
butchers and Grocors' association
stated this morning that the public
would BE- welcomed 10 Rarratt hall
thls evening. 90 hear National Socy
Greene speak ON the mail order huH-
ness Mr. Marriott ls 90 boz Mr
Grcenc's host while he is in salt Lake.
ne ls now 300 his way from Denver
and b. expected early this aftordnoou.
A little lIght is thrown on tho To-
cal situation by the last issue of C1l-
Hers weekly which suggests editorial
ly that the wave Of rapid expansion,
ls about over. and that
the question of hard times IL one u
whether hard times are here right
now or are coming right away Tho
present luthurst seems to come from
ihe fact chat The average household
tr'H cNnousa4 have passed toe ability
OF his income 10 meet them. and that
the mcrchanfs's landlord has pressed
the rent limit over his ability TO even
makes wages at his business" AZ one
mum seri lusiy put II this morning, who
showed "a zee ~ books running Up 90
over 100000 for years transactions. !
OPPOSE REMOVAL or LICENSE. |
The butchers and grocers have ap-
pointed "a committee 30 be- present az /
The CITY council license committees |
TONIGHT and Ouunaa the mayo ]