The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-06-08
DAILY MARKET
REPORTS TO Be
PUBLISHED HERE
Local Bureau of Markets To
Quote Prices for Benefit
of Consumers.

The market reporting service which
was established in Bridgeport last
summer will be in operation again
with the first of next week. H. S.
Schwenk Of the Bureau of Markets
of the United States Department of
Agriculture, will have charge of this
work and has temporary headquar-
ters at the Bridgeport Chamber of
Commerce. Mr.. Schwenk, Meri-
men man, is a graduate of the Con-
necticut Agricultural college, and
has been engaged in agricultural
work since graduation. For the last
few weeks Mr.. Schwenk has been act
ing as assistant to the representative
of the Bureau of Market in Provi-
dence, where the local market re-
porting service work was first started
over year ago.
One of the chief aims of the SER
vice which is successfully operating
in a number of the large cities in the
country, is to strip all technicalities
from market quotations and present
them to the public through the news
papers in a form easily understood
The reports will also consist of
comments on the market in plain
language, 'shorn" of all trade terms.
By means of these reports, consum-
ers will be advised as to the most
advantageous purchases of food pro-
ducts that may be made from day
to day The reports will also advise
the consumers when products may be
most advantageously bought for can
ming, drying and storing.
An important feature of this re-
port will be the classification of the
food products under the headings
abundant, normal and scarce.
The Bureau of Markets, through
investigational work, has found out
that the average housewife does not
read market reports, or if she does,
she gets very little out of them. This
is because most market reports quote
prices on wholesale and large meas
ures awhile consumers buy only in
small measures This daily report
will quote prevailing prices on the
foodstuffs with the quantity reduced
to the consumers unit
In addition to making market
quotations more useful to consumers,
the local Market Reporting Service
will interest itself equally in the well
fare of the local growers
Mr. Schwenk will visit the farmers
market every morning where he will
gather accurate information showing
the quantities of the various products
on the market and the prevailing
prices.
This information he will make
available to the growers and dealers
to help them in their buying and sell
ing 1t has been found that with such
STATISTICS, a city has a much more
active market than where buyers
work in the dark, feeling out the
market" and therefore much time is
saved.
The market reports will appear in
| the daily papers and will be mailed
to growers and consumers as soon as
the necessary arrangements can be
made.
AS the service develops M
Schwenk will be glad of any sugges-
tions as to how it may be made more
useful. Although the service is il
| operation in a number of local cities
it is recognized that local situations
vary and every effort will be made tc
adapt the service to the prevailing
conditions.
In order that this may be done II
Bridgeport, the bureau hopes to have
the hearty cooperation of all parties
interested in marketing. That means
everybody, for there is no economic
matter in which all persons have such
vital interest if they but knew it
| nc the h11uino and sailing of fnnd