The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1920-04-23
MANY CASES OF PROF|TEER|NG
HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO LIGHT


NEW YORK, April ga. w. Riley.
chief of the "Flying Squadron" of
the Department of Justice, whose
campaign SO far has resulted in the
conviction of 1O7 profiteers with fines
ranging from $50 to $2,500 and impris-
onment from one day to two years.
has uncovered number Of surpris-
ing commodities for which dealers
are said to be asking exorbitant prc-
es. Complaints of alleged "gouging"
in almost everything from pickles to
rouge and from lemonade to whiskey
are being reported to Mr.. Riley by
New York consumers. One man who
had paid $1.15 to a restauranteur for
tiny steak and six small pieces of
French fried potatoes, didn't stop to
eat them but glancing at his check,
took newspaper he had been read
ing, wrapped UP his meal" and
brought it to the Federal prosecutor.
Some of the letters of complaint
were amusing, others pathetic. All,
however, showed the seriousness Of
the present era of high prices. One
Indignant citizen wrote: "You ought
to investigate IS fish market in
Brooklyn. He's a modern Jesse James.
What do you think of 80 cents
pound for salmon and go cents for
sea bass?"
The chief of the "Flyng Squadron"
has received complaints of such ex.
amples of alleged profiteering as fol-
lows
Drug store whiskey at $5 pint and
81 more for doctors prescription;
canary birds $40 to s25 and So to SIS
for a cage; lemonade. served at
hotel dance and said TO have been
weak 81 glass; rouge 81 to So n
box for imported" brands that fish
during Lent rose from 20 cents to 81
pound in some New York markets;
prunes, three for 10 cents in popu-
lar restaurant; peanut oil, sold as
"olive OIL, $4 a quart; anthracite
coal SIS instead of $3.50 ton in Ny
ack, N. Y, because the miners were
granted wage increase of 50 cents
ton.
Consumers complain to Mr.. Riley
that they have to pay SO cents a
pound for the same brands of coffee
that retailed for 81 cents a pound be.
fore the war and that wholesalers
paid II cents pound for some of
these coffees three years ago and are
now paying Is cents. Milk they charge
costs 10 cents glass In restaurants
which buy 1t for IL cents quart;
that they have to pay 35 cents for
linen collors costing at Wholesale
$2.40 dozen; pickles cost Q cents
each; cabbage 40 cents a head; rs
cents bunch for asparagus and 35
cents Il head for lettuce.
A young woman protested after
having paid 50 for II bag at depart
ment store bargain sale" which, she
discovered later, cost rs cents to man
ufacture. She said that many big
business houses were not satisfied
with 100 percent profit but we're MAX
ing, in some cases, 150 to 200 percent.
She suggested II remedy" as follows:
"Do not buy anything in the first
store you visit. Ask the price and, If
II seems at all excessive, say you will
not pay 1t and walk out. Then go
next door and you may buy 1t for
less At any rate these proneteers
need to know that the public is wise
to them. A tremendous volume of
refusals to buy would make such NOR
chants realize they must stop over
charging If they would not precipitate
general business boycott"
Obviously the "Flyng Squadron"
is working with the utmost secrecy
and names of cOmplainants are with.
held Several big New York corpor.
atons. which have been accused of
making unjustiiied profits on food
under investigation. According to
Mr.. Riley, one convicted profiteer
blamed the public for much of the
high prices.
ITS so easy to get what you ask
for" the merchant confded to the
chief investigator, that few business
men can resist the temptation to raise
prices. If put two garments in my
store window fexactly the same cut
and materials but with n $50 tag on
one and II $55 tag on the other most
persons woul dbuy the higher-prced
one. It's strange freak of human
nature, People nowadays don't seem
to concern themselves any more
about what thing costs"
Protests against profiteering are
, reported pouring into the Fedora
building here from all over the coun
, try, When complaint is received
1t is ndexed and forwarded to Fed
Il