Evening star., 1920-03-03
D. c. FOOD PRICES
EXCEED THOSE Of
MANY j. s. CITIES
December Is Report Shows
Average of 9 Per Cent
More for Edibles.

Washington buyers of retail food paid
an average of about 3 per cent higher
for their food commodities on Decem-
ber Is, 1919, than buyers in many
other cities of the United States. it is
shown in the monthly labor review to-
day by the bureau of labor statistics
of the Department of Labor.
This city, however, was not alone.
Housewives and buyers of food general
ly along the Atlantic coast paid more
than those in the central and western
portions of the country, prices being par
ticularly high in Washington. Phila-
delphia and New York and particularly
low. as compared with the rest of the
Louis and New Orleans
For example. on December Is. 1919.
the price for the average cut of sir
loin steak pound in Washington
was A. cents. In Philadelphia the
same cut sold for 40 cents in New
York for AZ cents. in San francisco
for so cents. in st. Louis for "a cents
and in New Orleans for 81 cents. Food
purchasers in Washington paid less
for pork chops on December 13 than
purchasers in many other cities. how
ever the price here on that date being
80 cents. and in most other cities from
40 to As cents. Buyers in Washing
ton also paid less for nut margarine,
lard and canned peas than those in
most of the cities of the country on
that date.
Round steak cost AZ cents here on
December 10. as compared with A
cents in New York and Philadelphia.
33 cents in Seattle. 30 cents in San
Francisco, "a cents in St. Louis and
90 cents. in New Orleans. Storage
q n a & h Dpf n Va l :,
cost Ga cents. while household buyers
in st. Louis paid SO cents, in New
York 62 cents, Philadelphia 81 cents.
Milwaukee 60 cents. Chicago 60 cents
and Buffalo 60 cents.
Butter Price High Here.
Butter showed the greatest increase
in Washington over other cities of
all commodities. costing S2.6 cents on
December Is. higher than in any
other city except Philadelphia, where
butter cost 81 cents a pound
Statements that prices decreased in
December are not borne out by the
statistics of food prices. the bureau
reported. Figures compiled by the
bureau show that the retail cost of
twenty-five articles of food in De-
cember was the highest ever attained.
being more than 9 per cent higher
than in November. 1919; per cent
higher than in December, 1918. and
SO per cent higher than in December.
1913. The comparisons are based on
actual retail prices of twenty-five of
the most essential foods. according to
the consumption of the average fam
ilys
labor statistics, predicts that food
prices and the cost of living gener-
ally will not come down in the imme-
diate future. and, il they do. will be ac-
companied by train of unfortunate
yah trvh
bank failures and other financial ca
The profiteer Is being
blamed on all hands for the increase
in prices" DR.. Meeker says. I'm
doubtedly profiteering of most rep
rehensible sort has existed and does
suit of ever-increasing prices rather
than a cause thereof. His influence in
boosting prices is negligible.
Physical Facts.
eff all the profiteers in the world
could be apprehended and thrown into
Jail or lined up and shot. it would
have no appreciable influence upon
prices.
TT has been suggested that the alb
normally high prices are psychological
in origin and that prices will fall just
as soon as the people can be made to
think falling prices. OF course. psy-
chology is involved in every price. but
the larger quantities Of currency and
the smaller amounts Of commodities
are physical facts that no psychic
leeerdemain can overcome.
"I see no prospect of any consider
able fall in prices for several years to
come. 1t will be impossible for the
governments of the world to pay of
their debts very rapidly. On the con-
trary, there is every reason to appre-
bend that credits must be issued to
foreign governments. foreign manu-
facturers and foreign business men. in
order to rehabilitate the broken and
shattered industries of Europe. This
being the case, We may expect that
larger volumes of checks and credit
instruments will be thrown into cir
culation, thus boosting prices still
higher.
ume of the worlds Indebtedness sud-
denly, it is also impossible to increase
the quantity of the worlds goods sud
denly OF course. the worlds produc-
tive forces are being marshaled as rapid
ly as possible in order to increase the
production from farms. forests. mines
and factories. but this is necessarily
a slow process, especially in these times
of great business instability and labor
unrest. The 1919 farm crops have prac-
tically all been marketed. The only
way that prices can be brought down
before next years crops begin to find
their way to market is through defa-
ton of the currency. AS pointed out
above, still further inflations are in
evitable if Europe is to rehabilitate her
industries SO that she can increase her
supply of material goods and thus bring
about lower prices by increasing goods
and decreasing debts"