The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1919-08-01
Senators Find Capital
Consumers Are Being
Sturg By MiddLemdn

Washington consumers are being
"stung" By the middleman.
This is the conclusion reached by
members of the Senate District sub
committee that is following the trail
Of the elusive food profteer. after
studying comparative prices show
ing undeniAbly that somebody is
making q comfortable rakeoff on the
difference between prices paid the
| farmers and prices paid here by the
consumer.
With this ground to work upon, the
subcommittee, of which Senator Ball
! OF Delaware is chairman, intends to
collect all the prices available in
Washington, in an endeavor to find
out IL a combination OF middlemen
is responsible for unreasonable
profits.
Hearing Adjourned.
In order to summon other witness
es and collect evidence" Senator
Ball adjourned the hearings until
next Monday afternoon at . o'clock.
e. A. Calvin, representing the Cot
ton States Advisory Marketing Board,
told the committee yesterday after
noon that the middleman dealing in
| foodstuffs and cotton goods is respon-
sible for the excessive prices charged
| to the consumer.
Under Mr.. CaIvin's guidance the
| committee literally went marketing
and shopping in Washington. They
learned few things about the prices
| Of onions, potatoes, meats, bingham.
cotton socks and handkerchiefs and
other commodities that they didn't
know before.
Mr.. Calvin submitted figures COM
piled by the Department OF Agricul-
ture to show what the farmers are
being paid for their products, and
then told the committee what Wash
| ingtonians were paying for these
same foodstuffs and manufactured ar
ticles.
Comparative Prices.
The price figures from the Depart
ment OF Agriculture ranged from May
5 to July 81, 1919.
Mr.. Calvin said the farmers had
been paid. per bushel. for potatoes the
following prices: Rochester, N. Y,
$1.24; Portland, Ore, $1.03; Los Ange-
| les, $1.41; Norfolk, Va, $1.S4; Olney,
Va, $2O1. These were (. o. b. prices.
In Washington, Mr.. Calvin said, he
|
bushel for potatoes. The margin be-
tween the price paid the producers
and the price charged the ultimate
| consumer. he said, was much too
great He did not attempt to say
where the difference in the prices
went
With regard to onions, Mr.. Calvin
said that the farmers received for
| them at Los Angeles 81 cents per
| pound; at OIney, Va, 4.25 cents, etc,
while in Washington the consumer
| paid from IL to 20 cents per pound.
For tomatoes, the farmers received,
at Crystal Springs. Miss, SO cents per
| pound; at SwedensborOugh n. J., as
cents per pound In Washington. he
| said, he had been forced to pay al
ways no less than 20 cents and some
times as high as 50 cents per pound
The farmers received at Los An
| geles 2.36 cents per pound for cab
| bages, he said; at Crystal Springs,
Miss, 81 cents. In Washington the
people have had to pay from 10 to
IA cents per pound for cabbages.
Meat Prices Listed.
Mr.. Calvin had the wholesale prices
OF dressed carcasses at Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Washington, and
other cities on March / and July /.
In no case did they run over % cents
per pound. The prices in Washington
on March l were % to IS cents per
pound and on July 1 IS to 10 cents
Mr.. Calvin told the committee that
these meats had averaged not less
than 40 cents per pound when sold
to the consumer here Round steak,
he said, which had never been con-
sidered a choice cut, sold for is cents
per pound. The retailer, therefore,
gets an increase over the wholesale
price for meats Of 100 per cent. With
the present-day methods of refriCer-
alton, he said, the retailer takes no
risk whatever on the meats he has
for sale.
Mr.. Calvin exhibited two loaves of
bread he had just purchased and
weighed them each on a small scales
Both weighed twelve ounces. though
one cost cents and the other
cents. He figured that a barrel of
flour, containing 1876 pounds Of flour.
after water and other ingredients had
been added, would make 400 Ioayes of
bread Weighing twelve ounces each
In other words such a barrel of flour
when put into bread and sold to the
consumer, brought $36. The farmer,
he said, received not more than SO for
the wheat that went into the barrel
Of flour. In the case Of the loaves
selling for cents, he said, the barrel
would bring in 1872.
Prices In Cotton.
Next Mr.. Calvin showed the com
mittee some cotton goods he had pur-
chased in Warrington stores. Six
yards OF gingham, he said, he paid
$3.50 for. 1t weighed fifteen ounces.
The farmer, he said, got 26.6 cents