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Show Consumers to Get Retail Cost Figures Consumers of farm products are to be furnished, in the near future, with weekly reports from the government on the reasons for any commodity price increases, and with information on who is getting the additional money. Field workers of the United States department of labor and the United States department of agriculture agricul-ture are to gather and report price figures, while the Washington agencies agen-cies tabulate and analyze them, according ac-cording to information received by Director Di-rector William Peterson from Dr. Frederic C. Howe, consumers' counsel for the agricultural administration. Dr. Howe intends to release the information infor-mation on prices through the press, radio, and special reports to groups and individuals. The field staffs of the two departments depart-ments will gather retail prices on bread, milk, meat, and other foods, in 50 cities and from more than 1,000 stores. In the department offices at Washington the prices will be checked check-ed and the portion that the farmer is receiving for raw materials will be determined. The reports will also cover any price increases resulting from the payment pay-ment of higher wages and new employment, em-ployment, and will include any changes chang-es in prices of manufactured or other commodities that farmers buy. The latter item will provide an index of the buying power of the farmer. "Farmers have too long been getting get-ting a small return for their labor in feeding us," Dr. How declared. "We (Continued on last page) Consumers to Get Retail Cost Figures (Continued from page 1) are trying to increase their pay. At the same time we are going to do j what we can to see that the consumers i are protected at a time when the administration ad-ministration is trying to pull farmers and workers out of what President Roosevelt has called the 'economic hell' they have been living in for four years. "Many manufacturers and distributors distribu-tors have declared their readiness to play fairly and squarely with the administration ad-ministration in its efforts, while consumers con-sumers are beginning to organize to insure fair dealing. In scores of cities in the last couple of weeks, consumers' consum-ers' councils have been formed, in many instances at the suggestion of the mayors. They are non-political and reflect consumers' interests. With these representative groups we will cooperate to the utmost." |