Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-14
W|LM|N GTON A
MARKET VICTIM
Householders Suffering From Local
Conditions Which Are Obvious
and Should be Fought.

"In our city We have not only the
generally national phase regarding the
high prices, but we have a distinctly local
one and one that has existed for many
years. IL is now, like an ugly sore, show
ing itself in pretty bad light. ] have
contended that prices here have been
considerably higher for some time than
in many parts of the United States.
This was one of the very telling state
ments in talk on market condition. and
high prices, made by Mrs. Clawson s.
Uammitt, formerly home economies teach
or at the High School, at the monthly
meeting Of the New Century Club yes
teriav afternoon. Mrs Hammitt evi-
IDENTIFY impressed and convinced the club
for she was applauded heartily when she
cnnc,ided
''rhe tolerance of wrong conditions
has largely been at the basis of the evil
here" she continued. Methods of
purchasing contribute much toward the
education Of the dealer, be he farmer,
retailer or wholesaler BY this / mean
BY my methods of purchase, do ! instill
in the seller or dealer ideas oi s!ipshod-
nc~s, don't care. waste, etc, or do |
impress him that / am n careful buyer
and that he must come up to n certain
standsrd9 Here are some Of the bad
practices in buying-not asking for
definite amounts, not SO many pounds, but
~, many cents worth Not asking price
u.er pound or dozen before purchasing
hogcis in the mind Of the dealer ideas of
extravaganza. In buying meats, allowing
butcher TO trim and trim until there are
more trimmings than meat proper, and
not asking for those trimmings rs wrong.
Even if the purchaser cannot use these
IN her home, let her send them TO some
needy person or to the charity association
To allow the dealer TO have them, makes
HIM think thst every other customer
must do the same. 1t Is the duty of the
individual to think of the effect on the
next individual. When purchasing. not
90 watch the scales Is careless purchasing.
DO YOU purchase substitutes just because
some one tells YOU to without knowing
tine composition of them? This applies
especially Ia the many vegetable fats
that are on the market now. One that |
snalv,ci was better as floor polish than
for the stomsch Buying products blind
" has its effect on prices. Too much
t.lephone buying increases cost, invites
loceenc>~ on part OF dealer When dealer
s,nds bill il Is well T. insist on his having
stated 50 many pounds at such a price
and not chicken, So
COLD STORAGE IMPORTANT.
Cold storage rs very important
factor in price. Cold storage is a good
thing If rightly used but bad thing if
abused IL might bc well for this body of
women to investigate the storage laws
,,s they exist in this State and how they
are carried out. / would suggest that at
the next Legislature you have ready
something Ia offer in this line.
section 716 reads that quarterly re-
ports should be made to the city or State
Board of Health, whichever body Is vested
N do this Cold storage to be Of greatest
usc to the people should be government
ownership.
rISH MARKrTS.
4HOn investigation of the fish markets,
] learn that most of the fish has to be
purchased through Philadclphis, cold
storage or wholesalers. Why not take
steps to sec il We can't do as Cleveland
has done to reduce the prioe of fish from
i5 and 20 cents to > cents by doing away
with the fish trusts2 Why can't we cs-
tablish some form OF municipal fish
market. at least for the fish that are
caught In our midst2 Should we rot