The Detroit times., 1913-12-12
sv NlxoLA oaEeLev.sMirH.
1918. by the Newspaper
ENTERPRISE Association.


Copyrighted. 1913. by the Newspaper
Enterprise Association.
The egg situation all over the
United States is today critical. And
when the egg situation becomes crit
ical Il is. as every housewife knows.
just little more critical than any
other situation can possibly be.
Practically In every large city OF
the country the price OF fresh egSs
now ranges from so 10 so cents a
dozen. while the price OF the avowed
cold-storage product Is anywhere from
80 to as cents. Even at these prices
dozen S0-cent eggs. supposedly ONLY
"a hours old. may contain one ege
which the hen might possibly recos-
nize II she saw 1t again-or. II the re-
tail dealer Ia exceptionally honest.
there may be two Of these leading
Juveniles in the twelve good eggs and
true, But the others will be just as
cold storage as though you had paid
only 80 cents a dozen for them!
For this reason-and many other
reasons just as good-women all over
the United States have begun q boy
colt on eggs. The Housewives league,
100000 strong. has declared war on
the egg dealer, retail and wholesale.
The national president Of this power
full association Is Mrs. Julian Heath
OF New York. who few years asc
led successful campaign against the
skyscraping price OF butter. Every
member of the league at that time
was pledged not to eat any butter TIL
the price went down to what the
league members thought il ought tc
be- As a result this significant dis
patch was sent out from the butter
headquarters at Elgin. H.. after few
weeks:
1.-THE price of butter has dropped be
cause the consumer refused to buy
Mrs. Heath hopes that. following the
concerted refusal Of American womeI
to buy eggs at their present prices
there will be a similar drop in theil
price.
II is really sort OF modified nun
ger strike" that these embattlet
the cold-storage Humpty-Dumpty. ant
unless he takes great fall" prett,
soon the loss to the Wholesale anl
retail dealers in eggs will be stupen
dous.
Considering only the Housewives
league" Mrs. Heath said yesterday
I'VE know that there are 100000 wO
men with an average consumption o.
three dozen eggs week per family
II the boycott holds--and IL is hold
ing-that means that 25,000.0 900 egS.
week will remain unsold. At prices
ranging from 80 cents 10 20 and 81
cents a dozen, this represents 4
weekly loss of millions of dollors. The
wholesaler will simply have TO com,
down. There isn't anything else To-
him TO do.
II understand there is no excuse To-
present prices I'm market conditions
that there Is no scarcity Of the cold
storage product and that. under what
ever name we buy them. the cold
storage egg Is what we get!" l re
Marked ALSO II seems that the pric,
of the cold-storage egg. like that y
any other antique. is regulated onl.
by what the seller. thinks the buyer
Will pay for it,"
THAT is exactly the point" Mr.,
Heath replied. Some people are foo
lsh enough to say that the House
wives league doesn't seem to unde.
stand that hens don't lay In winter
We understand that perfectly. Tn,
scientific farmer who supplies tn.
eggs purchased by league member
I'm New York City, for instance. Ia
1900 hens, and during the white
months these hens can't produce ever
Is dozen eggs a week. We do not oil
ject to the frank cold-storage produc
at proper price. We admit that q
cents q dozen In winter is not to-
much for eggs really only "a hour
old. But the point Is. as the farmt
| nrst time, There Amt no such an
| mall" And We object to paying z
and 80 cents a dozen for eggs. one O
! two Of which may be fresh as guarar
teed, but OF which the others hav
been In storage for months
What would be proper price 10
cold-storage eggs. in your opinion?
! asked.
"Cold-storage eggs should retail 10
no more than 80 cents a. Dozen Mrs
Heath answered. This spring we re
ceived many letters from farmers
wives all over the country. complain
Ing that they could not get more thai
l6 cents q dozen for eggs anywhere
! was very much interested In lette
which appeared Nov. ~ In the Pr
duce News, I'm which Jas. K. Wetz. al
egg speculator In Chicago. admitted n
had sold q cars Of eggs at a profit o
$40 a car but that he intends to sci
no more till he can get proht o
$1,000 q car!
well, we will show these egg spec
ulators that the American woman con
sumer cannot be dealt with In tina
fashion. hope women all over tn
United States will stand with thu
rIruSawiyea' lcaeuc In this fight w,