Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-12-03
CHARGE HEINZ
PRICES PROVE
GOUGERS' AID
big Sisters" Protest Against
Food and Fuel Schedules
Now in Force

Philadelphia, Dec. 3.-Food and
fuel gougers are taking advantage
of the present range of prices. as
fixed by Howard J. Heinz, food ad-
ministrator of Pennsylvania. and by
the fuel administrators, according 20
500 members of the Big Sisters, who
held a meeting yesterday in the
rooms of that organization, 1920
North Broad street. and decided TO
send the following protest to the
state food administrator. The pro-
test is as follows:
Fully convinced of your desire TO
be Just and your real desire to pa
triotically do your duty, this or
ganzation of more than 500 house
wives desire to draw your attention
to the following facts of food con-
troll and price control.
Placing plainly before you the
fact that this is patriotic organiza-
ton, not an association of Socialists,
but women willing to do government
work, we still feel it our duty to
state our situation:
When the price was placed upon
coal in this city at $3.50, the price of
pea coal jumped to that figure, and
beyond, as allowed by the law. Pre-
vious to this jump We were asked
not to lay in coal; but never in the
, history of the present generation was
pea coal considered at a fair price
above $3.50 or IS until the 'goug-
ers' started in to rob the people
within the last year, and the price
placed upon the products of the coal
and railroad companies was abSo-
lutely an eXtortionate one, acknowl-
edged by the coal men themselves
but taken adantage of by them
nevertheless.
Declare People Suffer
you begged the people to stoI
buying veal outlet and lamb: but nc
measures were taken to prevent the
| fish 'gougers' from increasing the
| price of fish to the extent that yor
can feed family cheaper to-day or
veal outlet than you can on anything
| but the very cheapest kinds of fish
and very often not even on that.
| THE people were begged not to lay
| in their supply of coal and they pa
triotically followed the advice; to-
day they can get none, and the indi
| cations are that an increase in wage!
will be granted to the miners. the
coal companies will hold back th'
coal until that is arranged for, thel
the coal will be sent on here. tina
already mined at the old price anC
the other. and we will pay twice thu
raise received by the miners, who al
ready received all that was comint
to them under old prices.
1.-THE prices quoted on your list wa
n chance for produce and grocer!
;men to raise prices, it showed M
reason for decreasing prices. Th'
| price on that list was in no wa!
Ill. 1,nf Il in IA
usual stores, and these stores wer'
already charging "ll the tariff thu
goods would bear. Fresh turkeys OF
| Wednesday could have been sold ant
were sold, for L bought them q
| thirty-SiX cents q pound, your prize
of thirty-six to forty-two cents givini
n leeway that the 'gougers' took ad
vantage of. Thirty-siX cents woulC
have been sufficient, and all that the.
had to offer would have been sold
instead of being held for the higl
price of forty-two cents. Beans, on
of the staples of the poor, at seven
teen to nineteen cents, is crime oil
those who must watch their pennies
not to those who can afford to con
u serve by eating lobster salads. Mill
raised from eight to twelve cents
quart is bad enough, but you do no
prevent 'gougers' charging sevel
cents a pint or fourteen cents for
quart.
"The fact that the people sellin
the food to the consumer are dictat
ing the prices, possibly because n
better way is now in your possession
to get a clear idea of the subject,
proved by the fact that the publish
ing of Philadelphia prices imme
diately raised the prices in LANCASTER
n smaller community, that hads bee
selling goods cheaper than Philadel
phia, owing to poorer combination }
wholesalers and retailers who imme
diately took advantage of the Phila
delphia price list to get in on tn
- 4 "