Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-20
Subcommittee Report
Made After Weeks
of Testimony.
COOPERATIVE IDEA
BELIEVED REMEDY
Official Publicity Suggested as
Means Of Showing
Farmers Prices.

] az LuCAS AlSSSs
A report on alleged profiteering in
foodstuffs and rents in the District of
Columbia by the Senate District sub
committee, which conducted the in
vestigation. was submitted today to
the full District committee. prepara-
Senate.
Reviewing the testimony taken by
the subcommittee, which covered a
period of many weeks. the report
shows that excessive profits have been
made in Washington by retail dealers
in foodstuffs. and that. where not pre-
vented by the Salisbury resolution.
many lessons of real estate have
"profiteered' here since the war be-
gan.
Refers to Ball Measure.
The subcommittee. which was
headed by Senator Ball of Delaware.
who drafted the report and present
ed 1t to the committee. refers to the
anti-rent prohteering measure, known
as the Ball amendment, which has
already passed both houses of Con-
BIeSS ana now dWdlIS the dppEoSd1
OF the President
It fails to suggest any legislative
remedies to cut down the high cost
Of foods and clothing. however: The
public, according to the report, will
have to handle this matter. Indi-
rectly the report suggests the estab-
1ishment of cooperative purchasing
associations as means to bring the
producer and the consumer closer to-
gether. Thereby eliminating the cost
Ixy n that
good can be accomplished through the
establishment OF a news service. in
effect. by the bureau Of markets.
showing the prices paid farmers for
country. BY the publication of these
figures. 1t Is believed, something can
be done to keep down the prices which
the ultimate consumer must pay.
Often 300 to 500 Per Cent Higher.
Diseussiag the differential between
Wholesale and retail prices OF food
stnffs In Washingtou.a4 ths--report
"The differential is very large at
present, and shows no evidence of de-
creasing. Retail prices are frequently
200 to 500 per cent higher than the
wholesale; there has been no check
until recently of the tendency to
charge all that the trafiic will bear
and the psychology of the public SINH
larly has been all in the direction of
accepting almost any price rather
than to curtail the consumption Of
goods"
1t is shown in the report that the
net profits OF many Of the dealers
here. both wholesale and retail. in the
last two or three years. have been
very high, particularly when taken In
connection with the amount of capital
invested. With regard to the retail
meat dealers. the reports says. in part:
1T would seem from the evidence
as presented to US in the hearings
that the retail meat dealers for cut
ting, handling and delivering to the
consumer receive greater per cent
profit than the farmer, livestock
raiser. buyer. railways. commission
men and cold storage and packer COM
bined.'
Report on Retail Grocers.
Under the subject of retail grocers
the report says:
There are 1.167 retail grocery
stores in Washington. including the
three groups of chain stores-the Old
Dutch Market. the Sanitary Grocery
Company and the Atlantic and Pacific
Tea Company. The testimony in gen
eral showed that the retail dealers
were not only getting a higher abso-
lutte price for their goods because OF
the higher level prevailing through
all the processes of production and
distribution, but were asking and
getting larger margins in their profits
because of their increased overhead
expenses.
The chain stores are assuming in.
creasing Importance in the retail gro.
Gerry business in Washington, thu
Sanitary Company alone having III
stores. The Sanitary had a total vol.
ume of sales of $5.034,45 in 1917
and a net profit of SO per cent The
other chain stores here have shown Z
steady progress In the past ten years
Through joint purchasing and tn,
elimination of overhead expense in thu
way of delivery. etc, they are enabled
to sell considerably lower than thei
original competitors.
Monopoly Feared in Chain Stores
That the chain stores may Absorb
so large a share of the retail bushes
in Washington as to threaten a mo
nopoly, with consequent dictation o
prices, was a fear expressed NOR
than once in the testimony. The gen
eral answer to questions along thi
line was that the vast bulk of the re
tail grocery trade in Washington will
always be based upon Individual serv
ice and the delivery system. and tina
the chain stores are already nearing
the peak point of their possible devel
opment.
$50 far as the mounting cycle o
overhead expenses among retailers j
concerned the testimony made 1t clea
that the individual consumer can d
nothing to lessen the waste whic
the present system of delivery an
personal service involves. If tn
housewife goes to the store and take
her purchases home in a market bas
ket she pays the same price as tn
housewife who has a man call at he
door for her morning order and ha
her purchase delivered in an eXpen
sive automobile. If she pays cash sh
pays the same price as the house
wife who has a Iong-standing charg
account, and owing to the psycholog
of the situation is not likely to ge
as good service as the latter.
No Way of Lessening Waste.
There is no way of lessening tn
waste, there is no incentive to Jesse
The waste, under the present system
The retailers themselves in their ties
tirnony never revealed any willing
moss to take the ini1 ative in max in
service a charge in itself, independ
ent of the goods which were sole
Whether this is because of the extr
and more scientific bookheepin
which ii would entail. or because
would result in a closer public scru
tiny of their business methods an
fContinied on Tenth PaRe.N