Evening star., 1917-03-01
LITTLE FOODSTUFF
IN STORAGE HERE
Holdings in Washington Can
not Be Blamed for High
Prices, 1t Is Shown.
BREAD INQUIRY CONDUCTED

Cold storage holdings cannot be blamed
for the high price Of eggs in Washington.
at least in SO far as the operations Of the
Washington Market Company are con-
cerned
Investigations of the health department
show that four-cent loaves OF bread give
more nourishment for the price than
loaves of any other size.
Prices of fish have declined generally.
These were the outstanding facts de-
veloped by today's inquiries intothe food
shortage situation by the federal trade
commission and the committee Of officials
representing the District government.
E. o. Whitford. president of the
Washington Market Company, gave
some Illuminating testimony on the
egg situation before the federal trade
commission. He said that his company
on December l. 1915. held 1856 cases
Of eggs in cold storage for its custom
ers. December /, 1916. the amount
stored was $500 cases; January /. 1917,
1,6l0 cases, and February !, 1917, only
nine cases of thirty dozens each.
Little in Storage Now.
Notwithstanding the company has re-
frigerated storage space for 10000
cases Of eggs. the total number of cases
stored during the present season. Mr..
Whitford declared, was only Ii. 900 cases.
or 10 per cent Of capacity. The company.
he continued. has storage space for
only 500 sacks for storage during the
present season. At the close of business
yesterday the company had no onions
in its warehouses: 1t had one barrel and
fifty-five sacks of potatoes and only
Seventy-Seven bags, four crates and one
barrel of cabbage.
Mr. Whitford stated that increased
business. expected with the growth of
the city, had not materialized; that
states are in many instances discrimi-
native against Washington, which
tends to divert to Baltimore. Philadel-
phia, New York and other cities food
products which should come here.
The District food investigating COM
mittee met this morning in the office of
Chairman George NJ. Roberts. superin-
tendent of weights, measures and mar
kets, and questioned at length dairy in
spectors of the health departments as
ing the past season in the territory i'm
mediately surrounding Washington.
Four-Cent Loaves Pay Best.
Results of an investigation by the
health department, made public by the
committee today, show that the weight
of four-cent loaves OF bread varied
from SIS ounces to liza ounces. av-
eraging 9.95 ounces. The solid matter
in four-cent loaves varied from 5.75
ounces to SIS ounces. averaging 6.61
ounces. The purchaser of the four
cent loaf, therefore, got practically
167 ounces of bread solids for every
cent expended. Each cent expended for
Ia ten-cent loaf purchased LAC ounces
Of bread solids; for a five-cent loaf.
LAB ounces; for twelve e-cent loaf. 1.32
ounces. and for six-cent loaf. 1.27
ounces.
These figures convince the committee
that the four-cent loaf gives more
nourishment for the price than loaves
of any other size. Since last spring
there has been an increase of 20 per
cent in the price of each loaf, with a
decrease of per cent in size, the
health departments investigation
shows. Loaves now selling for S
cents, mostly before selling for 4
s about 1906 per cent less than the
average weight of the loaves sold for 6
cents prior to November l. 1916.
In calling attention to the fact that
prices OF nsh nave decflned the COM
mittee today gave the following quo
tations for fish on sale at the munich
pal fish market, on Water street:
North Carolina herring. $3.50 per hum
dred; Potomac bass. Is to Is cents per
pound: rockfsh. 15 to 20 cents per
pound: roe shad, rs cents each: buck
shad. 35 cents each; tile fish, 121e cents
per pound: Spanish mackerel. 1212 to
IS cents per pound; pike. 15 to IS cents
per pound; perch. 12h2 to Is cents per
pound: Writings. 3 to cents per
pound; crokers. 6 to cents per pound: !:
trout. to 10 cents per pound; catfish,
to cents per pound.