Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-19
OUCH PRICES? Oh, MY, No!
Groeer's Your Friend, and Your Wall
; Hurts His Feelings.
YES, MEATS MAY BE UP A BIT
Iowa and Nebraska Wholesaler nj
Council Biuffs Suggest diet of
Rice, Dried Fruit and
Canned Goods.

Eat rice.
That is one way TO beat the butcher.
Make rice the staple article OF diet. Cut
Aout the tenderloin steak or. II you cannot
afford tenderioin, cut out the plain steak
and use rice.
Rice Is lower than II ever was" de-
clared members Of the Iowa and Nebraska
Wholesale Grocers' association who at
attended a meeting OF that organization yes
7terday in the Grand hotel at Council
Bluffs. The jobbers Of groceries, one and
all. declared that this cry OF the increased
cost OF living had nothing to do with them,
as there had been no increase in the price
of groceries.
In fact, some OF the wholesalers present
at the meeting declared the present agits-
tion over the high cost Of living was pure
tommy rot"
II was admitted, however, by some of
the wholesalers thai the cost Of a few
special llnes' had increased, but as an Off
set against this, they declared. staple
lines" were notably lower than a few years
ago.
Incidentally it may be remarked that the
wholesalers and jobbers are not complain
ing OF hard times and the gathering yes
terday at Council Bluffs could we'll have
2 been taken for a meeting OF Wall street
magnates instead OF a session Of men who
handle sugar, tea, coffee, canned goods,
dried fruits and other articles Of daily cen
sumption. Those in attendance looked de.
. cidedly prosperous.
A Few Things Higher.
Some members Of the association. how
ever, were sufficiently frank to admit that
the cost OF canned goods, such as 'corned
beet" minced ham a la diable' and other
dellcccies had been increased during the
dlicacies had been increased during the
wholesaler or the jobber. they contended.
Tho increase in the price Of these
'luxuries" is merely due to the prosperity
that the country is enjoying and nothing
more.
Charles Hewitt, a veteran Wholesale
grocer Of Des Moines, who is present at
every one Of these meetings, was perfectly
willing to discuss the matter. Mr.. Hewitt
took the stand that the wholesalers were
unjustly maligned by the consumers. He
said, and when he said II he left no doubt
but that he meant It: This agitation
over the high cost of living is mostly
imagination; in fact, II is largely rot. 1t
isMNue that the cost Of cereal products is
hHhcr than 1t WI a few years ago, but !
can asarre you that the cost to the con-
sumet has not increased in proportion to
the Increase IN cost Of the raw product"
Whether Mr.. Hewitt meant to imply that
the farmer was responsible for the in
creased cost Of these particular products
was not explained.
ION the other hand" continued Mr.. Hew-
Sit, there has been a heavy decrease in
all lines of Pacific coast products, such
as canned, preserved and dried fruits. and
even fruits in their natural state"
wey To Even Up. $50 t
Although ii did not explicitly say so,
Mr., HeSitt's statement. Of the situation
might be taken to infer that he was of the
opinion that the general consumer" might
get even with the packing house magnate
and the butcher by adopting a daily die
of canned fruits and other foods or pos.
slhly dried apples or peaches, followed by
a liberal quantity of Missouri river water
to make the dried product swell and give
the general consumer the feeling of hav
Ing partaken of a>full meal. O.
Groceries in general are little, If any
higher than in previous years" insisted
Mr.. Hewitt, and William Groneweg, senio