Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-04

| it is impossible for a housekeeper OF
! even average means to keep out OF debt
AS for the poor people. l do not see how
they exist. After paying the grocer and
| butcher there Is nothing left. con-
fess l do not know why this is the fact
but | know that it is so. and any thing
! that can be done to relieve the SITUATION
| will have my hearty support Inc CON
! ditions are fast becoming unbearable
/ According to the figures submitted oy
the inspectors of the Department of
Agriculture in the beef investigation.
Washington shows profit of AZ per cent
to retailers in beef. Few cities OF any
size show a larger profit. Many smai IL
inland towns in the south and FAR west
show higher percentages, but they hard-
| ~ count in study of why washington
| is one of the most expensive cities In the
country in cost of meat.
The most notable comparison hes De
tween Baltimore and Washington. the
profit in the Maryland city TO reta1l-
ers being II per cent, against ~ Tor
Washington.
Too Many Small StoresP
i Some blame Secretary Wilson thinks,
attaches TO the unnecessary number or
small retail stores in Washington and
other cities of its size.
-lnc muIClplCaLlOn OF sinai Shopo,
says the Secretary, is burden to con-
Sumers and no source Of riches TO the
| small shopkeepers. When twenty or more
small shops divide the retail business
within the area that could be served by
one large shop the expenses OF the many
shops for labor. horses. rent and other
things that are in excess of what would
be sufficient for the one shop must go into
the retail prices of the meat sold"
1t is estimated that there are in WASH
| ington between 100 and LEO retail
grocery shops These figures take into
account the smallest shops. Figuring
/! Washington to have a population of APP
proximately 100000 and assuming that
there are at least 900 grocery shops SELL
ing meats, this gives Washington retail
meat shop for every 21S persons.
In his annual report Secretary Wilson
rs this to say regarding his inquiries
into the cost of meats:
Through employees Of the bureau of
animal industry inquiries were made in
fifty cities, large. medium and small, In
all parts of the country. A schedule
was provided to record the actual ex-
perience of retailers in buying and sell
ing the carcass or half carcass of beef.
Facts in Fifty Cities.
Among the facts ascertained were the
piece of beef. usually a half carcass.
Of every cut for which a uniform price
was charged by the dealer. Thus it be-
came possible not only to compare high
and low priced cuts, from the point of
view of expense to consumer, but also to
compute accurately the total retail price
per pound and the total retail cost of the
beef piece for which the wholesale price
per pound and the total wholesale cost
had been reported
I'm the North Atlantic states the retail
price of beef is 31.4 per cent higher than
the wholesale price; and the percentage
Is usually lower in the larger cities than
in the smaller ones and higher in the
case of beef that is cheap at wholesale
than of high priced beef.
I'm Allentown, Pa, there is an imme-
diate gross profit of 80 per cent-that is,
the total amount charged at retail Is 80
per cent above the wholesale cost. Such
gross profits are noticed for the smaller
places as At per cent for Canajoharie, N.
per cent for Holyoke. Mass. and for Har-
risburg,. Pa. But for Olean, n Y, the
percentage is only % and for Springfield.
Mass, 10, the low price being in strong
contrast with the Al per cent for Holy
oke, it's near neighbor, with different
sort of inha bitants.
"A gross profit of 20 per cent was found
in New York. N. Y. and Philadelphia.
Pa; % per cent in Buffalo, n. Y, and
36 per cent in Boston Mass.
Most Profit in Low Grades.
Everywhere appears the general fact
that the lower the grade of beef the
greater the percentage of gross profit
Allentown's high percentage is based on
wholesale prices Of ~ and 81 CENTS In
Boston the rate of gross profit is twice
as great for Scent beef as for beef cost
ing II and In cents. Indeed. the rule
is quite general that low-priced beef Is
marked up twice as much relatively as
high-p priced beef is. In other words, per-
haps it is safe inference that the
poorer people pay nearly twice the gross
profit that the more well-to-do people
pay
Baltimore. Md. in the South Atlantic
rate of gross profit. II per cent; but
Washington. d. C., has much higher
rate. AZ per cent. and Takoma Park.
d. e., "A per cent. Richmond, Va, has
the low rate of Il per cent. and Augusta,
Ga. the high one of 81 per cent The
amount for the south Atlantic states is 50
per cent
In the north central states the mean
is 80 per cent. and the foregoing observa-
tons apply concerning the higher rate
of gross profit for cheap beef. The Chi
cago, ILL.,. returns are for cheap beef,
and the gross retail profit is 46 per cent
but in Cincinnati, Ohio, it only IS per
cent; Omaha, Neb., % per cent; South
Omaha. Neb., % per cent. Kansas City.
Kan, has a cheap-beef gross profit of 80
per cent. while Kansas City, Mo, reports
only % per cent.
For the Twin cities. Minneapolis and
st. Paul. Mimi, the gross profit is re-
ported at q and 35 per cent, respective
ly: for Detroit. Mich, and Milwaukee,
Wis. 40 per cent; and for st. Louis, Mo-,
80 per cent. In the smaller places the
rates OF gross profit in selling beef are
81 per cent for Alton. ILL.,; 53 per cent
for Cedar Rapids. Iowa; 43 per cent for
East Liverpool, Ohio; 81 per cent for
Port Huron. Mich: 40 per cent for Wich-
ita, Kan, and % per cent for Winona
MINI.
Highest in South Central States.