The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-06-10
NEW YORK MARKET
IS CONDEMNED BY
FEDERAL EXPERT
Finicky Palate Also Blamed
For High Price Of Vege-
tables
NEW YORK, June s.-CBy Assc-

NEW YORK, June 9.-(By Assc-
ciated Press.)--A finicky palate and
the one-big- market habit are the
principal reasons why New Workers
pay so much more for fruits and veg.
etables than the producing farmer
gets for them, says a report prepared
by Walter Z. Hadden for the depart
ment of agriculture and the port of
New York authority.
In the first place, it requires AL,
900 carloads of the stuff each year
to satisfy the hungers of the city's
100000 persons, and all of It, as the
first step in distribution from rail-
head to consumer is dumped in Cen
trail market a narrow stretch ex-
tending for a few blocks along the
west side water front OF Manhattan.
Sell All vegetables.
This custom has grown up, Mr..
MADDEN explains, because all the job
bers Of the city insist on seeing all
the newly arrived fruit and vegeta-
bles. and on comparing rivals prices,
before they will buy. Thus attempts
to break the dominance of the CEN
trail market have failed,
Then the problem of diversity
arises. few years ago, the report
indicates, the public appetite accepted
it's produce in bulk-oranges for
breakfast, always or perhaps apples,
and a few potatoes, onions and other
common vegetables throughout the
week.
Now the average housewife must
have California grapefruit for her
breakfast table one day, Florida
grapefruit the next. Oregon apples the
third, New York apples the fourth
Michigan peaches the next, continu
ing with fruits of varying cline. Go
ing through the day of meals she will
require celery, common lettuce, ice
berg lettuce. spinach, escarole, ro-
maines, etc, without end.
Thus the shipper, the 1obber. the
who lesaler, the retailer and, perhaps.
the corner store grocery are confront
ed with the necessity of distributing
an infinite number of partcar lots,
part truck shipments, part crates and
split packages. With each transfer
the element of perishability increases
consumer goes up, says Mr.. Hadden.
A ship from the gulf or ferry of
carloads from a New Jersey terminal
lands at Manhattan in the evening.
All night stevedores unlt ad it and
arrange it for display in the central
market.
Space is so limited that many COM
panies keep motor and horse truck
in line for hours to get early loads
when the market opens at $50 a. m.
Between ship or car and truck is OPP
Grated a motor shuttle service, to
save room and prevent thievery. This
&C SITS $50 car for unloading, Mr..
Hadden figures.
The shuttle loads the waiting
trucks, which haul the produce to
five outlying jobbers' markets. The
cost Is s35 a car in Manhattan, S57
in Harlem. The wholesaler makes his
purchases at the jobbers and hauls
them away with his own trucks. Cost
about s25 car. Then he delivers to
the retailer. adding another $25
car to the ultimate cost of the fruit
and vegetables.
The retailer, II he delivers to his
customers, adds the cost to his bill.
Nothing is more CERTAIN in regard
to the handling of fruits and vege-
tables at New York city than that
the terminal facilities now provided
are rapidly becoming utterly made
quate," is Mr.. Hadden's conclusion
1t Is this problem of terminals and
the rapid distribution of food that
the port tf New York authority. aid
ed by the department of agriculture,
has set out to solve.