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Show TWELVE NEW YORK MEN CONTROLLING PRICES OF FOODS NEW YORK, Dec. 6. It appears that twelve men in this city are so manipulating manipu-lating the food market that they establish estab-lish prices for tho entire country, Joseph Hartigan. commissioner of weights and measures, said today in a statement recommending rec-ommending the calling of a federal grand jury to invesiicate the situation with a view to indicting men who might be guilty of maintaining an excessively high j cost of living. John J. i i Ellon, state commissioner of I foods and markets, announced that cer-i cer-i tain dealers were defying his order that ' cold-storage etr-s be so marked, and that he would submit evidence to city or state authorities and urge prosecution. He said 1 he had writ tenPresident Wilson suggesting suggest-ing national legislation regulating cold storage and recommending standardization standardiza-tion in packing and freight rates. An e;g boycott movement was launched in more than a score of upstate cities : today in response to proclamations issued by their mayors. i Writes to Wilson. In a letter to President Wilson, made! public tonight. Mr. Dillon suggested that I Ja federal oonnnifsiouer be appointed to i investigate the problems now conrronting ! producers and consumers, wit a a view ! to obtaining" eovernment regulation, j "In our efforts to establish an eflicient i and economic system for the distribution 1 of food and to standardize prices." Com-, Com-, missioner Dillon wrote the president, "we j :ind ourselves embarrassed by several I conditions which are of a national char-l char-l acter and eannot be satisfactorily con- trohed by s.a to regulation." T;ie com mi:---'oner enumerated these , cond i ; toi.s as foi lows : Lack of dermic and uniform stand-aids stand-aids or trades of farm food prod-uits: prod-uits: la k o; star.-1a.rd ar.-i uniform pu. :;.il".s !or ti'.e trans:-.. vtatjon and -ale food n-o-ha-ts; difficul;- and expense of se'U'-;nu definite i u forma -Hon in reg.i d to Hie mov ement and tKst i"ii of crops; no detinue or ! complete report of the volume of goods held in eoid storage in the many storage houses throughout the country: coun-try: a discrimination in time and rates against various kinds of products prod-ucts and dirt .'-rent locations: manipulation manipu-lation of prices by speculators and fo.jd exehanues at many centers within and without tiie city; conspiracies conspira-cies or co-operation between the food exchanges and speculators on one hand and Hie official quotations of sales and prices on the oilier; lack of public abattoirs and upon markets lor t..e sale uf meat cattle at competitive p: ices ; Uck of terminal facilities for ! t hf sale of farm products and economic eco-nomic distribution of the same. : Lack of Information. "The result of the lack of Information j as . to the movement of crops often re-l re-l suits in a glut or oversupply In one mar-j mar-j kei, while another center not far away lis short uf tiie same food supply." assert-i assert-i ed Commissioner Dillon In Mis letter. "A i g feat deal of money is spent by dealers j and associations of dealers and exchanges I to gather infonuation, not only as to the I arrival of produce at different centers, I but also in tabulating the' prices. A great deal of this expense is duplicated, and If I we could have Hie Information gathered j by the federal government and distributed to the different centers it would be of j great service both to the producer and tiie consumer of food products, as well as to the men who are engaged in the distrl-j distrl-j bution of them." I The commissioner said he understood ; the federal government "is now "-pending ; in the neighborhood of $2:, 0(10,000, largely ! for education and encouragement of j larger production on the farms." "A very small part of this appropriation," appropria-tion," he added, "would be sufficient to lest out a plan of open public markets where, goods would be sold to all comers, to the highest bidder, and prices established estab-lished on the basis of supply and demand." |