Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-03-23
SUGGESTS PLAN
follower HIGH
COST OF LIVING
Would Have Trademarks
Abandoned During Dura-
ton of the War

! That trade-marked goods be elm
mated during the present waS is the
suggestion made by the local gro
GERS committee, which is doing all
in its power to bring lower prices
and to reduce the high cost of liv-
ing. A statement issued to-day by
the committee follows:
The problem of lower prices on
food seems as far from a solution as
ever.
A meeting of grocers in Technical
High School auditorium was adj
dressed on Tuesday night by William
Smedley, secretary of the Retail
Merchants Association of Pennsyl-
vania, who is an authority on all
that pertains to the retail grocery
business, and he cautions the gro
GERS to be careful in experimenting
with the cash and carry" plan. and
said the saving by that plan was
small and that some had failed be-
cause they calculated too large a
saving in the no-delivery plan. He
condemned the policy of selling
some articles at loss to draw trade
and making up on others.
| 1t is unfortunate to publish cost
| and selling prices that afford so
small margin as to result in actual
loss to grocers if followed. 1t makes
trouble all around. The consumer is
dissatisfied because he cannot buy
on that basis and it antagonizes the
grocer because he cannot sell on
that basis.
The cost to a grocer for conduct
ing his business economically is ap-
proHimately IL per cent OF his" total
sales. Beans bought at 15l u cents
and sold at II cents, as advocated
in fair prices" pays the grocer a
profit of less than 8 per cent. when
it costs him II per cent. to do bus
iness, hence ne sustains a loss of s
per cent. On flour fair prices" he
would make . per cent. at cost
of II per cent, and thus have a net
loss of IL per cent. To advocate
such utter impossbilities antag-
onizes those who could give the best
cooperation.
A ready and not difficult solution
of this problem can be found by be-
ginning with the manufacturer and
in such effort the food administra-
tion would see every grocer fall in
iIine. For instance, let the Russell
and Miller Milling Company sell
their flour or Il large portion of it
! under the name of Liberty Flour in
stead of Occident, then we could
get the same grade of flour for a
dollar per barrel less, for that is
what 1t costs to maintain electric
signs of eNtravagant proportions, full
page advertisements in high priced
magazines. etc. In that way a dollar
per barrel can be saved and the
rocer still live-which he cannot
do on prices as now advocated.
All the popular brands of flour,
except those of ldSal distribution
only, could be supplied at so cents
to dollar per barrel less by saving
the cost of advertising. Let break
fast foods be sold at milling profit
to the manufacturers for the dura-
tion of the war. In all breakfast
foods there is an enormous profit
the material for the contents of the
package costs less than half the
price charged the wholesaler.
\ manufacturer selling an article
under a trade mark name which no
competitor can use has a monopoly
and he uses it for all it is worth,
and his policy is to give as little as
! possible in goods, get as much as
| possible for them and spend a lot
of money advertising to keep the
| name popular.
There are numerous articles in the
grocery line where large savings can
be had by applying the foregoing
method.
The patent laws of some foreign
countries do not allow this trade
mark monopoly in business.
Grocers are now making a smaller
percentage of profit than they ever
made within their own recollection,
CD AC, II 6 CON- In,r,In