Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1920-02-11
BASIC PRICES
FOOD DROP
But The Hi Cost Still Stands. Pack
ers Report That Pork Can't be
n Sold
uIt< TIE CONSUMER
CAN'T FIND DROP
II the Law supply and Demand
is Workin, Why Don't Retail
Prices Tumble?
Chicago Tribune.D

Wholesale prices OF some food
commodities dropped a bit further
Friday. But ultimate consumer"
found small reason for shocking his
skepticism. Before believing that
the drop in foreign exchange will
make Hi Cost do the "shimmy," he's
got to see it in the retail ticket.
Lard fell trifle and spare ribs
dropped from $3.50 to $3.50 per
100 pounds. Corn slipped cent or
so and oats slid down 1a to 2 cents,
Eggs, on the other. hand, fresh
eggs, went up cent or so dozen.
Poultry slipped cent or a cent and
half pound, but potatoes went up
10 cents per hundred pounds.
The falling off of meat exports has
been of much longer duration than
generally understood For two mon
tbs Europe has been tagging pork.
"There has been no European bust
ness in pork products for the last
sixty days" reported Armour e. Co..
last night This is due to the in
ability of overseas buyers to finance
their purchases. The demand for
American foodstuffs is there, but the
absence of credit arrangements and
the falling rate of exchange has caus-
ed cessation in new export business
from this country. As result pork
lproducts have been accumulating in
this country and cannot be complete
lily absorbed by the domestic market,
leven though the domestic trade is
| brisk" - i
All the packers point to the market
quotations to show prices for cattle.
hogs and sheep have slumped in com,
pany with foreign exchange and aba
tied exports during the week, while
Wholesale meat prices also have de-
clined, excepting those of hams and
other cured pork products, cut from
higher priced stock.
But what preplexes the consumer
is this: If the old law of supply and
demand is actually working why
don't the retail prices tumble? So far
they have not been doing much per-
Iceptable teamwork with Wholesale
lprices.
Word from the East is that specu'
lators who have been boarding
some imported stuffs for higher prices
are now getting their fingers nipped
In company with spectators wh1
have been piling up large accumula,
tions of domestic stun for export
Raw silk is one commodity for in
stance. of which large quantities boi
at low prices in Europe since the
aGmistice have been piled into New
York warehouses with view OF run
: ming the price up to twice and three
: times the original cost. Many rate
/ [have gone and the spectators arr
, said to be disgorging slowly becaus'
they cannot sustain the carryin:
charge.
II Evaporated milk was reduced So
: case by one of the large companies
| yesterday. As there are forty-eigh
5 cans in a case. this amounts II
about cents can reduction.
/, This is wholesale price. and manu-
. facturers frankly say the retail pric,
3 ought to drop in conformity withop
delay Exports of other canned good
v too, has dropped greatly. and event
q ually the American consumer ough
i to find this reflected in his htchsl
. lEills. -
4 Oh, yes, as delicatessen morsel c
!, news, Russian caviar dropped s1.5
on each dozen cans. while Roquefor
and other imported cheese fell S5
or more per pound