The Washington times., 1919-10-20

Walter Reid Hospital, Washing
ton. The department will be the
first of its kind in America.
tenn OF marketing are emphasized In
detail by the report, most of which
could be eliminated by a practical,
Intelligent management of a cooper
tive system.
There is no way OF lessening the
waste. there is no Incentive to lessen
the waste, under the present system"
the report states. 'Tbe retailers
themselves, in their testimony, never
revelaed any willingness to take the
Initiative in making service a charge
in itself independent of the goods
which are sold. Whether this Is be-
cause of the extra and more scientific
Bookkeeping which il would entail.
or because IL would result in a closer
public scrutiny of their business
methods and the prices they charge,
IL is impossible to say.
Antasoais.,c To Housewife.
The retail grocer today Is in a
position Of antagonism to the thrifty
housewife. She is forced either to
patronize the chain stores or go to the
nearest market house IL she Is actually
to profit by her willingness to relieve
the retailer of what he claims to be
one Of the major elements of his
overhead expense and consequently
of the high prices he Is forced to
charge"
establishments OF a cooperative
system. which has so far advanced
only to an experimental stage in
washington, the report points out,
would be the greatest factor in elm
mating the middleman. "The num-
Der Of middiemen through whose
hands a commodity passes"-often as
many as six. each OF whom advances
the price-is one reason that the price
when 1t comes to the consumer is 50
high they are all complaining" the
report states.
The report points out the lack of
adequate cold-storage facilities in the
District as one of the conditions that
should be remedied in preserving
what otherwise would waste. Z" The
Government. however, SO far has not
undertaken to furnish cold-storage
facilities" II says. This still con-
tinues part Of private enterprise.
1t is clearly necessary to the retailer
who handles perishable articles.
Those who are able to supply them
facilities have an advantage over
those who cannot"
Cites speci4e Cases.
Step by step, the report takes up
the various stages Of the investiga-
ton, citing specific cases of profiteer-
ing. It shows that outside the prac-
tices of prodteers and the profits of
many unnecessary middlemen. that
the general economic causes entering
into present high prices are 'expan-
sion Of currency. scarcity sof com
oddities and labor, Increased cost Of
labor and an allegsa detective sys-
tenn of distribution."- ~ .---'-' --.-
while these general causes have
all been felt just as keeniy in wash
insfon as in other parts of the coun-
try" the report states, there are in
addition purely local causes for high
prices-causes that do not enter into
the situation elsewhere. 1t was
claimed that Washington ranks as the
fourth most expensive city in the
country in it's food budget, and that
since 1913 there has been an increase
of 95 per cent in the cost OF food here
and practically 30 per cent increase
in the cost of living"
The report declares that the whole
sale and retail meat dealers all testi-
fed that Washington consumers "de-
mand the best of everything" and
that nobody wants anything cheap.
"Other statements were to the ef-
feet that the local distribution system
Is. poorly arranged. that the marekts
are not strategicaIly located. and that
local transportation facilities are such
that rail and water terminals are not
located where food can be distributed
TO the retailers or to the consumers
most economically"
Increased costs of labor and deliv-
cry service" Is cited as another local
cause, but the report says that mo
definite data WAS submitted to show
the relative bearing such advanced
labor costs have on present-day prices.
The big Five" packers, while de-
nying excessive profits. came in for
a touch Of censure. Data on whole
sale meat prices i'm Washington, COM
pared with other cities. showed that
the average Wholesale prices received
an increase of Al per cent in four
years from 1914 to 1918. Wholesale
prices were higher In Washington in
1918 than in any other Of the cities
for which the figures were presented,
while in 1916 the prices were lower
than In either New York or Philadel-
phia.
The report charges that "some OF
the produce commission merchants
show large net profits In relation
to their actual invested capital" and
that on a whole the testimony OF the
Wholesale grocers indicated a low
level OF net profits in relation to the
capital invested and the gross vol
ume OF business done"
Price S-ixiaE Densed.
Farmer. retailer and wholesaler
every tradesman examined by the
committee-denied any knowledge of
price fixing" the report states. yet II
goes on 10 show that the price of
milk in Washington Is fixed for the
producer by the Maryland and yir-
ginia Milk Producers Association,
representing q great majority OF the
farmers and dairymen who serve the
District milk supply. whenever the
producer gets a higher price for milk
the consumer pays just double what
we get" was the testimony of DR..
Harvey w wf1ey former nure Soad