New-York tribune., 1912-03-08
W. C. Taber Tells City InveStIga-
tors About Cold Storage Profits.
PUT IN AT 27.31; ;OUT AT 37.16
Retail Dealers Say There Is No
Competition, but Feel That the
Exchange Is Necessary.

V-ui,m g. Taber. formerly adviser to the
butter quotation committee OF the Ne"
Work Mercantile Exchange. which hxed 'hc
dsilv quotations posted on the blacKooaru
~ the exchange. testified before Magistrate
Nrrrnhv Yesterday AS u the rrohts III 'oIu
.,oraoe butter. Macistrate Murphy Is con-
d,,,,ir,, ~, ino,iir, at the Criminal Courts
r,,iId.ne into the methods of the exchange
which William A. De Ford the AsSis' III
District Attorney in charge OF the uifu'
alleges IL combination In restraint VI
trade.
June. .Iulv and August. Mr.. Taber sdiu'
were the months In which the most bu''e.
was produced In June Of last year i-''1
rackages Weighing about hlty-elGh'
hounds each. were put in storage the p'i''
paid being on an average 25.s2 GEMS u
mound In July and August decreaS'"s
Quantities were put in at increasing prices
THE price in August was H.3l cents
mound In September there was not muc"
moro butter nut I'm than was taken out
In october 81, 400 packages were 'aNe', ~
out and sold at an average price VI -.
cents a pound: in November i"f' pan.
ages. at 3257 cents; In Dccemoer -',lU'
rackapes. at 90 cents. and In January lsl-'
y go nackares. at BIS cents pound. MI
Taber said that by spring the warehouses
were practically emptled OF their ou''e''
Ue said that although he was not an e"-
nert on the warehouse business was
generally figured that butter could DE Aep'
3, stor.ge for six or seven months AZ
.os, not IN exceed a cent and half a
pound .,o.
Mr. Taber said the butter quotat'oh
committee" was abolished IN the su''''''e'
of 1903. when It was found that the eN
change might lose it's charter the hus"1'
committee holding that the commute
function amounted TO fixing prices. AiteI
that. he said. no quotations were PoS'e'
,o- a while. and men In the butter trace
bothered him so by calling up the ONCE VI
The Producers Price Current raue
raper published by the firm for which MF'
Tabor is treasurer. that he was g'ad enoue"
tn accent the suggestion OF the eKchahse
and loavc with them the quotations wh'c"
would bc nrinted I'm the afternoon IN MS
rapor Those quotations were posted Oh
the blackboard Of the exchange thereafter
instead Of the official" quotations.
Nine retail SroCeIS WIN wv
business in butter and eggs were witnesses
yesterday. They said they bought nu''er
and eggs from jobbers at sight ADVANCE
from ono TO four cents-above the marhe'
price The market price, they said was
that posted on the blackboard OF the New
York Mercantile Exchange
Henry Behrins. Jacob Scherzer' ). ~
Bogensberg. Samuel Stone and Eugene
Herman said that they had gone through
the wholesale district trying To BUY AZ
lower prices. but they found that the same
prices prevailed everywhere. They SAID II
was their belief that there was no compe-
,Itlon among the jobbers Who sold to the
retail dealers
The four other dealers said that they had
made no effort 10 get butter and eggs AZ
lower prices than those quoted by the job
bers. They felt that n they stuck to one
tohber whom they knew they could feel
sure that they would get butter and eggs
u hich were up to the standard" In gen
eral tho dealers seemed TO feel that the
organization in the butter and egg business
which tho New York Mercantile Exchange
had developed was necessary because or
the nature OF tho business.