The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-18


made over sure enough
Short weight was a regular prac-
tice in the Roman butchers stores.
The antique Roman scales used in ev-
cry butchers store helps them.
For no butchers scale in the Eter-
nal City can register 1913 grammes,
which makes the Roman pound. They
turn at 800 grammes, whereby every
purchaser loses IS grammes to the
pound. At the end Of the day this
meansa nice little profit for the butch
err.
However, the Mayor has fixed the
price of meat, and now sends police in
plain clothes to the stores to regulate
the weighing as far as possible, ma
king the butcher charge for $40
grammes instead of the pound.
But scenes are the order Of the day.
You see irate matrons running out
after a policeman to verify the weight
Of her steak or joint-and getting him,
too.
One large butcher here had so many
arrests among his customers in one
morning that he had to close down two
Of his stores for lack Of hands.
When the prices Of eggs were fixed
by law, eggs suddenly vanished from
the retail market.
The municipal bodies raided maya
zines and sequestered millions of. eggs.
Still, you can't force retailer to buy
eggs for sale unless he wishes to.
This became apparent even to the
police. The egg merchant won; the
price Of eggs was fixed by law at
IL cents, and again as if my magic
eggs appeared in the dairies once
more.
Milk is now sold in all the poorer
districts by the municipalities, who
send carts around with a man, who
blows a trumpet at every street cor
ner. 1t costs cent more a quart
than in New York, but the quantity
and measure are excellent.
Why this shortage of foodstuffs
First, the Italian 9nder arms con-
sumes twice as much as when he is
at home. The government feeds him
well, spending $3.50 per head for the
raw rations, this allowing for per
cent. loss in the more exposed dis
tricts Of the Alps and Dolomites.
But there is another reason, neatly
expressed by the Italian proverb,
1.-THE merchant knows no country.
High prices offered by German agents
tempt the merchants to export food
stuffs to Germany via Switzerland.
The merchant runs all the risks OF
fines and prison, so great are the
profits offered by food in Germany.
People with small fixed incomes
and they form the bulk of the popu-
lation have learned to partially meet
these high prices by doing without
things they thought indispensable be-
fore the war.
Take wine, for instance. Formerly
no Italian thought a meal worth eat
ing without wine. But the wine grow
ers' greed has taught him better, and
thousands, even after the war, will
keep to water as a table drink.
The Italians are paying their taxes
and war burdens most cheerfu1ly.
What they complain of is the
speculation Of food purveyors, greedy
to fill their pockets as fast as pos
sible.
The Italians do grumble that ar
ticles Of food formerly exported into
|, Austria and Germany and now Off
cially kept at home have gone up
| from Is to 80 per cent, according to
the demand. They complain thai
homegrown potatoes have increased
| in price from SO to 100 per cent. died
garlic from AZ to 275 per cent; that
even BARRIERS have raised prices 80 tc
| SO per cent; that many medicines
formerly imported from Germany
now made in Milan, are $50 per cent
dearer than two years ago; that these
rises make a total increase in his
domestic expenditure of SO per cent.
Food Tickets Suggested.
Emanuel Silla, son of the financie1
who helped to pull Italy out of the
slough Of despond in which she found
herself after casting off the Austrian
yoke, bodily advocates system OF