Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-02-24
Many Staple No Higher.

Many Staples No Higher.
It's al foolishness 10 tell people TO
"a, no meat, but lis wisdom 10 give
hee5 10 the man who says ga. less Of
those hign priced things and more of
those things which are 10 higher than
they were q decade ago.
There's nothing 70 this statement
that everything costs more said y.
T. Smith. manager OF LetIs-Fletciler
Company. Its nor a fact and III snow
you why
Then he dug up a trade letter file
Of 1891 twelve years ago, found the
same month ana began 70 quote the
prices contained therein or staples Of
food These prices with the prices
current today We're CONF pared ard the
results was an eye opener. L was ss
the grocery house manager mad said,
there was practically no difference then
and ROW il many Of the s-a pies that are
on every grocer's shelf and in every
housewives larde-.
Advance in Meats and Produce.
a very. very large part Of the in
crease" said Mr.. Smith. is il meats
and dairy producJs-butter, cheese.
milk and eggs. But there has been no
increase or practically none in such
staples Of food as sugar, both granu-
lated and brown: canned goods such
as baked beans, corn, peas, salmon. all
the canned fruits; coffee, rice. all Of
the dried fruits, prunes, peaches, pears
and apricots; canned oysters, and prac-
-ically all varieties OF salt water fish.
That's good many Of the staples,
isn't ic?" ana the one 10 whom he was
-,
tive prices was forced % admit that
the list contained practically every
thing from soup 70 dessert. And the
lesson for the fellow with the bill 10
pay is 10 ear more Of the staples that
that have.
An Argument For Fish.
You see the list includes canned
salmon and practically all OF the salt
water fish. Then let me show YOU he
said, and ne dug up a document quot
ing the farmers bulletin No. 1.2, issued
by the department Of agriculture, which
showed that the government declared
that canned salmon contained the
highest percentage Of brain, blood. bone
and muscle making elements Of any
Of the meats or dairy produce. The
bulletin gave this percentage for can
ned salmon as 2l8, compared with 155
per cent for sirloin steak.
Cameo salmon mas always sold for
a quarter" he continued. That's the
retail price now and there's no better
salmon put inside OF tin
Then he quoted a long list Of salt
water fish including mackerel, herring
and cod fish, which were selling al re-
tail today for the same price they were
twelve years ago.
Beans in Tin No More.
While beans in bulk are a lot high
err said Mr.. Smith, 'in the tin, under
the Cameo label. they cost the same
as goods Of equal quality did in 1897.
They still come in 10, Is and 20 cent
sizes, at retail The reason there's no
increase is because We are selling them
on q closer margin. but they cost the
consumer no more
Then he ran thru a long list Of can
ned goods, Cameo corn and peas. sell
ing for Is cents: the fancy grades of
Cameo canned peaches, and pears,
selling for % cents and Cameo string
beans for Is cents. There's been no
increase in twelve years in goods Of
equal quality he added.
Coffee at Same Price.
I've were not roasting and putting
up Red Rose and Chocolate Cream cof-
fee ten years ago, but coffee Of a grade
inferior to Red Rose was selling for
20 cents then and coffee not so good as
Chocolate Cream was retailed for rs
cents. Improved and less expensive
methods Of roasting and packing have
made it possible for us to put out a
better grade at the same price than
we were in 1897"
New rice is a staple there can be
no question about that. Well It's
cheaper now than twelve years ago.
Take our Premium No. package rice
at % cents, with a silver spoon thrown
in with every package, there's a bar
gain in cheap nutritious food"
Sugar Actually Cheaper.
Then Mr.. Smith turned back TO some
old sugar prices and proved that brown
sugar was actually on an average 20
per cent cheaper now, and that granu-
lased was onnii-- s,na1l fraction of a
cent a pound higher.
Then he ran thru a list OF dried
fruits, "prunes 10 cents a pound or three
for q quarter then and now; ordinary
loose raisins the same then and now"
and 30 on thru the list, including
peaches pears and apricnts
IT, .f< = A.