New-York tribune., 1918-06-22
Food Prices to
The Consumes
Some Prohteers We Have Not Met-Welcon.
the Bluehsh Back to the Market
SHOULD FOOD BE FREE?

40 remarkable the state OF mind that people get into vh
they begin to talk about food prices Perhaps it is
food is essential to life and having constitutional s
along with liberty and the pursuit of happiness we ha
subconscous feeling that food should be as free as water
or at east be provided at COST But food never been
zed and Is just subject to the Unconditional laws of co.
piooucIlon ana supply and demand diamonds The I'll
loving letter typical of the righteous Indignation based
a'a ha truths which most of bring bear on food @
Inc letter is perfectly sincere and the writer honesv
oeeves that the conunrums propounded are difficult to
and the situation entirely ndefensible
m Edlfor hn While in Jersey yesterday that rawbe
r p ferns nsw y9r and in the ~
sse s dos sS en- ss ss +
berris Tsa a snip quart Of straw
@ and & 5 @ sa vsssfs s;s sS
0 @ n1ee ] cents pound they sawber b
as7s ny ses as%sr at bsf asars made @ hs
that 1hy Of a this get sta3e cents
from the field the fair price on It % % "
Vegetables "9S tSos vho s sopa t.
FIRST we start out with of isolated Casa bad
basis for food generalization It was an out-ofhewsy
cents for them this late in the The records show that
month They have been whossng for IS to 8 cents o @
and retailing for Is to SO cents Grand Central Station
Always ba naa pace to pick berries The rents affect them
season short Strawberry prices the obber have ranged from
y g % cents quart compared with cents last year
cover loss highly pershabe product No one sells straw
berries for love The shipping of them only item out
fasner ''''' 'A'' '''
most interesting point the letter is the idea thatte
food administration should have handled Strawberries as n did
potatoes This reminds of the old conundrm: Why ia
9eNant like clam? Answer: Neither can climb tree
There never comparison possible between the cost
distributing pershable luxury and n-pershable ssu.
product Potatoes were gut the market The sdIny
greatly exceeded the demand they held back by weather
and transportation conditions dumped on the market in M
cessive quantities. "W NJ CO. atters the food administrators
little They tried to keep potatoes down lowest possible
price IN order to effect the sale of the big crop save wheat
but weather conditions and supply and demand lowered The
price OF potatoes and these factors worked opposite d
tlon to increase the price of Strawberries. Furthermore p
toes are staple eaten the year round in large quantities.
Strawberries are luxury available for short time and used
small quantities. There every why the price of straw
berries should have been high and the
Canaloupes only just coming into the market Products
OF this kind with limited always high when
whether be the beginning of the
Only about 40 cent of the usual shipments
permitted to from South America the ship
toms needed for wheat and Would any man in any
business sell his product at the price his output
denly limited to 40 cent of the usual voume Not onga
the instinct of sef-preservation persists!
We not saying that of these things that
such conditions should not and could be improved will
improve them merely to shut eyes and lump and
down and shout Proteer Food facts and their nterpe
tion not obviousthey complex The basic difficulty
with the system rather than with the individual
faith and our interest in cooperative buying clubs