Evening star., 1917-02-27
District Officials Hasten
Plans for Proposed Inquiry
Into Local Food Situation

Into Local Food Situation
Getting down to business in double
quick time, the committee OF District
officials appointed yesterday by the
Commissioners to investigate the food
situation here met this morning, select
ed George NJ. Roberts, superintendent
of weights. measures and markets, TO
be chairman, outlined preliminary
plan of procedure and announced that
public hearings will be part of its in
quiry.
The meeting was held at 10 o'clock
in the office of Commissioner Brown
low The three members of the COM
mittee, DR.. William c. woodward,
health officer; Charles F. Nesbit. super
intendent of insurance. and Mr. ROD
erts being the heads Of departments
that come Immediately under Commits
sioner Brownlow's supervision
There will be another meeting of the
committee tomorrow, after 1t has as
certained to what extent 1t Will be
able to cooperate with the FORCES no"
Investigating the food situation. eSpe-
cially the interstate commerce commls-
sion. the Department of Justice. the
United States district attorneys ONCE.
the DEPARTMENT of Agriculture. the bu-
reau of markets and the federal trade
commission.
Public Hearings Contemplated.
When the plans and work of the COM
rnittee have been more fully determined
it will announce stated meetings TO
which the public will be invited. AL
though without funds for the purposes
of its inquiry, the committee Will draw
upon the District for its stenographic
service and will endeavor to make an
exhaustive probe of conditions.
The fullest expression of views by
food dealers. representatives or trans
portation lines, consumers ana, IN
short, every one who has anything to
offer on the subject is invited by the
committee. Evidences of public inter
est in it's work already are being fur-
nished in communications and in other
ways.
That the committee intends to get
at the problem in the most practical
way and have the fullest publicity at
tend its work was indicated at the out
set today, when it gave out a letter
from a produce dealer charging he con-
sumer with unwittingly creating an
artificial shortage of food and the cor
responding increase in prices. Sugges
ton made by this writer touched
phase of the situation which the com
mittee regards as important for study
and consideration by the pubiic,ss
Text of the Letter.
The letter is as follows:
Just a word and a suggestion. l
have been in the produce. grocery and
meat business for more than thirty
wears in Washington. In that time l
haye heard shortage rumors. famine
rumors and coal rumors. but they most
ly were rumors l cannot remember
Of one of these rumors coming true
that is, other than that some foolish
or unwise people cause little panic
or false shortage by buying in greater
quantities than usual. just runor
and the consumer tries to save or 8
cents and really loses about twice as
much as he thinks he saves.
For the shortage does not ma
terialize and he is loaded up with
something that drops back to normal.
THE people must be taught to be
conservative, not take all these rumors
too seriously. Every time they pur-
chase fifteen or twenty pounds or some
article that they usually only use hve
pounds of they are helping to cut the
daily supply 900 per cent. Why not
when things are short buy the usual
five pounds. or, better still, two or
three pounds. to help get the market
How many times has the consumer
got to be fooled before he gets wise
to the fact that he alone makes the
shortage If there is one?
How many people pdiu ~ CeHlS anu
- cents for sugar last week and bought
two or three times as much as usual
when they could have waited a day
and bought all they needed for cents?
Let Supply Govern Demand.
why not govern the demand by the
supply? If the supply is short. buy as
little as possible. By cutting the de-
mand the supply will increase and price
stay normal Increase the demand. sup
ply gets short. prices yo up. The con-
sumer does this
why not tell the consumer to buy
as little as possible of every article that
has gone above normal in price, or
better still, cut out that article until it
drops back. and it will as soon as the
consumer stops buying it for two or
three days. There is plenty of every
thing for everybody if the consumer.
individually, does not start to corner
the market in a small way-he always
pays
.'TelI the consumer where he is
wrong: let him think and figure it out
1t is only supply and demand that
make prices-consumer causes demand,
jobber the price.
Consumer has it in his power to
stop using anything. Why doesn't he?
Consumer could be careful and use
less at least
"This is my dope after thirty years
of floods. fires. strikes, wars. blizzards.
shortages, and everything else. 1 have
pevar hoard Of the time when we had