The Washington herald., 1918-07-25
PROFITEERING
TN WASHINGTON
EATING PLACES
Administration c afeteria
Prices Show Meals May
Be Cheap.
DAILY MENU AS UTOPIA
Punch" Committee Willing
to Cooperate to Obtain
Authority for Bureaus.

Croclusive proof Of profiteering in
Washington public eating places was
offered yesterday by the Federal
Food Administration in statements
showing prices charged in the Ad-
minstration cafeteria
The cafeteria is not operated for
profits" the release states, but II
can readily be seen that IL the prices
were doubled. they would be mod
crate and still permit a substan-
tial margin OF profit"
Prices quoted at random from the
weekly menu are as follows:
Lima bean soup. 10c; baked mack
erel with parsley sauce. 1oc; cold
tongue, 10c: potatoes au gratin, Sc;
bread and butter. SC; fruit salad,
10c; tomato and egg salad, 10c; cab
bage and celery salad. sc; maple
nut pudding with whipped cream.
SC; watermelon. &c: milk. &c; coffee,
SC, and iced tea, SC.
The cafeteria is self-supporting
and enables the employees of the
administration to obtain an appe-
tizing and substantial lunch with
no t4OEpIldhI piiScS'
Substitutes Not Costly.
The statement made by many res
taurant keepers in the city that one
cause Of the high prices charged is
the cost OF the substitutes they are
requested 70 use from patriotic mo-
tives, Is disproved by this menu, as
substitutes are ued whenever possi-
bic, Most of the desserts, for eX-
ample, are made with honey. maple or
corn syrup. Bread Is made from the
wheat substitutes claimed by restau-
rant keepers to be so expensive.
Wheat is never used. even in cooking.
This is found to be satisfactory to
all OF the patrons Of the establish
ment.
The cafeteria has established a rec
ord for sugar saving. During the
last ten days. only fifty pounds of
sugar was used in serving six thou
sand meals. This would be at a
rate Of one puond to 80 meals.
Waste is practically eliminated in
managing the kitchen. During the
past ten days. the table and kitchen
refuse amounted to four ounces per
person, including fruit and vegetable
peelings and plate scrapings. Nothing
Is wasted. the peelings being disposed
of for chicken feed. and the other
refuse turned over to the garbage
collectors TO be turned into grease
and tankage at the city reduction
plant.
As Utopia.
Prices quoted from the daily menu
of the cafeteria sounr Utopian to the
Washingtonian accustomed within
the last few months to paying a
small fortune for every meal, and
yet officials at the Administration
declares these figures to be correct.
1t is stated that the place feeds an
average Of six hundred persons daily
at the noon day meal.
Announcement that Clarence R
Wilson. Food Administrator for the
District. would be absent from
Washington today. the date set for
the visit OF the Punch" committee
of the Federal Employees, brought
about a decision by the committee al
a meeting last night to pastpone
their visit once more. Under present
plans. the committee will call upon
Mr.. Wilson at the Food Administra,
ton tomorrow. Their visit to the
| Administration will be the first of a
series in which they will call upor
government officials for relief from
the conscienceless profiteering of tn,
gouging food dealers of the city.
No Antngonistic Mood.
The committee intends to call upor
Mr.. Wilson first. believing that tn,
high prices of food are largely respon.
sible for boosting other merchandise
and rents.
Mr.. Wilson. however, is out of tn,
city and is not expected back unit
Friday. so other local authorities OF
housing and markets VIII be visited
tooay.
Thomas H. J. Quinn, director of pub
licity Of the National Federation o
Federal Employees said yesterday
| Prices are unreasonable and we are
going to Wilson to discuss the matter
in no antagonistic mood.
I'VE will lay the case before hin
mad see II there is not some way t
work out the local situation.
1T has been repeatedly stated ir
Congress that the Food Administra'
tion has not sufficient power ade-
quately to deal with conditions. II de,
INclOpn1entS Indicate lndI lfllS Is true
1t shall be our duty to cooperate will
these bureaus to secure proper legis
lation.
From our own local investigation
we have found that there are a grea
many merchants in the city who ar
trying to do their best to hold price,
within reasonable bounds. judging
from some of the prices paid farm
ers and producers and the price!
charged retailers. there Is more or les
indication that the cause of the evi
lies with the middleman who Is In /,
position to juggle prices.
| To Decide Action.
"The information we receive an
the way we are met at the loca
Food Administrations once. at tn
Department of Labor and in tn
other places will help us decide ou
future actions.
"If we find there 70 no possibilit
of cooperation between these agen
cies and our own Organization an
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