The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-11-03

Opposition on the part Of wagon men,
or hucksters, to the tentative PROPOSE
tons made by the Retail Grocers' Asso-
citation Of the District to the Commission
ers is expected to spring up at any mo-
ment. and until such presentation of this
side of the issue has been made the Com
missioners viii not act
Commissioner mcfarland said yester-
day that although he knew OF no organi-
trict. he was expecting some sort Of ex-
PLANTATION from them. and did not propose
TO make any decision until such presenta-
ton has been made
The recommendations made 10 the Com
missiOners, Mr.. mcfarland said COM
prise three tentative propositions The
first is that huckstering be entirely abol-
ished in the District; the second is that
the license fee Of each huckster be raised
from the present sum, sl2 per annum. to
500 per annum, the third proposition is
that the hucksters, If not prohibited from
doing business in the District, be required
TO face daily inspection at some place
70 be designated by rule.
Friends of the HucksterS.
While the retail grocers. through their
association. are arrayed fatty against the
hucksters. the commission men, from
whom both these classes obtain their
vegetables and fruits. are inclined to
side with the latter, although none Of
them would go on record to that effect.
Commission men, trading with the gro
GERS, you'd not jeopardize their trade
with this class of merchants, but several
Of them were willing 10 talk about this
issue
one commission man said that the
hucksters are better business men than a
large proportion Of the grocers. He
said that the huckster pays cash every
morning. and that he never asks for
credit at any time. and that many gro
GERS ask from thirty TO ninety days for
payment
Another commission merchant said that
the charge that the wagon" men buy
vegetables and fruits that are Of poor
quality is not true. and that many of
them are even more particular in their
selection OF goods than are the grocers.
Ernest G Peach, who was a wagon
man for thirty years, and who has car
ried on the business in Baltimore, Wash
ingtcn. and Cincinnati. said last night
that although he has now retired from
active participation IN the huckster trade.
ne leels tnat the time has come TO speak
about this question
It Is fast becoming a thorn in the
side said Mr.. Peach. There are many
worthy grocers in the district who do
not wish 10 drive out all these poor
wagon men, but there are others who do
and am not averse 10 saying something
about this question.
Buy and sell Best Goods.
The assertion that the wagon men
buy inferior goods does not contain a
grain OF truth. The wagon man goes
10 the street each day 10 lay In an en-
tirely fresh supply Of goods. He has the
cash IN his pocket, and has sold all his
stock Of the day before This selling OF
the entire stock each day is one OF the
cardinal principles Of the game, so thar
any statement that the goods sold from
the wagons are not fresh Is absurd A
wagon man goes about his own particular
part OF the city each day. Perhaps he
takes out ten barrels Of apples in the
morning. lie has bought that many be-
cause he believes that he can dispose OF
them. In consequence Of this large Quan-
tity. he gets them much cheaper Der
barrel from the commission house than
the grocer. who buys probably only one
barrel The wagon man IS out for many
sales and quick profits. Therefore he puts
the price % his apples down 10 ten cents
or more below that OF the groceryman.
He sells possibly eight barrels by i
o'clock. Then he has got back hs in
vestmCut OF the morning. so that he
puts the price sometimes even lower and
sells entirely out before uightfall"
Gives Honest Measures.
The assertion that the wagon men give
short weight, Mr. Peach rldlculed. He
said that the efficient work Of the seaIer
of weights and measures and the strin-
gent precautions taken to prevent short
weight were q sufficient guarantee against
such practices. ~ said that all meas
ures used by the hucksters were on dis
play every morning when they purchased
their goods on the street"
Speaking OF the license fee charged BY
the District, Mr. Peach said that several
years ago il was placed at S25. and that a
committee from the hucksters waited on
Congress and set forth reasons why il
should be lowered. Some time after this
the license fee was lowered TO 81. and has
remained at this figure ever since. Mr..
Peach said that the asking Of 500 fee
meant, Of course, nothing less than an at
tempt to drive out the wagon man. He
said, however, that instead Of Increasing
In numbers under the lower rate of So a
year, the number of hucksteTs has stead
lily decreased.
Would Amount to Discrimination.
Il do not see how the Commissioners or
Congress can contemplate any prOliibitive
fee" said Mr. Peach, cor how they can
think of prohibiting the sale of commodi-
ties from wagons. 1t would be something
of a discriminatory nature and would not
be lawful The grocer, when the price of
some article from the wholesaler goes
down. does not in turn lower the price to
the consumer. He keeps it where it was
originally. He makes big profits, but the
competition Of the hucksters he does not
like"
Mr.. Peach said that originally the gro
GERS association was organized for the
purpose of assuring credits. that Il has
gradually entered other spheres Of action
and that it is now attempting to drive out
the only men who, he declared. are wililng
to reduce prices so that the consumer de-
rives the benefit.
While not actively engaged in the bust
ness Of huCkstering, Mr.. Peach said that
1t Is possible that he may find It necessary
to appear himself In behalf of the wagon
men and present this side of the case to
the Commissioners