Weekly journal-miner., 1919-10-29
EKPEkfs FOUND GRocERS
 HIGH ON FLOUR PRICE
(Flom Fridays DaiIy.)


 In this, the second extract from the report of George II. Smalley and Hugh O.. Morrison, federal fair price experts on Yavapai county food deal CTS, something of the case of the sro- cery concerns is presented. There is nothing i'll the following extract con cerning the situation at Jerome. where conditions are much worse than in Prescott. In fact, comparing 1 the cities, the report gives the local grocers a very clean bill of health.
 The chief offender among prices was found on flour and beans. Sugar did not seem to figure in prohteering, | because il has more or less public fixed price that is uniform. In some ways, the margin figures are not ex- 1 actly informative. as overhead costs and the incidents of buying some times cause rather wide variations in profit margins figures on fair sell ing price. If the report on the gro- cers indicate nothing else, 1t shows that it costs to do business in Pres colt, however.
 In a later issue, more points in the fair price report will be discussed l Bashford & Burmister prices came within the reasonable profit margin on all of the 6l necessities of life On the Kansas flour it takes 8.6 per cent, Or BOG a sack; sugar, 9.l per cent, or lc a pound; coffee margins range from 4.4 per cent to S.3 per cent on M. J. B., equal to Sc can. Canned vegetables are sold at about Is per cent margin; Kansas butter, 7.l per cent, storage eggs at l0.l per cent or about 6c dozen. Leaf lard prof its Sc a 2-lb. pail, while bacon is sold at 21lc per pound advance. Cash only, and deliveries only when the purchase IS $2.5O or more.
 Proceeding, the report says: |
 For the benefit of any one inter ested in the adverse comments which will appear in this report regarding margins, it is well to take this store which will be styled No. as an ex- ample of fair margins, a number Of instances being cited above"
 E. A. Kastner, store No. ?, is talk ing a margin of III per cent on 48- pound bags of Kansas four, which is at the rate of 40c barrel in excess of the $l.20 fair margin rate on a [ barrel. Onions, 33l-3 per cent, which is regarded as Is per cent excessive. Otherwise the margins taken by this store are reasonable.
 Richards Bros, store No. }, credit and delivery store; flour margin is IA per cent on 4S-pound bags, 88c in excess of fair price. Except for , l-3 per cent too much on onions the est of the margins are reasonable
 Store No. 4, N. Levy grocery. This store gets 40c barrel too much when selling 4S-pound sacks of Phoenix four but sells the Kansas product at fair rate For oatmeal and rolled oats in bulk, 25 per cent margin is excessive, not over g per cent being considered right. Otherwise the sell ing prices were fair>(
 Sam Dreyer, store No. 5, has been charging ll.7 per cent on Kansas four 48-pound sacks, or at the rate of $l64 per barrel, 4+c excess over the rate considered right. Like Kast- ner, } Is per cent too much is charg- ed on onions, otherwise all other necessities are priced low.
 The federal commission which made the investigation, state: These five stores are located in the heart of the business district where rentals are high, and they are all giving the public good service, under the most reasonable margin of profit, taken as ! whole, of any stores of their class ;ound in the state"
 Store No. 2l, Middleton's Cash Grocery, also took 40c too much on -four when the rate per barrel de- >lared fair was considered While his pink bean price was within the fair limit fixed by the commission; the members wished these might sell l little lower, because so many poor ,eople doted on pink beans. On all the rest of the groceries the margins were reasonable.
 Store No. 22, o. K. Grocery, step ped up the profit per barrel on four to an excess of SIPS, Phoenix pro- Iuct, and on the Kansas four it made an excess charge of soc This arous- ed the commission to order reduc- ions in flour prices, though it report ! ed that on all other commodities the margins were reasonable.