Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-09-18
Why Groceries are High Priced.

1t IS claimed that trusts are re-.
sponsible for the large increase in
the costs of living, and the follow
ing dispatch from Toledo, Ohio, ex-
plains how the grocers iobber trusts
work their scheme to prevent com.
petition:
A great war. says the dispatch,
is being waged by l2O grocery Job
bing houses in Ohio, 20 in Michi.
gan, and 10 in Indiana, against a
Toledo grocery jobbing house which
has been adiudged guilty by them
of the heinous crime of cutting
prices.
After the wholesale grocery trust
which Aourished in Ohio for years
was broken up by the Valentine
antitrust law, one of the members
of the former combine started in on
a new line Of business. He con
cluded to dispense largely with
travelling statesmen and sellseoeods
by catalogue, cutting prices below
those fixed by thu trust.
Immediately there was a protest
from other jobbers, and it.,appears
now that all the jobbers in the. three
states are united in fight to put
this one price.cutting grocer out OF
business.
One OF the first moves made was
to try to induce manufacturers to
force this firm to maintain prices or
refuse to sell it goods.
1t has developed that when manu-
facturers send their goods to the
iobbers, prices are fixed at which
the jobber must sell the retailer
If the iobber sells below the fixed
prices the manufacturer must, re-
fuse to sell him any more goods,
under penalty Of losing the business
of all the jobbers in the combine.
In other words the priee-entter
has his supply shut off, and if the
combine succeeds he is put out Of
business. ,..izy
The Toledo firm, the Dow.Snell
Co., has already been informed by
certain manufacturers that. they
cannot have any more goods. UN-
LESS THE DOW-SNELL PEOPLE
AGREE TO MAINTAIN PRICES
TO THE RETAILER.
Here is an extract from a letter
received by President E. E. Dow
from manufacturing concern in
Richmond, Va: S,3S.@
1--WE are today in receipt ofslet-
tors from all our customers.in your
city, complaining that you, are cut
ting the price Of our products, and
saying, in effect, that unless,we can
induce you to put a stop, to this
practice they will discontinue the
l:sale Of them y
Another manufactured sgroaery
product is listed for sale by Tie Job.
bers at $2.85. The cost to thsi!jI ob-
Der is $l.SG. Dow-Snell catalegued
it to retailers at $3.50. They re-
ceived a letter from the manufactur-
or, which says: II,
"This practice is against our In
terest and against yours, and under
the circumstances we will bs9bliged
to discontinue selling the goods to
your. firm" ~
But this is not the limit, Many
of the manufacturing firms insist
that the jobber sign contract agree.
ing that he will not sell, or permit
to be sold for him, any goods Under
the price stipulated by the manu-
sacturer. '.Syl{fy,f
President Dow has in his posses
sion a letter from firm, declining
to sell any more goods to Dow-Snell
until the firm and every salesman
and commercial emplcye, sign such
a contract. es[.jj5' ~
In his catalog, issued weekly, Dow
conducts his fight against the lob
bers trust. In the last issue, speak
ing Of these contracts, he says;,
You ought to see some of5 the
contracts thrown at us to sign.
Some of them would send a man to
Jail quicker that toad can, lap
lightning, if they happened to fall
into the hands of some grand jury
where the prosecuting attorney was
onto his job"