The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-08
THE HOLD-UP IN PRICES.

! THE HOID-UP IN PRlCho.
That was an Illuminating discussion
which occurred at the Joint meeting
on Wednesday evening Of retail deal
ers. manufacturers, clerks. and club
women. 1t was pretty fully brought
out in this discussion that the local
manufacturers and wholesalers are the
ones who, i'm the opinions of the re-
tail dealers. arc responsible for the
enormous advances in prices Of food
products.
Mr. Austin Hudson asserted. and the
manufacturers admitted, that Utah
made goods are shipped away and sold
at other points cheaper than they can
he had here at home, and this after
the manufacturers pay railroad freights
10 the points where these lower sales
are made. He illustrated his assertion
by mentioning several articles, and
! pointed ont where the difference, both
IN price and in quantity per pack
age. was in favor of the Eastern goods
against the homemade goods And Mr..
Hudson pointed out the impossibility
of retail dealers ignoring these adyan-
tages While he is in favor of home.
made goods. he wants the home buyer
to he put in as advantageous a position
as the foreign buyer, And surely there
is nothing unreasonable in this.
Mr.. Eli Price, another dealer, illus
trated in another direction, the way
home manufacturers and wholesalers
combine to raise prices. He used in
his talk the article of asparagus, say
ing that the first year in which Ger
tain concern began putting up aspara-
gus, ii sold the product at S3,25 case;
the next year they charged 1915 a
case, and finally they have raised the
price of asparagus to $500 n case All
the time the asparagus growers are paid
hut FIVE cents pound. The price to
The retail dealer has a good deal more
than doubled, and yet the farmers get
no more for the product than before
Mr.. Price says it is impossible for
The retailers TO sell at the old price
when they have 10 pay more than twice
rs much for the goods.
The only reply by the manufacturers
was that they were obliged to sell low
abroad where they shipped their sur
plus product, II is Improbable to run
machinery going, and small force en-
ployed. In order TO do the best work
and produce we'll and economically, il
is necessary to have all of their ma
chinery going with full hands. This
makes more than the local market will
take. and they have to ship a part,
taking their chances on selling, and
accepting such prices as they can get
in the general markets in competition
with other manufacturers. Which
means that they have planrs too big for
the community requirements; that they
have diversified the needs of our mar
kets. And surely, if this were so, they
ought to be able to repair their error
of judgment by giving the local con
sumer chance along with the foreign
consumer to take some Of the surplus
manufactured, at lower prices. And the
thought is suggested that there must be
n pretty strong combine to enable them
to hold the local market without com
petition, and at the exorbitant prices.
We have seen for good many years
the way this sort of local combine and
monopoly results, in the matter OF sugar
Those who raise the beets get no adj
vance IN price. In fact, the price Of
beets is cut wherever a favorable op.
portunity presents, and at the same time
the price of sugar is raised about SO 1-3
per cent, from $3.50 per hundred TO
$500. and upwards. OF course, we all
understand in the sugar case that the
local combine is hand-in-glovc with the
American Sugar Company, which is the
big sugar trust, and there is no pos
sible relief for the consumer; the trust
that is in absolute control Of the mar
ket here, prevents the sale Of sugar
save on its own terms. We see our
local sugar combine send its surplus to
Chicago and sell at wholesale for 4
local sugar consumer is obliged to pay
5000 or more per hundred for all that
he buys. 1t would appear, therefore,
that the other manufacturers arraigned
on Wednesday evening, have taken pat
tern from the sugar monopoly and COM
binc, and are bleeding the public in
precisely the same way.
That Of Wednesday evening was one
Of the best practical meetings that has
ever been held in this city. The speak