New Britain herald., 1917-02-24
70un Topics

that were unbelievable and to which people predicted they would never rise again. But they have and today the people Of New Britain, i'll com mon with others all over the coun- try, are paying prices that are higher than ever before in the history of the country. For many people these prices are prohibitive and cut them off from the very necessities of life. Unless some drop comes soon the al- most positive result may be tragic. Conditions arc chaotic. Never were they so bad for the poor people or those in moderate circumstances. A year ago person would have been lauged to scorn had he predicted that potatoes, for generations one of the cheapest of toodstuffs and commonly referred to as "SpudS' and "murphies," would reach $4, S5 and s6 per bushel. Yet it has come about and now potatoes are luxury and on the menus of some of the leading hotels are listed: "one large baked potato, twenty-five cents." When people had to pay seventy-five cents a dozen for eggs, or about six cents each, they threw up their hands in horror, yet today eggs are as cheap as potatoes which in some instances they cost as much as six cents each. Anv man who had backyard garden planted in Iotatoes last summer is certainly fortunate and the man who had farm planted with potatoes would have made fortune if he waited until now to sell. But New Britain farmers claim that they have not made the profits. They say they sold last fall at moderate prices and the wholesalers have been cornering the market until now even the pro- ducers have to pay these exorbitant rates. Meat onions. cabbages, flour beans, canned goods and other staple articles of food are soaring in pro- portion. Unless conditions are irn- mediately bettered the poorer classes in this cosmopolitan city are sure to suffer.
 A New York statistician, J J. Hart igan, commissioner Of weights and measures, has figured that "a dollar today will only purchase food that |12 cents would before the outbreak of the European war in 1914" While possibly the figures are not quite so alarming in New Britain there is little doubt that dollar will buy a small percentage of what it would two years ago.
 Of particuar interest to the house. wife of New Britain is a report on eggs by the home economies bureau of the United States department Of agriculture. This report says in part:
 "The principal food element fur nished by eggs is protein. the nitro genous tissue-b building element whose presence in considerable proportions also gives meats. fish milk, cheese, etc, their special food value. Eggs can therefore. be substituted in the. diet for the latter foods without ma- terially altering the proportion of protein eggs also furnish fat and a number of valuable mineral elements including sulphur. phosphorus, iron, calcium, and magnesium, in an easily assinnilable form, and are believed also to be rich in certain essential vitalizing clements called vitamins.
 ''In addition the housewife when purchasing eggs should consider size and freedom from cracks. Eggs vary so in size that dozen large and a dozen small eggs purchased at the same prize per dozen may differ as much as 25 per cent. in the value of the food elements furnished. Per- haps the fairest way to buy or sell eggs is by weight. Cracked eggs are undesirable because the breaking of the shell makes possible the entrance Of bacteria and filth.
 ''The fact that eggs have been held in cold storage does not necessarily mean that they are of low quality Carefully handled Cold storage eggs of local eggs that have teen improperly cared for"
 New Britain is certainly blessed with an unusually good water SUD- ply, 8 supply that under almost any conditions is nearly inexhaustible and which is sufficiently powerful to throw many heavy streams of water with out the use of motor pumps, except in the highest sections of the city. This natural asset was greatly ap- preeiated Wednesday,
 Chief Robert M. Dame proved himself a true chief by the master full manner in which he handled the fire departments at the fires. The firemen too. proved themselves etfi- tlSII IlIc llSnleTS. NeW bIlldlll IS doubly blessed with an excellent water supply and efficient and willing workers, but it is apparently cursed by lack of fire fighting apparatus. At least three more companies are positively needed. A large city such as this should not be compelled to rely upon the taxpayers of Hartford, Waterbury, Plainvillc and Bristol to protect then. in sudden emergency. More fire apparatus and more men are needed at once. No fair-m1nded citizen can object to any reasonable appropriation for more apparatus. Preparedness Is the keynote of the present day. New Britain's fire de- partment should he sufficiently pre- pared to he able to cope with any reasonable emergency and 1t certainly is not at present.
 It is a queer coincidence that the terrorizing fires of the past week