The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-04-09
Panic in Sugar i'm City Follow
ing Big Buying.
Retailers Swamped With Or
ders as Prices Soar.
STOCK ON HAND is USED UP
Consumers Must Pay $3.50 and
S9.4O for 100 Pounds.
Flour Advanced Another Twen-
ty Cents This Morning.

lit is to be regretted that there is evil
dealers to boost the prices Of foodstuffs
The cost of living-plain living-is high
under the natural inclining situation of the
last three years without the apparent sky
rocketing of prices on the part of specu-
lators. There is no getting around the fact
comfortable home for a family under. con
ditions forced upon the struggling laborer
and and, his economic wife; District t Attorney
ment Will prosecute any firm found en-
gagged in combinations and speculations
tending to infringe upon the pocketbook of
the man who sweats for his daily bread.
Topeka business houses dealing in the dis
tribution of foodstuffs may be victims of
a still higher market control, It's true. 1t
is to be hoped that they are not guilty of
bringing on the days bloated market.l
Following rocketing advances in the
prices of foodstuffs in the last three or
four days, Topeka retailers and con-
sumers today faced the widest mar
kets in the history of the city. War"
commodities, including all the more
important table staples began advanc-
ing in price as soon as retailers began
receiving quotations from Jobbers this
morning. At 10 O'Clock near panlcs
developed on the floor of many gro
Gerry stores. Consumers united in 4
rush to lay in big supplies of the ad-
pancing products and store foremen
and owners shouted different quota
tions to clerks every few minutes.
Under pressure of heavy buying by
consumers in the last three days, the
sugar situation today became critical
for the time being at least. Jobbers
notified retailers that advance orders
could not be delivered and the former
refused to quote prices but told re-
tailers that they could expect an i'm
mediate raise in the wholesale price
to $3.50 hundred for beet sugar and
50 a hundred for cane sugar
Heavy Buying Responsible.
Jobbers declared heavy buying had
completely used up the stock on hand
Practically all wholesalers, however,
have big stocks of sugar purchased
which has not been delivered, and
upon this report the retailers pinned
hopes that the situation would be re
lieved shortly. In the meantime con-
sumers will pay aobut $3.50 a hundred
pounds for cane sugar and s9-4o
hundred pounds for beet sugar.
BY 10 o'clock this morning flour had
advanced another 20 cents, jobbers'
prices Consumers, under the increase,
are buying flour today for SO a sack.
Lard and Meat Soar.
On the heels of flour and sugar ad-
yances, lard and all meat products and
even their substitutes and limitations
began to rocket. Lard began climbing
and reached an advance of cents be-
fore stopping. The retail price ad-
vanced to 25 cents a pound. The in
crease in the price of Crisco today
made total increase of $1.25 per
sixty pounds, the amount contained in
case, IN the last ten days.
Butter went up cents, retail price.
This increase makes the consumer pay
A and 45 cents pound today. Eggs
started another shooting climb and up
until this afternoon had risen cents
a dozen over the closing price Satur-
day, making the retail price 80 cents
a dozen.
Potatoes, which jumped 25 cents a
bushel Saturday, were wild again to-
day. An increase of 20 cents bushel
was registered. This commodity is
selling to consumers at SIS and 80 cents
a peck.
Even soap Joined the advancing
brigade. Before noon retailers re-
ceived jobbers' quotations to the ef-
feet that it had jumped from $3.50 to
s3.S5 a hundred bars, effecting raise
of u cent a bar in the retail price.
Grain Market Nervous.
Grain quotations were nervous or
the Topeka board of trade today. On
the Kansas City wire May wheat open
ed at s2.14 and began to rise steadily
during the morning to S2.175s. To-
ward the close the price suddenly
broke and shot down to $2.07, a slump
of nearly 10 cents. This price recov-
cred slightly and the wire closed at
s2.0S, cents under the opening and
9a cents under the highest quotation.