Atlanta Georgian., 1914-03-01
Family Purse Gets PIumper With
Discontinue of Enemy-Eggs,
Butter and Meats All Becoming
Cheaper a, Season Changes.
New Competition Among Dealers
Also Credited With Reducing
Price OF Foodstuffs-Average
Cut Is Estimated at 0ne-third,

II. c. OLiving, the well-known old
pest who intrudes on every feast, has
a touch of spring fever and is not
his old self He still gets round, but
& he's less of a nuisance than he has
been for long while.
The butcher, the baker. the candle
stick maker, these gentlemen popu-
larly credited with maintaining the
unwelcome guest Of the Atlanta
households, are neglecting him some
what. They've cut down his allow
ance, so it seems, and that other
much abused person, Family Pocket
book, long so attenuated, is taking on
flesh with discontinue of his enemy,
and may, if things continue as they
are going, become comfortably plump.
In housewifely phrase, Things are
cheaper
Take eggs, for example, as most
of us do for breakfast. Within mem
ory-very recent, very vivid memory
eggs were As and so cents a dozen.
For proof, see the grocery slips of
few weeks back which are stuck on
lilb SpAhG III tie NiLNAAClis ~NcN -ss'
cost "a cents, retail-a sheer drop of
half in their price.
Butter-a little while. ago it cost
almost as much as the gold it looks
lke-4O cents and more Now. un-
fortunately at the decline of the bat
ter cake season, it costs "a to 50
cents per pound.
Meats Cheaper.
Other things are as much affected
almost all the meats for instance.
The market men declare that it is
all because spring has come; cheap
ening of prices with spring. The
hens catch the joyous spirit. and ac
commodatingly produce more eggs.
The small farmers bring eggs and
chickens to town, and the grocers.
who might desire very much to hold
Up the prices, are forced to relent
because of the pressure of this com
petition.
And when eggs. butter and fresh
vegetables are to be had for the ask
ing, the effect on the price of meats
Is startling. Thus the dealers eX-
plain the drop in meats. Cheap eggs
make cheaper meat fresh vegetables
make cheaper meat. And spring
brings them all
And then, there is another reason
FOR the lower cost of living, accord
ing 10 the story that the retail gro
cerymen tell. 1t seems that a keen
spirit of competition has arisen be-
tween the srocers themselves, fos-
tered mainly by an aggressive bunch
Of storekeepcrs who call themselves
cash groCers.
Cash Means Lower Prices.
- Nothing short of blood relationship
or olackmail could get you a line OF
credit with these cash" grocers. and
sustaining no loss nor delays be-
cause of forgetful credit customers,
they proceed to cut that margin of
proft-and-loss from their prices. in
the effort to attract trade. Naturally,
everybody cuts, at that, although
prices are never uniform.
~ Anyhow. the competition between
marNetmen and grocerymen is l5eener
lore and it is for this reason and
because of the fact that spring with
us freshening markets. always lowers
prices, that prices are lower. by one
third a least, than they were in the
dead of winter.
Occasional cold flurries and bad
weather fiurries in the last two weeks
nave sent the prices up a little. but
only temporarily. With the cold
snaps the task of marketing becomes
more difficult, and the consumer must
pay more. And with the cold snaps,
s 700 the prices in the big distributing
centers actually rise; SO that when
> skeNer the weather man predicts "A
1Ieele or frost from now on the head
~ NE family must expect 10 pay more
~ illS eggs But that condition. he
~ nave the satisfaction OF knowing
~ last only SO long as tho cold
#eather remains.