The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-08-13
Cavaness Answers Statement by
Arthur Ersland of Retail Mer-
chants Association on
Prices.
GIVES QUOTATIONS
FROM WHlTEHURST
Declares Prices Quoted We're
Camoufaged; Full Statement
When Investigations Are
Finished.

D. M. Cavaness, county attorney
this morning issued the following
written statement in answer to a
statement by Arthur Ersland, secre-
tary of the Retail Merchants asso-
citation. Mr. Cavapess' statement is
in the form of letter to- Mr.. Frs
land
Chickasha. Okla, Aug. f3, 1919.
Il am in receipt Of your letter Of
the 9th inst, also copy of your state
ment entitled Turn On the Light
both of which we're published in the
Express last Monday and were in
reply to the article published in Sat
urdays paper. In your statement
you make frequent use of the fol
lowing expressions: Truthful pub
licity hurts no one Honest public
statements and Wrong impress
sions.
Now | assume, Mr Ersland that
you spoke with authority from the
local butchers and with full infor
nation as to the actual price they
we're paying for their dressed beet.
when in answer to my statement
that the butchers were paying fr,ni
Il t. 10 cent for their beef Won. ni'hl
lish the market quotations contained
in last Fridays Oklahoman, to the
effect that No. steer beef was
worth Is 1-2c and No, steer beef
was worth IL 1-2c wholesale, thereby
attempting to lead the public to be
licve that the butcher was paying
u 1.2c to 18 1.2c for the beef they
are handling. Now, Mr.. Ersland, if
you want Truthful publicity Hon
est public statements and want tol
avoid Wrong impression why dill
you publish those figures, when you
we'll know, or should have known
that those published quotations were
just about so per cent above the &C
tual market and represent about =
to cents a pound more than the
butcher is paying for the meat? If
you want the light turned on, want
Truthful publicity" Honest public
statements and want to avoid
Wrong Impressions, then why d.
YOU not tell the people the actual
price ou, butchers are paying for
their beef and whether they are SOL
ing choice corn fed beef, No / steer
quality, or brindle heifers ana cows,
and also publish the price the butch
or is charging for all cuts of beef.
Il have this morning communicai-
ed with Mr. Whitehurst, chairman
az th1 State Board of Agriculime,l /
who advises me he has the follow
ing positive information with re'er-I
ence to the price of beef:
That during last week the buk
Of the beef shipped to Chlctasha c2st
the butcher 12 IA to Il 12cents
that one butcher bought an extra
good hind quarter and paid l6c fo>'
It: these prices were for the beef
delivered at Chickasha. Further.
that the prices have decreased since
last week,
You take exception to the infer
.oo l., ,,,., IoFtor tbut the merchants
association might be meeting and fix
ing prices; / did not state that they
did this, but stated that if 1 could
secure evidence that this was being
done that the guilty parties would he
prosecuted. had no sufficient evi.
dence at that time nor at this time.
A good many people have been COM
planning to me for a long time that
this was being done. They have no
positive evidence of the fact and
doubtless reached the conclusion be-
cause of the prevailing hign priccsI
and the numerous increases in the
cost of merchandise. This IS my
home and the merchants are MY
friends and l certainly have no dis
position to injure either by any crit
icism. am making this investiga
ton in the interest of the people
and hope the desired results can be
obtained without it becoming neces-