New-York tribune., 1912-01-28
SELLS STOCK At COST
Dr.. Peters DispoSes Of S27.48
Worth of Vegetables Quickly.
ONE BARREL REMAINS
Health Department Investigates
Complaint-Rival Dealer
Is Displeased.

~ wv houiH NPSttTOdN iciiii's N''0
women Of the poor beseged the parlor at
No. AS East 123d street, where the Rev,
Dr. Madison C. Peters and his friends dis
pensed potatoes. apples, carrots. onions
cabhages and beets at prices as near cost
as guesswork allowed At noon. when the
market closed, a simple computation
showed that d. c. 1mbowden. who had act
cd as cashier. had taken in t27 IS and that
barrel Of odds and ends remained, val
ued by Dr. Peters at 81. over against this
they placed the cost OF the stock, ST. and
81 for carriage and paper bags.
But just before closing time big SUR
prise arrived In the person of a food in
spector from the Department Of Health
lie had In his pocket complaint reciting
that
The managers Collect fruit. vegetables.
etc, from the public under the mask OF
charity and allow the large surplus to rot
Now they purpose TO sell this unWhoie-
some stun TO the poor
Dr. Peters on recovering from the blow.
explained that he had bought his stock
fresh downtown and had It delivered that
morning. and that he had sold practically
all Of IT, leaving no surplus He gave or
ders that the barrel Of food left over he
taken out into the back yard for cold stor-
age until distributed free to charity.
The inspector. who wished to be known
by his number. IS. rather than by his
name. decided that no violation Of the law
existed. and departed. Or. Peters and
Harry G. Eva. superintendent Of tho Home
for Homeless BOYS, next door Their put
their heads together and came TO the con-
/ not
from an enemy of Dr. Peters, but from one
of the home. and they thought they knew
who that one was.
BY 10 o'clock. the time for the opening
OF the store. some fifty women and girls,
| bareheaded or with shawls framing their
| foreign faces. had gathered IN the stoop
Of the brownstone house and overfoTed
| down the steps on TO the sidewalk One
burly housewife had walked all the way
| from aSth street. with basket on her arm.
Others came from within a radius Of ten
or fifteen blocks to lay in a stock Of funda.
mentals while they lasted
The goods had been delivered at o'clock
| and distributed about the floor OF the bare
room. which contained only a round mis-
| sion table for the convenience Of the
cashier 4 kitchen chair or tuo, and over
/ by the one window some scales. Confusion
regned when the doors opened, and the
amateur sales men and women met the
eager buyers. number Of whom couldn't
speak English Fortunately. Or. Peters
| had foreseen this difficulty. and persuaded
friend Of his, John Solomon. 10 he on
hand as an interpreter.
But the necessity for translation delayed
! the game. and more customers we're arriv-
| ing every minute. Louis Stelnfed. Harry
! c. Eva. Mrs. G. 3. Holly, Miss Lottie Will
mot, a Settlement worker. and Tom" Bal
! lam secretary Of the Home for Homeless
BOYS, comprising the clerical force, rushed
about the room. pouncing on csbbaEes and
other innocent objects. humping into one
another, stepping on customers. and add
ing TO the riot in their attempt to serve the
impatient housewives.
Tbey figured, when il was all over. that
they had put In one OF the most strenuous
mornings OF their budding careers. waiting
upon about three hundred mothers wives
and daughters.
Across the street behind the windows OF
her grocery shop. Mrs Rose Horr fairly
smouldered as she watched the rush Of
trade opposite. She had 4 confidential Gus
lolltI OF Two nuN OF Ut, refers ana tnen
show her tho purchases. She said Or
Peters was selling for % cents the same
amount of potatoes for which she charged
z cents, and that he sold three and a half
pounds Of apples for 10 cents but that four
Of the apples Of those her customer had
displayed were rotten, and that on pick
ing them out the purchase amounted TO
two and A half pounos of apples for 10
cents. the price al which she Mrs Horn
was in the habit of selling that commodity
But her rancor was all directed against
her neIghbOr, Mr.. Eva, who was AT the
bottom Of this conspiracy 10 put Il poor
Widder woman out o business" she
thought. DR.. Peters she considered but
ter-in. She accused Mr.. Eva of begging
for his home the food sold 10 the poor
Her two daughters were even more voluble
and all three Joined I'm chorus Of venge-
fu threats against the person Of the su-
perntendcnt. But they denied knowledge Of
any complaint TO the Health Department
DR. Peters is planning TO open one more
store in Manhattan and two In Brooklyn
before long, and he threatens 20 start FIVE
hundred unless the Mayor gets a move on
and emulatcs the estimable Shank Of In
dianapolls In the mean time he Is 70 con-
duct the present experiment I'm the face Of
Mrs Horr's threats and in spite OF Mr..
I-ya'C pprIl