The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-02
'PROFTTEERS WORRY
OVER boarded FOOD
Warehouses in City Bullying
With Supplies, Congress
Action Threatens.
CASH HARVEST IN PERIL
Packers Chief Among Anxious
Ones-Prices Double in
Five Years.

Five Years.
The beIsted determination Of the
White House that sonsthing must be
done and done right away to give relief
from the high cost Of living comes IN .
season Of plenty with an abundance Of
produce rolling In from the country and
the warehouses Of the nation filled with
staples-meats. butter. eggs. &c--yet
prices Of everything are so high that
even the family OF moderate means must
deny ITSELF many Of the necessary
things Of life In order that Il may be
fed and clothed.
Already spectators. loaded to the
muzzle with foodstuffs, which they have
and food pronteers, who are thriving be-
yond their most avarious dreams. are
worried oveS what Congress may do
after Il once gets the bail arolllng-
Chief among the anxious ones are the
big packers and others who have been
storing foodstuffs at high prices in the
hope that they would reap harvest IN
the months to come. The extent Of their
anxiety. in view Of what Washington II
threatening may be gagged by the last
published reports By the Department OF
Agriculture.
Reports From sO2 ster.ses.
Raports from 301 storage holding
stocks Of ss.203.o 900 pounds of butter on
July Is, 1918, gave q total of s.352.ooe
pounds in storage on July Is Of this year.
This IN an Increase Of 40.1so.0 900 pounds.
with many storages not reported. Al
the same time. 312 storages reporting
s.2s3.0oe cases Of eggs on July is,
1913. showed q total Of 100000 cases.
or an Increase OF 1.s7s.o00 cases. or
Al. 10000 dozen eggs, with no oficial
tidings from many storages. As many
abandoned breweries have been convert
ed into storage plants for butter. eggs
and other foodstuffs IN which specula-
tors believed much money In 70 be made.
Il IL confidently expected somebody -
riding for q fall In case the plana OF
Washington to reduce the cost Of living
are successful.
some idea Of the increase in the cost
OF foodstuffs In to be gained from
comparison of Wholesale prices August
1, 1914, and Yesterday. q period OF ex-
actiy I'VE years Prices had then begun
to Jump as the result of the gathering
Of the European war clouds. Butter,
creamery extras, whoiessled then at ~ q
30 cents a pound. as against ssh OBS y
cents yesterday. The price OF creamery
firsts was AIN a2sk cents. as compared
with s3LA ass cents yesterday. The re-
tail price OF butter in Washington Mar
ket yesterday was 90 cents a pound
Cheese Takes Biz Jump.
Ca. -.Azt. I'm .h.... uas o,,ofed AT
14A6l5 cents a pound In the whole
sale market 1--WE years ago. The average
run was 81 q 81 u cents yesterday.
Eggs, fresh gathered. cost rs to q
cents a dozen on August 1, 1914 The
wholesale quotation for the same grade
yesterday was IS to So. Best eggs re-
tailed at 81 cents q dozen In Washing
ton Market yesterday afternoon
A retailer paid the wholesalers 70
cents a pound for fresh killed turkeys
five years ago and yesterday he paid 4s
to 80 centa Broslsrs, which cost him
% TO 30 cents q pound at the beginning
Of the world war. cost him AZ to ~
cents yesterday. Fowls. for which a
fair wholesale price was 19h 10 IL Il
cents in August 1918. were quoted yes
terday at 3sS cents. Long Island ducks,
which sold at Wholesale on August l.
1914. at 10 cents. were quoted at IS
cents yesterday.
"One explanation Of the great advance
In the cost of Long Island ducks" re-
tail poultry man said last night, lis to
be found In the organization Of Long
Island duck kyowerr. known as the Far
mers Commission House" The Long
Island farmers belonging to this or
Raniration attribute the advance In the
price Of ducks 70 the advance in the
price Of duck feed and everything else
that enters into the operation Of duck
farm.
While there have been no changes In
the price OF beef, hams and bacon re-
Gently there has been a drop In the price
of veal. Three weeks ago calves sold
at from % 10 IS cents q pound Wholesale
and yesterday the price ranged from Is
to 23 cents. Retail butchers said the
market had been flooded with Western
and Canadian calves and in consequences
veal was retailing at from 20 70 Is cents
a pound. Wholesalers are getting as
much or more for a calls hide nowadays
as they are for the entire carcass itself
This Is because OF the high price OF hides
required for making of high priced
leather which goes into high priced
shoes.
Retailers are all busy these days ac-
cusing the wholesalers Of being profit
GERS, and the wholesalers are equally &C
tive in alleging that II any prohteering
In being done, the retailers are the guilty
ones. Even retailers and wholesalers
have agreed between themselves that the
producer is catching the fever TO get all
he can while the getting n good. and so
many OF them are constrained to put as
much OF the blame as they can on the
producer.
PrOAteerink an Green Corn.
Green corn furnishes an illustration.
Country Gentlemen was to be found
a-plenty yesterday at practically all the
afanda around WaahIn0fop Narka& AZ