New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-12
ASK WHITMAN TO
CURB WAR PRICES
Housewives'League Seeks
Help of District Attorney
in Fight on Merchants.

Mrs. Julian Heath, president OF the
National Housewives League, went tc
the District Attorneys office yester'
day 10 talk about food prices and tc
see whether the league and the CITY
can cooperate in protecting consumers
from dishonest merchants who desire
TO take advantage of the European
war to run their prices up.
Mr.. Whitman was out of the city
but Mrs. Heath had a talk with ms
secretary, LLOYD D. Willis. 1t was
agreed that at present there was nc
evidence of a conspiracy among deal
ers. and therefore nothing for the Dis
trict Attorneys Office TO act upon. But
Mrs, Heath told Mr.. Willis of number
of experiences showing a disposition
among some retailers to charge a lit
lie more and say the war situation
compelled il, and he assured her that
when such instances showed conspiracy
the District Attorney would be glad 70
act
One of the instances Mrs. Heath re-
lated occurred in a grocery store near
seth st. and Broadway.
81 went in there" she said, "and
asked the proprietor, How much are
twentv-four and a half pounds OF
flour?' Eighty-fve cents he said.
told him | didn't think I'd buy; that
had been paying only rs cents. Oh
but -four is going up he said. The
war is sending it up. All the big apart
ment hotels around here are laying IN
a stock of -four because they expect
the prices to keep rising Yet when
he found he couldn't bluff me he of.
fered to sell me one of those bags Of
-four for rs cents"
Mrs. Heath said sfterwaHi that II
was up to the consumers to handle
dealers like that.
ave find them everywhere" she said.
"They are going to take advantage OF
the war, as they take advantage OF
everything. Mrs. Thomas Fulton just
told me that she even had to pay five
cents a pound more for dog meat Tor
the family pet than she did before this
war began. But there's no concerted
increase among retailers. Wholesalers
may be conspiring to speculate, but the
retail situation is individual, and indl-
vidual marketers must deal with IT
We are urging every member Of the
Housewives League, and every woman
who isn't a member, TO see to 1t that
she Ism HlInudHAlSu ny nv 5-N
her butcher and her baker into paying
fictitious prices.
"When the baker says to her, I've
got TO charge more for my bread be-
cause the war has sent up the price OF
four let her remind him that the
wheat crop this year is bumper crop
300 100000 bushels more in this
country than there was last year. Let
her remind him that there are no ships
to carry it abroad. Let her tell him
that Russia has a big wheat crop, too
and her women will harvest it if her
men are all at war. In all those Eu-
ropean countries the women work out
in the fields, and food will be produced
there. even if the countries are al
war. The talk about huge exports
from our country is a shrewd attempt
TO create a bull sentiment. II is up to
our women to keep that sentiment
down"
The Housewives League is soon u
omen permanent headquarters in an Of.
fee building near Fifth av. and 42C
ST. They plan to have a regular in
formation shop, where any and al
women can come and arm themselve:
with facts with which to confound un'
scrupulous dealers.