Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-01-26
EGGS TAKE TUMBLE
BUT MEATS ARE UP
All Cuts Show a Rise of From
Two to Three Cents
a Pound

Eggs down and meats upi That was
the state of affairs in King street market
and among the retail meat dealers in the
market houses and elsewhere this morn
ing.
Every Evenings market reporter, in
making his usual Saturday round of the
marketecrs, the retail stores and market
houses, stood amazed when he found out
what was going on. All the winter. in
fact from away back in the fall, the prices
of meats--becf, pork, lamb, ctc.-have
been virtually stationary. But eggs and
the things that come from the farm have
steadily been going up under the watchful
eye OF the Elder Statesmen and the canny
curb marketccrs.
And then To think that today, when the
market reporter sailed into Ming street,
confidently expecting to find 95-cent eggs
the rule he found them ~ cents. Last
week n lot of the curb folks were asking
90 cents and the majority S5 cents. There
was "A clean drop of 10 cents a dozen, with
Is at tho outside price, all along the street
today, but nobody WIS willing to tell the
cause.
EGGS, TRUTH AND CAMouFLAGE.
What's the natter one farmer
marketeer was asked Have you folks
jollicd the hens into thinking that it is
spring time and that they must begin lay
ing, or has the food administrators put the
fear of Uncle Sam into your hcarts2 Why
should eggs have been 50 and 90 cents
last week and 20 this week."
TOh," said he. eggs are eggs and
prices iluctuate. II YOU want to, let Every
Evening take credit for the drop"
There was n little truth, n little poetry
and little camouflngc in the reply, but
II II
that If he thought Every Evening had
abandoned its reporting of high prices in
hing street simply because eggs were
down for once, he was mistaken and that
really it hadn't begun to fight.
The real truth, II would seem, liee in the
fact that the public has learned That IT
does not have to buy eggs in King street
at the marketcers prices, but that il can
20 TO the stores and do just as well or
better This competition recently has
worked number of very wondcrfus
changes The average housewife. who has
n certain sum weekly for the upkeep Of the
family table, has been convinced that the
stores will serve er bet or ~ q lo or al n
price than will the curb rnarketeer The
farmers have felt the loss Of trade aud
have been forced into bringing their prices
somewhere within reason.
THE RISE IN MEATs.
All the butchera and this does not
mean the curb men were forced to raise
the price Of meats today. the wholesalers
boosting the cost 20 them To such an ex-
tent that they could not maintain the
figures at which meats have been sta
tionary for many weeks The average ad-
vance on oil cuts Of beet, lamb mutton
and pork was about two cents n pound
Asked "a 10 tho cause. one leading butcher
said that he understood Il 10 he the
weather conditions III tho West
turkeys were not very plentiful IN tho
market or at the stores and were selling
for 80 cents a pound Chickens were
abundant on the curb market M the usual
rates per fowl-about - cents pound
In the market houses and stores however.
they could bc bought for n cents. Ducks
and geese we're 80 cents IN the stores.
which were also selling eggs ~ low as go
cents dozen. Butter IN the stores was
from 80 10 Is cents a pound lAlarkoteers
were charging 65 and 10 cents
TnE GENERAL PRICE LIST
Below is today's price list:
Onions, 10 Ia ID cents quart; white
potatoes, IS cents a quarter peck. IS cents
To 81 a basket. 81 50 To s. a bushel, /,
sweets Is cents q quarter; turnips. Is
cents quarter peck: cranherries, 20
cents quart; chickens. IS to "A cents
pound. dressed but not drawn; turkeys.
80 cents a pound fresh country eggs.
90 to Is cents dozen; apples. Is to %
cents quarter peck; peppers, II cents
dozen csulifower. - 10 50 cents head; !;
cabbage ) cents pound or ) to Is cents
head; celery ), s and 10 cents stalk; j;
beets, & 20 10 cents bunch sauer kraut,
Il to Is cents q quart; lettuce, 10 to 20
cents head; butter, 80 to 20 cents
pound.