Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1919 — SELLING SUGAR TOO HIGH HERE [ARTICLE]

SELLING SUGAR TOO HIGH HERE

Only One Store In Rensselaer Selling at 11c Pound. According to the Indianapolis papers prosecutions will follow the retailing of sugar at more than 11 cents per pound, in the crusade now being made to cut down excessive profits in handling of food products. The wholesale price of sugar—the maximum price a wholesaler can charge a fetailer —has been fixed at $9.80 per 100 pounds, and the maximum price a retailer can charge his customers is 11 cents per pound. The Indianapolis News Tuesday evening said: The business operations of P. F. May, of Straughn, Henry county, are to be investigated at once by the agents of the bureau of investigation. This action was decided on by the district attorney, after reading Information from Straughn alleging that May, a retail grocer, had been hoarding sugar and selling it for. 12 cents a pound, or 1 cent more than the price established by the United States food administration. Particular attention will be paid to reports of high prices oh sugar for the reason that A. Mitchell Palaner, attorney-general, in a general circular to the district attornies, has called attention to the fact that the United States food administration takes the position that when sugar is retialing for more than 11 cents a pound that fact indicates that either the wholesaler or the retailer is jnaking an unreasonable profit. The Democrat believed that most of the stores in Rensselaer had been selling sugar at more than 11 cents per pound, and Wednesday morning it made Inquiries of the eight down town grocery stores of their retail price on sugar, potatoes and tomatoes, and the result was astonishing.

Only one of the eight stores was selling sugar at 11 cents. One was selling at 11% cents, four at 12 cents and one at 12% cents. One store was out of sugar. All were the Same on potatoes—--7 cents per pound—except one, which was selling at 6% cents. Home grown tomatoes, which were selling in Indianapolis at $1.25 to $1.50 per bushel of 60 pounds were being retailed in Rensselaer all the way from 5 to 12 cents per pound. Two stores had no tomatoes on at the time inquires were made, but of the other six one was retailing at 12 cents a pound; one at 10 cents; two at 8 cents and two at 5 cents, a difference of 7 cents a pound between the highest and the lowest price. The retail price of produce in Rensselaer, of course, is guaged by what the grocer has to pay the producer and also by his conscience. Some paid an excessive price to the, producer for his tomatoes and therefoire passed it on to the consumer, bu| the difference in the retail price here was certainly stertling and should convince the consumer that it pays to learn the other fellows’ price before buying. One Rensselaer grocer informed The ' Democrat • yesterday morning

that he had just got iu a small shipment of sugar from a Chicago wholesale house, and they had charged him 11% cents per pound there for It, which was about 1% cents above the price fixed by the federal food administrator. This wholesaler should be gotten after and given a little dose of federal law, for it Is certainly not a profitable business for the retailer to sell, at less than cost.