Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-01
Circulation Every 1O2OO
Evening Yesterday L GOOO
THURSDAY. AUGUST /. 1918
How il Hurts the City.

In recent years the population OF VII
m,ngton has been largely augmented by
men coming here from other communities.
Many of them arc accompanied by ia m
ilics. and after arrival they settle them
= 'vus down to home life.
A canvass of these new arrivals. espc-
ciallv those who have families, will reveal
a general cause of complaint. and Serious
cause. It Is the high cost OF living, cost
so much higher than that which they had
10 meet IN the communities from winch
they came AS to excite their astonishment
and also their Indignation
Unfortunately this condition Is no
fgmcnt Of the imagination of these new
comcrs. They soon learn the range Of
prices in the street markets OF this city,
and with vivid recollection Of the prices
they had to nav AZ their former homes, II
Is no trouble for them 10 make comparisons.
And always these comparisons arc un-
favorable to Wilmington
Contrast Of Wilmington and Philadrl-
phia prices is IN some instances startling.
Vet there is no rrason why prices N VIII
m,neton should not hc at least on level
with those Of Philadelphia Really, they
should he lower And in contrast with the
prlces that rule IN the Baltimore markets
Wilmington also IS conspicuous by alti-
tude
One recent concr TO Wilmington found
a difference Of ten cents pound for roasts
Of beef between Philadelphia and W.T.
m,ngton. in favor OF Philadelphia Of course
And in respect Of retail prices for peaches
he found he could purchase a larger box
az good peaches in Philadelphia for 80
cents than he was charged 40 cents for IN
Wilmington ANY citizen of this city may
test tins comparison IN respeo< Of peaches
without trouble At prominent stand
not far from the corner Of Fourth and
Market streets. only yesterday. small
boxes of peaches that could not have
contained more than ten each were IN
bllshingy held at 40 cents per box.
The great trouble is that many persons
too large a number, unfortunately, Tor
the interests Nl ltt IFSt 81 AAit tOAt4A4NtfA'f =
nay these and other exorbitant pnces
without question Indeed many Of them,
purse-proud in the possession Of money.
do not even ask prices in advance OF pur-
chase They select what they want and
hand out the prices asked without de-
mur This is what encourages the prot
iteers" toincrcascd rapacity.
1t is not alone the farmers who como TO
our street markets who are responsible for
this continual 'gouging" in prices The
experience Of ono farmer, as related IN
letter printed in yesterdays Every Even
ing. Is a revelation in this respect. He sold
a basket Of apples to couple 0! boy
hucksters for 50 cents, and stood by to see
the bows sell the same basket of apples to
a woman customer for dollar and a
quarter, which the woman customer paid
as agreeably as though she was getting .
rare bargain.
But the farmers who sell in our street
markets are not guiltless, by any means.
Every Evening has shown, by actual facts.
that they arc intent upon keeping prices
al the highest notch, and that there have
been. on VARIOUS occasions, plain intIma-
tons of a combination. or arrangement
as a result Of which prices for the market
hing street market. at least-were Cs-
tabhshed by agreement. early on market
mornings, and adhered TO strictly through
out the market hours Also. there have
been instances where sellers in the street
market have insolentlv declared they
would rather take their stuff home and
feed il to the hogs than abate a cent IN
their prices.
The conditions OF our street markets
also are unsatisfactory In many respects
they are unslovenly, even unsanitary.
How bad they really are was completely
revealed by the story recently printed IN
Every Evening showing what kind Of
street markets and market houses they
have in Lancaster, Pa Conditions ad-
mirabIe, prices lower-about 40 per cent
on the average than those IN the VIII
mington markets Yet there is no reason
in the world why conditions and prices IN
the markets Of Lancaster and those OF
Wilmington should not be on q par
Lancaster derives its supply OF food prod
ucts directly from the producer. So does
Wilmington. Yet the people of Lancaster
can buy at reasonable prices, while the
people Of Wilmington are mulcted IN
prices that make the average purse shrlyel.
This situation is an evil 1t hurts our
city and gives it bad reputation. Too
long has il prevailed Long ago il should
have challenged tho attention Of City
Council, the Chamber Of Commerce. and
all other agencies for public admjnistra-
tion and the public good, and melted TO