The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-12-15

x Produce exchange, an unineorporat-
ed association, was organized among
the commission men and wholesalers
handling produce and fruit. This or
ganizatiOn has since that time conduct
ed credit department, but has not IN
dertaken any other line of work The
object of the organization is to en-
force the following rules, to wit:
"All bills for goods sold on credit to
customers doing business within the
limits of the city of Salt Lake, incIud-
ing Sugar House and Murray, shall be
considered due and payable the Mon
day next succeeding such sale and IN
! less paid before 6 2. IA. on the sue
ceeding Saturday, the name Of the per
SCI or firm owing such account shall
| be reported at a meeting of the board
/ of directors. to be held at o'clock on
each Saturday night. and any person.
/ firm or corporation being delinquent
shall be put on the cash list and be
! sold for cash only. When such delin-
quent has paid all bills due, by a ma
| Jcrity vote of the members at any reg
/ Ular meeting, his name must be re-
I moved from the list of delinqucnts.
| No cash discounts are to be permitted"
This organization has a set of Off
! GERS and is actively engaged in carry
!
From the evidence taken before us, we
| have no reason to believe that at any
/ meeting Of the association any matters
| have been discussed other than credit
and collections above mentioned. We
have no reason to believe that there ex-
lists any combinat ton among produce
men to regulate the price of any COM
modify or that there is an attempt to
make uniform the price of any article
! sold to the retailer.
Wholesalers Exonerated.
I About ton years ago nine Of the
wholesalers scattered over the state or
ganized the Utah Wholesale Grocers'
association and this a ISOLATION after
ward became the Salt Lake and Ogden
! Traffic and Commercial association.
I The object of this association is ito
promote more effectively the advance
ment and prosperity of the grocery in
| terests by all means consistent with
law. and to promote honest and correct
methods in trade to pursue a live and
/ let live policy" The members meet
Lat the call of their president. Occa-
sionally' they have met and have dis
cussed freight rates and have protest
| ed against eastern manufacturers send
! ing agents into this territory to solicit
! orders for goods, which the local whole
! salers are handling. Retail dealers from
all parts of the city have testified that
they buy from different wholesalers and
that they frequently get a better price
| from one wholesaler than from another
and the retailers have been unanimous
in their statement that they think there
| is no combination among wholesalers
to regulate or make uniform the price
of goods.
| In - 80 -
is well to bear in mind the fact that a
wholesale firm with capital sufficient
to buy in large lots is bound to get
! better prices from the manufacturer.
| to handle his goods at less cost and
| to be able to sell TO the retailer at a
| lower price than a firm that has but
little invested and expects to make
quick turns. If a firm invests $4,000
in a carload of catsup it is entitled to
make larger profit per case than the
firm that buys few cases at time
and the manufacturer can afford to
make a better price to such buyer.
So that when wholesaler complains Of
a trust that is squeezing him out OF
business, we should not jump at con-
illusions, but should look at all the sur
rounding circumstances from a bust
ness point of view.
Retail Grocers' Association.
The salt Lake Retail Butchers &
/ Grocers' association is a Utah corpor-
alton organized in 1903. Since its Or
ganization it has issued membership
certificates to 224 persons and firms.
! and at this time there are f35 of its
members actively engaged in business
IN this eity-the difference between
these two numbers. to wit. So, repre-
sents the number of members who
have gone out Of business or left the
! association. The total number of butch
ers and grocers now doing business in
this city is about $50, so that large
proportion of the persons now actively
Continued on Page z.