New-York tribune., 1912-08-11

r last it's been found After years
~ NJ blaming the high cost Of living
L - on the overproducton OF so'u' lhe
tariff. the decreasing supply OF ioou anu
tho increa asing extravaganza OF the teeo-
ave a remedy has been found that VIII
N-ir, down the awesome and tragic thinB'
remedy? Rather, two remeoics' DC,
tween which we New Workers are asNc'
~ choose. And neither of them mas any
,h,rc 10 do with tariff or gold produc-
,ion or anything else that is so over
whelmingly difficult to regulate.
It's the system of transportation ano
distribution that is TO blame say oo'i'
doctors. but they offer totally u'nereh'
methods OF treatment.
AS II to compensate for the years "s
have suffered under the load OF the p,iis
" the butcher, the baker and the cahuie'
stick maker, We are here faced Win the
nossibility of saving s6o0oooo0 a year by
indorsing the findings and recommends
1ons of the marketing committee or tne
State Food Investigating COMMISSION
made public during the last week OF ol
saving 100000 a year by following the
communications of the Mayors Marker
Commission which were outlined TO a
Tribune reporter by member OF the
committee, although the report Will ho'
be presented until the fall
UTOPIA IN SIGHT.
II &c the aim of both sets Of recon-
nendations TO bring the producer ana
consumer into closer relationship, but one
advocates doing this by the aooiitioh Oh
municipally controlled markets. parucu-
IarIy wholesale markets; and the methoo
recommended by the other involves the
conservation and Capitalization or wnoic-
sale markets and their entire controi 0S
the city.
Let us consider first the report OF the
state Market Committee as submitted oy
its members, William Church OSBORN
chairman; Calvin j. Huson. state Com
missioner Of Agriculture. and Ezra Tutte'
From a mass of testimony gathered
from, producers, railroads, wholesalers
iobbers and truckmen. they reached the
conclusion that the great expense OF dis
tributng food within the limits OF greater
New York is due to excessive COSTS re-
sultlpg from haphazard system and out
grown facilities Foodstuff is trucked
from the piers to the wholesalers at an
apnroximate cost Of cents a hundred
pounds. Here II IS dumped unceremonl-
ouslv on the sidewalk and then another
truck backs up and carts 1t TO the storage
warehouse at another cost OF cents
hundred pounds. Thence 1t goes TO the
iobber at the expense OF an addiuonai
trucking, and still another haul is made
from the iobber TO the retailer, and then
another from the retailer to the consMn-
or. Every time that foodstun is loadeo
OF another truck its price jumps 10 pay
the cost Of transportation and TO pay
toll TO the particular middleman through
whose hands it is passing
All this clumsy and antiquated machln-
cry can be done away with, the commit
tee claims. If every railroad and steam
ship line bringing food into the city be re-
ouired to build and maintain adequate ter
minal facilities for storage, both cold and
general. TO carry over two days supply,
a VISION OF PRIMARY PRICES.
Provision should be made for the sale
of this foodstuff from the piers by auc-
ton. The primary, or wholesale, prices
should be fixed by systematic auction
sales in lots suitable for purchase by re-
tailers. In other words. the retail dealer
the man who comes closest to the ulti-
mate consumer, should be able to go TO
tho pier where the foodstuff arrives direct
from the producer and buy directly the
amount he can use.
Naturally this plan presupposcs vast
changes In the present system OF retail
ing. It would be obviously impractica-
bic for the thousands Of retailers now In
business TO go to the railroad markets
and buy in the small lots they would re-
quire. Physical limitations Of time and
space would prevent that.
And here we arrive at the most radical
recommendation Of the committee. In
stead OF tho present retail shop, serVing
about two hundred and fifty persons each,
they recommend a larger retail unit, sort
of food department store, that viii house
all manner of eatables under It's roof and
serve perhaps twenty-five thousand indi-
viduals. These would be the retailers who
would buy direct from the terminal mar
kets.
The committee believes that two hun
dred such markets. or perhaps less, would
perform the function Of food distribution
i'm greater New York. The cost OF such
units. including land. buildings, stock and
..o1,