Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 190, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1919 — PRICES OF SHOES TO DROP IN YEAR OR SO MAKERS SAY. [ARTICLE]

PRICES OF SHOES TO DROP IN YEAR OR SO MAKERS SAY.

Boston, Mass., Aug. 12.—Predicitions oif a decided drop in the price of shoes were made by leather dealers and shoe manufacturers who testified today at the' grand jury investigation of the high cost of living being conducted Iby District Attorney Joseph C. Peletier. The opinion, however, was that the decline migha not come for another year. Witnesses said the people demanded a high grade of shoes and were willing, to pay. One leading firm 'had millions of dollars of the cheaper grades of sole leather, which manufacturers would not buy because it did not come up to the standard demanded by consumers. Former Gov. William L. Douglas and Edward P. Douglas were among the shoe manufacturers heard today. Hollis P. Davis, president of the Massachusetts Retail- Dealers’ association, and other retailers also were interrogated. < . The district attorney’s office said said 'the 'local representative of a big leather house declined to testify on the ground that his evidence might tend to imeriminate him. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers asserted, it was said, the margin of profit was no greater today than that received when shoes were selling at a much lower price.