The evening world., 1911-08-12
LOCAL BUTCHERS
: SUGGEST WAY TO
BLOCK HIGH PRICES
Wsnt q Mammoth Co-opera-
!. 1--we Plant to Buy Supply
is&. Ahead Of Packers.
MANY HELPLESS NOW.
Must Charge More to Keep Up
With Increase Exacted
From Them.
HELPLESS NOW.

IIOIIl ] llCIlIe
Ten thousand retail butchers Of the
metropolitan zone. under the lash Of the
Meat Trust. have been compelled to
raise their prices to the consumer from
three b four cents q pound. The re-
taiier claims that failure to keep step
with the advance of wholesale prices.
and thus pass the extra tribute levied
by the beef barons along to h public.
msans me bankruptcy court.
A number Of the leading retailers who
have refrigerator capacity took time by
she forelock and laid in a supply Of
meats early in summer before the ad-
vances were declared. These dealers
will not hnd II necessary to raise their
prices TO their consumers until they
have exhausted their supply IN cold
storage.
: But the small butcher. under . high
rent, with no storage capacity. must
raise prices to his customers to meet
expenses. Many Of these butchers dare
). net prctcs. 20 the representatives Of the
beef barons In this city for fear that
they will be cut OF altogether. for the
wholesalers are said to maintain a black
list. and to fall out with one represent
alive Of a Western house II to cease
business relations with all Of them.
This situation was made clear to a re-
porter from The Evening World by an
officer OF the Retail Butchers Asso-
citation. which holds It's meeting at No.
i5s East Fifty-eighth street.
aa0% - = " AHHr f0yh
STORAGE PLANT.
There are between 5000 and 1000 re-
tail butchers In the greater city. the ma
3ority Of whom are members OF the
organization Of their particular borough.
while in The metropolitan zone there are
no lees than 10000 retail butchers" he
said. IT all should band together and
mainoatn . mammoth cold storage plant.
even the smallest retailer could lake 3D.
vantage Of the occasional low prices and
get IN . supply for the future.
Until such q time arrives he small
butchers will have to ride the price wave
absolutely at the mercy OF n Meat
Trust, q sort Of buffer between the pub
lie and those really responsible for the
robbery. I regret to say that sometimes
when the wholesale prices are down.
these little fellows try to recoup. their
Losses and make their good customer
pay the debit side Of thear ledgere."
A canvass Of the principal retail deal
ers showed hat even the leaders are
going uneasy under the price advances.
we are st!ll holding to u old
mlces," said a representative OF Ncharo
Weber, Third avenue and One Hundred
and Twentieth street. But the coming
week will see an advance. The repre-
~seutatives OF he packers give us q
seemingly rea fable explanation - a
shortage in the corn crop. Year IL and
year out they always rave some sort OF
an excuse to boVst'prices In the fan"
BUTCHERS NOT MAKING MONEY
NOW, ONE SAYS.
Il bought very heavily three weeks
ago and have not as yet been forced 70
make any advance" said e. Open
hc.mer OF No. 1870 st. Nicholas avenue
Generally the prices go up IN the fall'
and / have made II a practice To STOCK
up toward the close OF summer TINS
year the advance came very early ano
the majority OF retail butchers appeared
10 have been caugh. mapping
butchers are not making any money
AZ present. said the confidential mar
OF louis Oppenheimer. who operate
thirty butcher shops In Manhattan and
the Bronx. Il do not see where there Ia
any remedy for the retailers. The situ-
alton Is always so manipulated that the
force of the public kick is eventually d.
rected at the retailers. This Is wrong.
but I do not know OF any way &c right
IL under the present system OF meat
distribution out OF the West"
81 am of the opinion that the public
will realize that the source OF high
prices Is west OF the Mississippi River
said a Representative OF the Star Beef
and Provision Company. which operates
some twenty-five stores. Usually the
hackers n q TO shift the blame "a
the retailers
''Of course meats are going higher"
said Charles weisbecker of No. 1913 West
one Hundred and Twenty-ffth street.
Many Of the retailers are selling below
cost at present. for It Is an economic
fact that hot weather does not produce
the maximum beef eating. I think II a
little bit too early to get excited over
the advanced wholesale prices. The
pa ckers may see a li~ht and drop back
10 normal figures sefo~> sold weather
sets IN"
ORGANIZATION MIGHT FOIL
PACKERS, HE THINKS.