The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-03-09
Retail Dealers Suffer Severe
Nervous Shock on the Wit
ness Stand
RETAILERS GROUND Between
UPPER AND NEITHER M|llSTOnts
Must Sell at the Lowest Possible Price
and Pay the Highest That is Ex.
acted From the Wholesalers-Haye
No Agreement

Washington. March 9.-Retail meat
dealers today placed upon the farmers
and the packers responsibility for the
higher price of meat in testimony
given before the select senate COM
mittee which began it's inquiry into
the increased cost of living.
Five retail men from New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore and WASH
ington were heard and Walter Brown,
Washington dealer, who kills his
own meat, was the only one who did
not admit that the price of meat had
gone up at least ten per cent during
the last five years. MIR. Brown in
sisted that prices were practically the
same now as then. All agreed, how
ever. that competition among the re-
tailers kept the price to the consumer
as low as possible. consistent with
the price charged by the wholesaler.
Each witness vigorously denied the
charge that the retailers were respon-
sible for prevailing prices and none
would admit that any agreement exist
ed among them as to prices. While
no one charged that the packers were
all in a combination, all the witnesses
who had dealings with them declared
there seemed to be no competition
among them for the trade of retail
ers and that their prices ranged about
the same. When complaint was made
to the packers about advancing prices,
they said the latter explained that
stock was scarce.
John Rohlman, who conducts a mar
ket in New York city, testified that
competition among the retailers in
New York city was so keen they had
been unable to keep. pace with the
steadily increasing prices, which the
wholesalers had forced upon them
during the last fifteen years. He said
the increase amounted to about four
cents a pound on beef, both to the
retailer and the consumer.
Asked why the retailer had not ad-
ded something to the price to the
consumer to cover his increased ex-
Dense for help and rest, the witness
said: ~
"rhe merchants in New York city
are being crushed to the wall by the
wholesalers, who represent the pack
e,s. We have to sell at the lowest
,,osible price, otherwise others will
llndersell us and we will lose our
Trade"
lie declared that the retailers had
no agreement among themselves and
.liat they had no agreement with the
wholesalers not to sell under a GER
.ujn price.
He intimated. however, that there
appeared to be- an understanding
among the wholesalers. Beef had in
creased about twenty per cent In five
years. he said. and pork and poultry
had doubled in ten years.
S. X. Harrison. representing retail
grocers and meat dealers of Baltt-
more testified that the trend of prices
had been higher all along the line
during the last fifteen years. He said
the retailers had been making less
and less profit from year to year.
When he suggested that his firm
had been forced to quit handling q
cheaper grade of green tea because
of the tariff, MIR. SmOOt interrupted
impatiently:
''The tariff had nothing to do with
it. 1t was the pure food law"
The witness said he judged that
there had been a ten percent increase
in the groceries in which his firm
dealt during the last five years. The
advance in meat was about the same
in that period. but about fifteen per
cent during the last ten or fifteen
wears. Pork had gone up fifteen per
cent in seven years, he said. He de-
clared no agreement as to prices ex.
isted between the retailers or between
the retailrs and wholesalers.
Mr.. Harrison said the Elgin market
controlled butter prices. He declared
fhe price had recently dropped six
cents pound without explanation
hut that butter had again advanced
t,vO cents