Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-09-18
Increased Expense Incurred in
Purchasing for Ordinary
Family "0ver Sunday"
PRICES ARE COMPARED
WITH THOES OF YEAR AGO
Meats, Groceries. Vegetables and
Most Other Staples Quoted at
Higher Figures.

Saturday nights marketing for an
ordinary household. judging from an
Investigation made in Center market
Saturday night by a reporter for The
Star. costs just about 3l5o more now
adays than It did a year ago.
Dealers in meats. groceries, Vese-
tables and other food staples last night
showed themselves very much interest
ed In q trip among their stalls made by
the reporter for the purpose Of filing
theoretical basket with the Saturday
night marketing Of an ordinary house,
hold, and to compare the cost OF such
marketing now with the prices paid
year ago.
They fully substantiated the asser-
the city lateiyNsince there has been SO
much talk of the possibility of raising
the prices Of bread. milk and other
foods-to the effect that everything
has gone up" Everything in the way
of food, indeed, has gone up the
case of fish the prices have just dou-
bled
Contents of the "Basket."
This theoretical market basket was
filled with a ham for Sunday dinner,
vegetables. a soup bone, the materials
for a salad and a pineapple and or
anges for a dessert. Bacon and eggs
were bought for breakfast this morn
ing and Clipped beef to be creamed and
served on toast for Monday morning
breakfast The ham cost 2 cents a
poudd more-24 cents-than it did a
year ago. when 1t was % cents. diff
ference on ten-pound ham Of 20 cents
additional The bacon cost 2 cents a
pound more. The Clipped beef cost 10
cents a pound more-that is. so cents a
pound now against 40 cents last year.
A pound Of lard. which cost Is and 16
cents pound last year, cost 20 cents, 4
cents a pound more. If sliced ham had
been wanted for breakfast it would
have cost 80 cents pound, instead OF
30 cents last year; II shoulder iHH, l had
last night instead of the II cents which
was paid year ago.
States a "Curious Fact"
ut is curious fact. too" one dealer
in smoked meats said. that more hogs
have been slaughtered this year than
last. The records prove that: but, the
fact is, we are shipping more meat to
the soldiers in Europe than we did a
year ago"
Suppose fish had been wanted for
breakfast. Eluehsh and trout are hard
to obtain. Instead of the 1919 and Is
| cents a pound paid for them a year age
| one would have been obliged to pay %
| cents a pound.
This month";" one dealer said, there
is generally run of bluefish. and they
should be plentiful There has been no
run and they are very scarce" This
| dealer exhibited letter from an out
of-town wholesale fish dealer Offering
frozen (cold storage) fish, and declar-
ing that there are very few fish in
| storage
If leg of lamb had been wanted for
| today's dinner the customer would have
been obliged to pay cents a pound
| more for 1t than was paid last year
| If rib roast of beef had been wanted
| it would have cost for the best cut
| Is cents a pound. against IS cents a
| year ago. At this stall it was remarks
that the wholesale prices of all meats
are from IS to SO per cent higher than
they were a year ago. The reporter
nearly tainted when he was told that
there has been no increase in the price
of liver That was the only thing in
the market, apparently, on which there
had been no advance in price. 1t may
be unwise to publish the fact. as liver
has probably been overlooked by some
one, and the price will probably be put
up as soon as attention is drawn to it,