The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-12-27
FOOD PRICE
CONTROL TO
Be STARTED
Viii Be Tried Out in Ten
Towns of Vermont
BENNINGTON IN LIST
Meeting of Grocers Will Be Held To-
morrow Evening at Village Of
flee Rooms.
BENNINGTON IN LIST

Food price control is to be started
| in Bennington right away. There is
to be a meeting of grocers and pro-
vision dealers Friday evening at s
| O'Clock at the village clerks rooms
! at the direction of the state food ad-
| ministrator, Hon James Hartness Of
| Springfield
At first the price control will be
! limited TO sugar. potatoes and flour,
| but it will be gradually extended to
include other important food sup
, plies.
The plan at the beginning is TO be
| tried out in ten of the larger towns
of the state, Bennington, Brattle-
bolo, Burlington, Rutland. Barre,
| Montpelier, ST. JohnsDury, st, AL
/ bans, Springfield and Bellows Falls,
! A few days ago MIR. Hartness, the
( federal food administrator for Ver7
I mont summoned to Burlington repre-
| sentative provision dealers from the
! ten towns above named l. b. Glib
| son, who has been in the grocery
I and baking business here for half a
century, went from Remington and
/ was named the Bennington member
| OF the state conference board In
/ that capacity he has called the meet
| ing for tomorrow night
The plan as Quilted from Wash
I ington provides for the selection Of
I what will be called local interpret
I ing board which will be elected by
I the dealers themselves, but the
/ active member of this interpreting
I board must not be himself a dealer.
The local interpreting board will
! keep track of the cost of the food
! supplies which it is proposed TO con.
! troll and will fix the maximum price
( al which these articles can be sold
The price will be subject to revision
by the state administrator.
All dealers will eventually have to
come under the rules or they are
likely to find their supplies cut off
! Mr.. Hartness' letter to dealers is in
| part as follows:
n this letter we submit plan for
publication of prices 1t is essential
| ly a method for giving regularly,
| through the daily or weekly press
authentic information and advice in
| REGARD 10 wholesale and retail prices
The retail prices are intended to
guide the housewife in intelligent
! buying and protect her from over
/ charges; the wholesale prices TO in.
form the retailer upon market condi
! tions. Taken together, these prices
/ oh oyt,, nf M oh
! therefore act as a check upon dealer
! whose margins are high and at the
/ same time protect those from criti.
| cism whose margins are reasonable
We regard such publication and in.
depreciation of prices with its result
| ant benefits to the ultimate consumer
as one OF the important function
I which the Food Administration
I should perform
The operation must not be con
strued or stated as fixing prices, for
! which the law furnishes no warrant.
In reality, il must be an understand.
ing with the retail distributors where
by they volunteer to pass licensed
commodities on to their consumers
at reasonable margin over cost.
1t is to be a statement of minimum
and maximum prices; maximum
operating to prevent unreasonable
profits, and the range between mini
mum and maximum constituting a
field for competition.
The prices must be simply express.
ed and reduced to terms which the
least experienced housewife can
readily understand and yet sufficient
ly close to the regular quoted market
grades that the retailer cannot avoid
actual and specific compliance.
In this, as in most of the opere
tions under the Food Administration
law, there is no universal scheme
adaptable to all towns. In each
town the prices to be published mus
be those of commodities in common
use in that locality and the margins
of profit in accordance with the jus
tice of the local situation.
General Principles.
1. The ultimate consumer, havinl
been asked to apply rigid conserva
ton in the home, is entitled to pro
lection against exploitation with re
spect to important food staples.
2. Congress has made IL unlawfu
for any person to exact excessiv,
prices for any necessaries (see sec
ton A, Food Control Act, but has ex
empted small retailers from licensed
control. This does not exempt unli
censed grocers from compliance Will
the law. 1t puts small grocers OF
their honor not to make excessiv,