The evening world., 1920-08-16
SLUMP IN SUGAR
MAY MEAN DROP
IN ALL FOOD COST
Prediction Is Made That
Prices Will Tumble to
Pre-War Levels.
By P. @, Fog.
Especial Food Expert Of The Evening
WorIdO


q, The decline in the price OF sugar
q, which followed the expose Of the
sugar situation in these columns last
" Wednesday was a signal victory for
consumers. The imposition Of artifi-
cial values on sugar was a great
. hardship to hundreds of thousands OF
American housewives who could not
afford to pay the inflated prices asked
and deferred the putting away Of their
II. usual supply OF preserves The pres
ent drop OF three cents a pound. ac-
cording to some OF the best posted
men in the wholesale grecery district,
Is but the beginning Of the defation
that may carry prices closer to pre-
war prices than most people imagine
A leading wholesale grocer who pre-
dicted a drop of ten cents in sugar
last week when seen Saturday, and
asked what part the bankers played
in maintaining the prices of sugar,
said: "If the bankers had reduced
, their loans on imports OF sugar about
two months ago, the present situation
.c would not exist, a situation which
g may spell ruin to some importers"
Another wholesale grocery house on
the west side reported falling off
in its sales of sugar, one of the leading
, statesmen stating that it's customers
were now holding of until prices get
follower.
Prices on fresh fruits and vege-
tables suffered a sharp decline last
Saturday, but dealers did not in
crease their purchases to any extent
and considerable quantities Of excel
(, lent vegetables and fruits, such as
tomatoes. lettuce, beans, peas, pears
o and apples, were piled up in the
wholesale market yesterday and
worthless for food.
-, Jersey peaches sold last Saturday
as low as 81 and $3.50 a crate, which
81. equals about cost OF COntainer and
I. freight, but the fruit stores rarely
changed Lner prices, charging from
hve to seven cents for a peach, that
cost them less than one cent by the
p crate.
Many of the leading markets sold
vegetables reasonably cheap last Sat
urday, and in some cases, one large
or two medium sized heads of cab
page were given tree with pur-
chase OF meat that exceeded one dol
lar The dealers did not make much
) OF sacrifice In doing so, as the Long
n ISLAND farmer only got from 81 to
$3.50 a hundred heads for his cab
3 r. basyo.
a Apples are arriving freely from near
by. States and prices in the wholesale
market are low, good cooking apples
selling at $3.50 "A basket containing
about 30 quarts Of frmt The cost OF
marketing barrel OF apples this year
win be $3.50 and this does not include
the expenses the farmer incurred II
growing the fruit The expenses in
CURED in marketing a barrel Of APP
Piles in 1918 were $2.l8. An empty APP
=, pie barrel costs $3.50 this year. against
u So cents two years ago, and this year
It is next 70 impossible to obtain apple
barrels at the higher price.
Potatoes have now reached n point
that when the grower pays for The
digging packing and freight expenses
there is little or nothing left for pro-
ducing. Good Long Island and Jersey
potatoes are selling in the wholesale
market at cents a pound and only
very closely graded lots bring az