New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-28
Retailers Still Gouging

Retailers Still Gouging
The difficulty Of checking food proiteer-
ing by any but the most drastic means IS
we'll illustrated by the protests OF the re-
tail grocers against the proposed labelling
rule which the State Food Commission
wants TO put into effect. Under this rule
retail dealers would be compelled TO tag
staple commodities with the grade ana
price-a safeguard for purchasers so
fundamental and reasonable that 1t would
seem impossible for any dealer to find rea-
sons for Directing TO it. Yet a committee
representing the grocers argued long ana
earnestly with representative OF inc
Food Commission to convince him that
while it might be possible TO do this with
some commodities, such as eggs and but
ter. it would be impossible with others,
such as beans and canned goods, as the
merchants themselves didn't know what
grade the goods they sold were.
OF course. this is all tommyrot. The
merchants know what they pay Tor TO
the iobbers or wholesalers. They know
whether they are paying for storage eggs
or eggs which haven't been in the storage
warehouse; they know whether they are
buving first grade or second grade canned
stuff. There could be no possible difficulty
in labelling the goods they sell according
to the grades for which they pay, and the
cnly objection they could have to comply
ing with this rule would be that 1t re-
ouired them to advertise their wares hon.
estly and to charge only fair price Tor
the articles exposed for sale, not a price
based on the market valuation Of better
grade of merchandise.
This labelling rule is wholly fair and
reasonable. The trouble with it is that 1t
is too mild TO achieve the results hoped for
Like the Suggested prices" scheme, 1t
won't bring food rates to rock bottom.
It is recorded that an Investigator for the
State Food Commission visited retail stores
in the district from Fifty-ninth Street to
Eldridge Street in one day, and found the
merchants all charging two or three cents
more than the Food Commission suggest
ed" the customer ought TO pay. With the
labelling rule in effect, there would be no
force but moral suasion to compel the re-
taller to label his goods at the right price
the price which would leave him margin
of profit and yet not dig beyond reason into
the pockets of consumers. And the
proposal made in behalf of the grocers-
that when a retailers prices are found to
exceed the suggested" prices he be asked
to explain" to the Food Commission, and
on second offence his name be made pub
lic-would be ludicrously Intellectual.
Americas food business has been con-
Quoted on the cGveat emptOr plan. The
big dealers have gouged the little deal
ers; the little dealers have gouged the
consumers. Now a time has come when
it is to the interest of the public
dealers as we'll as consumers - that
cease. The government has I'M
dertaken to regulate the business of the
big fellows-to see that they make their
profit. but are unable to gouge anybody.
The little dealers are thus protected against
their former gougers, but nobody has yet
devised means to protect the consumers
against the gouging of the little fellows.
How much Of a success in that line price
fixing would be cannot be predicted. But
it at least offers some hope, and the mllder
plan used so far-moral suasion-hasn't
stopped retailers profiteering 20 any ap-
preciable extent.