Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-07-25

where are ponderinR what 10 do about
fountain pricss. The 10-ccnt soda is
not considered a possibility by naost of
them now. II il appearing here and
there among the dealers who feel
that circum4ts noes warrant its return
and where pressure is being applied
The ma Jority OF druggists however,
80. far ag the sentiment can be rnea-
s1reu, insist that there is no profit In
10-cent soda or a 15-cent sundse.
The public is naturally asking why
this is 50. A couple OF summers ago
when the cost Of an ice cream soda
with no fourishes shot up 10 II cents
or even "a cents. the reason for the
Increase was laid by fountain pro
prietors 70 the high cost of sugar.
Sugar was certainly skyrocketing
when IT reached four times its normal
price and the consumer accepted the
explanation.
Sugar Costs Normal Again.
But now. sugar is back 70 nearly
where it was in the days when Zee
cream soda sold for a nickel and the
closest observer is unable 10 detect
any move on the part Of most foun-
tain owners TO return 20 even I0-cent
drinks.
Druggists admit they made a mig
take in attributing the rise in soda
prices primarily 20 the high cost Of
sugar They now say that other fac
tors contributed equally to the rise.
However. milk is back to almost pre-
war prices; eggs are cheap These are
the ingredients which presumably in
creased the cost OF ice cream. Why
doesn't the finished product follow the
trend of prices on raw nnateriais7
TO this druggists except the few
who have lowered fountain prsces-
say that stili other factors must BE-
considered in fixing costs and proats
They contend that labor all along the
line, from the handling Of ice and the
making Of Ice cream, 70 the oigpen sin z
Of drinks at the fountain Is not back
TO the level Of five-cent, or even 10
cent soda days. Some large concerns
rather than lower the wages of foun.
have cut down the number OF employees
tain clerks. Only undesirable. inex-
perienced employees can be had. they
say, AZ lower pay.
The druggist goes on 10 mention, the
high express rates. the risdng cost Of
advertising, the still soaring price OF
fruit syr1Ips. and nuts. and the cost
of ice cream. Ice cream. supposedly
the barometer OF fountain prices. ha :
dropped 20 varying exterts in differ
ent parts Of the country. A aues-
tionnaire sent out by The Bulletin
Of Pharmacy" brought in 344 answers
showing ice cres m costs in zs states
A res,ne Of the answers indicated
that the most noticeable drop In
price is in certain sections of New
England where bulk cream tunbied
from s1.so gallon in 1920 70 81 25 in
1921. Other scattered sections report
reductions Of 10 TO 25 cents under a
year ago figures
The range VI prices on ice cream
was shown 70 be astonisbingfy varied
running from 80 cents 10 $3.50 gal
ION on bulk cream and from s1-2s "a
81 - a gallon ON bricks
Taking everything into consioera-
ton. the fountain owner maintains
that the cost of fountain drinks has
not dropped appreciably. He points
70 one experts estimate showing thai
the syrup in a soda costs 5000: ice
s.0006. carbonated water s001s. and
ice cream t.03-totaI, s.0526. To thi.
the expert adds overhead and salaries
which he figures come to not less than
FIVE cents.
The cost of a supdse he estimates