Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-31
GROCERS SAY
THEIR PROFITS
ARE NOT HIGH
Give Figures to Show That
Their Charges Are Not
Excessive

Retail grocers and produce dealers
of Harrisburg are indignant over
what they believe is a direct effort
on the part of certain selfish inter-
ests to pass the buck to them in the
matter of increased food costs. They
insist that the retailer is as much
imposed upon as the consumer and
one of them gave some figures to
the Telegraph to demonstrate the
truth of his statement.
I'VE require from IT to 22 per
cent. to do business" said a repu-
table grocer" and when you look
over our bills you must be con-
vinced that we are not protiteering
or even getting to-day what we
should have to do u safe business.
Let me So over few bills with
you. For cornmeal we are paying
Is cents u pound and sell it at 22;
for a basket of Concord grapes we
pay 29 cents and get 35;- we buy
lard at 35 IA cents and sell at 80;
pay cents for Ivory soap and sell
for 8; pay 81 cents for Wesson oil
and get 43; and SO it goes right
down the line.
For rice we pay II cents and
sell at 20; for ham we have only IL
per cent. on the average for gross
profit, which you will admit is in
sufficient to do business. Gold Dust
costs 2S cents and we get 80; Hof-
fer's Best Flour is selling at $14.25
a barrel and we resell in sacks get
ting $15.52 q barrel on the average
He then turned to butter and eggs.
For the best creamery brands we
pay ~ cents and get so; the cheap
est costs 50 cents a pound and sells
for rs. Fresh eggs at Carlisle cost
us rs cents q dozen, we get 80. AS
to sugar, everybody knows what is
happening. Brown Louisiana sugar
costs us II cents a pound and we
sell it for 20 cents. What causes
the trouble we don't know except
it has been suggested the United
States Sugar Equalization Board,
which limits the price of white sugar
to II cents, has apparently looked
in the other direction when the
Southern producers jumped the price
of brown sugar to an impossible
level"
But that is not ALL" he continued,
Bakers Cocoa costs us 43 cents a
pound and we sell it at so cents.
Royal Lancaster butter, the best on
the market, cost~us an average of SO
cents a pound and we get 80. Oat-
meal by the case costs $4.25 and sells
for $5.40 in packages at 15 cents per
package. Canned goods come in diff
ferent grades and the prices are
confusing because of the different
qualities and misrepresentation among
consumers is almost inevitable.
IT paid $1.75 a bushel for potatoes
this morning and am retailing them
at 50.
"You will admit, 1 think, that
these prices indicate the fair attl-
tude of the average grocer. or
course, there are certain underSell-
ing concerns which are not Identified
with Harrisburg and manage to get
by without paying municlpal
license. We are also hearing about
Philadelphia grocers who get lsts
of names OF consumers here and
send thousands of dollars worth OF
their stuff into Harrisburg on the
basis of alleged orders from local
buyers thus escaping the ordinary
license charge of the city
I'VE are perfectly willing" said
the grocer, "to take any reasonable
criticism, but it is getting on our
nerves to be held up as protiteers
when we are simply doing leglu-
mate business on a legitimate basis
at legitimate profit. Any business
man looking over the prices Whlch
! | have given you must conclude that
we are not the guilty individuals, II
there be guilt in this hlgh-cost
pariod -