Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-24

slashing quotations.
The general crusade against the
high prices of foodstuffs has borne
a quick fruition and when the mar
kcts opened this morning there was
reduction all along the line. The
wholesalers evidently had made up
their minds that something must be
done and there was general drop
which enabled the retailers to cut
and slash everywhere. The conse-
quence was that the faces of tho
housewives wore Illuminating smiles
as they surveyed the cardboard signs
and the buying this morning was un-
precedently heavy.
The feature was the cut in the price
of butter. 1t went from As cents. on
Saturday, to 40 cents this morning,
and the same, Identical product OF
the bovine. The heavy buying of the
olemargarine and butterine, and other
packing house substitutes for butter
alarmed the wholesalers and in con-
sequence the commission house came
down with q sympathetic depression
all along the line. This Is ever true
of the selected grades. which rule
CARLOAD OF "OLEO."
The eyes of tho whole street. how
ever, Is upon a carload OF oleomar-
garine which is on Its way to Salt Lake
from Kansas City. 1t is due here Tues
day and every ounce OF II has been
placed. There has been a tremendous
trade In this commodity during the
past week ana there Is not pound OF
1t In the city Tho bettor grades OF 1t
sell for 80 cents and the inferior at
25 The demand all day long in the
retail district has been very strong
with not a pound in sight.
The meat prices remain unchanged
but the market is weak and falling
Off is expected Tuesday. 1t Is foregone
that pork will fall heavily, as well as
mutton and their various products but
beef is maintaining its own because OF
the scarcity. In the meat markets
there is very unquiet feeling and the
buying has fallen off greatly. The
Saturday sales. with but few exceD-
tions. did not begin to approach the
normal figures.
RESULT OF CRUSADE.
There is no question but that the
crusade against high prices has intlu-
enced the market said the manage
ment OF u. c. NJ. I. THE fall in the
price of butter is an instance of 1t and
there is evident a shaky feeling all
through After all, ii Is only a matter
of supply and demand. If there is n
scarcity of a certain commodity in
the city, the price Is certain to go UP.
And the reverse also holds true,
There Is not a store in the city
which would not like to have lower
prices prevail. In the first place, take
butter. If we have to pay 3S cents we
cannot retail it for 40 We would lose
money And then, in a large business,
when so much money has to be invest
ed for the purchase and the profit is
small. it is more profitable to invest
money at Z or per cent in other
businesses. When the commodity can
be bought there Is not so much Of
capital at stake and the price can be
made reasonable and a legitimate prof
Ii made.
II think that the talk which James
]. Hill. the great railroad magnate,
made some time ago In which he 'aid
that the congestion of city population
had brought about high prices rom
the fact that the country population
and product had not kept pace, is
eminently correct. The fact of the mat
ter is that the production does not
equal the demand, And this Is becom-
ing more and more true every year
OF course. there is bound to he some
market manipulation. but in lnr~c
firms this is not a great factor. The
DEVELOPMENT of the agricultural lands
Is the solution"
SHAVING MEAT PRICES.
W. L. Naylor of Naylor Bros, $40
south Main, said that the movement
had had marked effect upon his
business. The demand for oleo," he
szlid has been the greatest we have
ever had, and the consequence has been
that there is little doing in the butter
line. except among the very best
grades, and a falling of in price. We
are anxlously awaiting receipts and
expect to have a big trade In It. While
there has not been decrease in meat
prices, we are shaving very closely and
EXPECT in a day or 20 to cut material
ly"
At the United Grocery. 267-9 south
Main street, j. n. Smith, general man.
ager, echoed the general opinion The
crusade is eminently just" said Mr..
Smith. THE prices OF the necessaric5
OF life have increa much more IN
ratio than wages 1t does not hit the
mechanics 80 hard. for they have
steadily advanced the prices for their
work But the man behind the hoe Is
the one who suffers. When man has
q family. has to pay rent. pay 45 cents
for butter and the same for eggs. then
has to pay his rent and clothe his FAM
lily, he is not going to be very good
patron of the savings banks.
THE advance in prices has been
something tremendous In the past few
years. A few years ago we could buy
900 pounds of butter for 5000. Today
1t costs lis $3.50 1t is a mighty hard
thing to tack on a reasonable profit to
that price and sell 1t without a tremen-
dous objection being made to the price.
Take lard Two years ago VIC paid IS
for a 50-pound can. Today 1t costs us
$s371z And 1t is that same way all
the way through. Oh. the life OF the
retailer Is not all beer and skittles'
these days"
C., ]. Collins. manager Of the Eclipse