Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-19
Get Your Moneys Worth.
LESTER,


Of food and Of every other universal
commodity. A prominent produce
dealer in San Francisco said the
take it into their heads to stop
eating any one perishable food for
five days. they could ruin the mar
ket." A Pacific coast newspaper
discussing this statement edito-
rally said: ut may be that prof.
iteering Is at the bottom Of pres
ent high prices. but a man cannot
prof1teer II the people do not buy
his goods"
Regardless of Investigations and
criminal prosecutions. we shall al
ways have the problem of high
cost Of living SO long as we have
an extravagant and thoughtless
consuming public. The practical
and lasting solution Of this Ques-
ton lies in educating the public
much more than in Investigating
profiteers.
We, of course, do not want to adj
vocate a lower standard of living
for the people. and this is not nee
essary. We only want the people
to get the best they can for the
money they can afford to spend.
''Tll take the best. you have" has
been overworked. The clerk be-
customer on the defensive. Most
Of us lack courage to refuse to
buy an article that does not suit
us or that Is more expensive than
we can afford. We also lack cour-
age to ask if they may not have
something of good quality at a
lower price, and that will fill the
bill equally as well. If in CLOTH
ing it is chiefly question of
styles and not a question of serv-
ice, or If in food a question of ap-
pearance more than of food value.
then the people must suppress
their pride in defense of their
economics and protect themselves
against the selfish interests which
are forcing prices up.
was in grocery store in Penn
sylvania few days ago when a
woman came in and asked the
another customer at the time,
what the price Of peas was. He
said: I'VE have them at 20, % and
80 cents" She said: I'll take the
best you have" 1t happened that
I knew this woman and knew that
unless the lower-priced peas were
inferior in quality she could not
afford the best. l asked the store
keeper about the quality of his
peas. and he told me that the 30
cent peas were perhaps little
more attractive in appearance, but
that as to actual food value the
20 and 25 cent peas were in no
sense inferior and. in his judgment,
they were superior in quality. He
said: LAS a matter of fact. all
high-class jobbers have three
grades Of most goods they handle.
They guarantee them good: I
guarantee them good" He said:
THE only pea I handle that would
not recommend is a soaked pea,
which is dried pea soaked and
canned. These peas" he said,
ARE marked soaked peas on the
can. and it is clear to the customer
what she is buying"
I asked him why he did not ex-
plain these things to the woman.
He said: "She would get cross at
me for meddling with her BUSH
ness. and the chances are she
would leave us. We cannot edu-
cate the people over the counter.
If we attempt 1t we lose our trade.
Somebody else must get these
facts to the people,"
In this particular instance this
woman was perhaps Influenced by
bit Of false pride because the
other customers were present. But
I should personally have regarded
substitution of the 20-cent peas as
no disgrace. but as a compliment
to her good sense. and 1 know the
grocer would have felt the same