The Washington times., 1910-01-30
5000 Women Banded.

RcuTaEETIIIt or Lut iGd tlDtT "a
Commerce. the Board Of Trade. and o.
other organizations who are investigat-
IuC high prices or attempting TO lower
them deCIa-e this morning that the
movement has received the biggest i'm
setus since its inception bv the action
= tho EVomen's Federation last nlSur-
Mrs Charles NJ Pepper. president OF
the District Federation, presided Among
the members present were leaders in 2
number Of reform movements, and sew
eraI Of them declared their particular
line OF euGeav0r must wait until this
blrCer problem was disposed OF.
Strong Advocates Meet.
Auou@ the women who stanchIy advo-.
Gated the campaign were
Airs. Lydia Williams
MIS- Fannie BRADLEY,
Mrs. Laura V 1IcCIloGr.
Miss Susan Pollock
DR. Louise T. Jones
Mrs William Andrews.
Mrs. BeI-a &. lockwood
Mrs. Mary s. lockwood
Practically every woman pledged her
self 10 abstain from meat
The movement OF the women IS not
merely local as was demonstrated by
messages received at headquarters yes
tercar- from California Illinois. and
New York stating that tie women Of
those States had taken f2TC-able action
on the boycott question
The Retail GrocerS Protective Ass0-
citation today drew up e tentative resoIU-
-iCn " be submitted for The approval
OF the association tomorrow evening.
BY them the organization VIII pledge
us support 10 the senate 7DECE-irar---
committee lu IFS work Of aSrerIaiui--S
t1e causes Of high prices IN fGudstu1-
The association VIII meet al o'c-1.E
in the Columbian building
GrOcers Deny Charges
The EToccrs here Join with retailers IN
other cities in deDrecating the char-e
that they are responsible for the alb
normal prices and that they are getting
oil the profits from prevailing condi-
uCrs- They say that many OF the best
paying customers are served directly by
the meat packers and point our that
such customers as tie Pennsylvania.
railroad and many hoes have been
taken from them alto;=tiel and that
the trusts are reapinE .hei- own and the
retailers riehtfuI profits by serving
thcm.
They also claim that many groceries
have been bought uD by trust agents
and ruat they are now being operated
directly by the packers under the name
Of some d=fUGCr company.
By way Of refuUng what they call
The lame plea Of The packers that Sun
ply and demand causes the high prices.
the retailers are preparing TO give
greater publicity to p portion of a re-
port by Joseph r. Arnold. editor and
chief OF the division of publications,
Department Of Agriculture
Exports Increase
Exports of packing house products
the report says, have increased much
more rapidly in the last half century
than cotton or cereals The average
value # packing house products e1-
porte.f in ISIS was s1U.011,otH a vea-.
IN Iem-05 il was Sl5.pgoga0. The prir-
ciuaI items or this group are pork.
lard. beef, and oIeo oil. As in the csc
oC grain. the greatest e--rarcs OF lard
and pork were in the i've year period,
lS55-fe5a.
The largest exports Of beef and oIe0
oil chose in 19G1-I9J5) amounted to $50
10000 pounds a year for beef and 49,
10000 pounds for OieO Oil Since 1875
there has been a marked decline I'm ex-
ports Of beef, the average for 1905-IeGS
being only $40. G0I.ooJ, or leSs-tuan for
any fIve-vear period since 1SS6-IS9Q.'
Reports received by The Times today
show that, while many other cities
have profted by the lower prices azi-
ing standard prices on nearly every
thing
Il IS believed mat lnlS ConCluOn Is
due partly because no effective boycott
organization has been organized here
ani that the Capital and other cities
where reductions were forced must bear
the bruut OF high prices to atone for
reductions elsewhere
The one CT two small bOycottS IN
washington have not had any appve-
cable effect on quotations or on sales
either, say the retailers
Meat Prices Decline.
A d=.Iine OF meat prices has been re-
ported in Rochester, y. Y, in BaIti-
more. in Philadelphia, in Des Moines. in
Pittsburz. and. according to late news,
in Chicago.
The much-heraIded drop in the price
Of butter by s cents on the pound which
did not materiaIize so far as purchasers
could see is another cause for agitatiOnl
among the campaigners-
A drop in ElgIn, they say, means a
general decline in prices all along the
line because the ElgIn company prac-
ticaIly regulates prices on that product
Probe to Be Made
When several days went by and no
sppreciabIe drop was noticed except in a
few scattered points where and s.
cent reductions were made the suspicion.
grew that the retailers We're taking a6- /
vantage Of the, reductions IN whole /
sal. prices TO add 70 their profits tt is
VIII be Investigated during the coming /
week
Tomorrow the Chamber Of Commerce
viii continue its search for information /
on the comparative prices now and WITH /
various periods within ten years