Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-04-25 | Page 2 | 107 Profiteers Caught in Net

Si i i New York Official Uncovers "Gouging" in Surprising Variety of Goods NEW YORK, April 20 A, W. Riley, chief of the "flying squadron" of the j department of justice, whose campaign so far has resulted in the conviction of 107 profiteers with fines ranging from 50 to 52,500 and imprisonment from 1 to 2 years, has uncovered a number of surprising commodities for which dealers aro said to be asking exorbl-; tant prices. Complaints of alleged: "gouging" in almost every thing from pickles to rouge and from lQmonade to whisky, are being reported to Mr. Riley by Nqw York consumers. One man who had paid $1A5 to a restau-ranteur restau-ranteur for a tiny steak and six small pieces of French fried potatoes, didn't stop to eat them but glancing at his check, took a newspaper ho had been treadlng, wrapped up his "meal" and brought it to tho federal prosecutor. Some of the letters of complaint wero amusing, others pathetic. All, however, showed the seriousness of the present ero of high prices. One Indignant citizen wrote: "You ought to investigate 's fish market in Brooklyn. He's a modern Jesse James. What do you think of 90 cents a .pound! for salmon and GO cents a pound for I rn hnss?" Here's Samples. The chief of "flying squadron" has received complaints of such examples of alleged profiteering as follows: Drug store whisky at $5 a pint and $2 more for doctor's prescription; canary birds $20 to 25 and $3 to $13 for a cage; lemonade served at a hotel ho-tel danco and said to have- been "weak" $1 a glass; rouge 1 to 03 a box for "imported" brands; that a fish during Lent rose from 20 cents to $1 a pound In some New York markets; prunes, three for 10 cents In a popular restaurant; peanut oil, sold as "olive oil." $4 a quart; anthracite coal $15 instead of $9.50 a ton In Nyack, N. Y., because the miners were granted a wage Increase of 50 conts-a ton. Consumers complain to Mr. Riley that they have to pay 50 cents a pound for tho same brands of coffee that retailed re-tailed for 21 cents a pound before the war, and that wholesalers paid 11 cunts a pound for some of thc.se coffees cof-fees three years ago and aro now paying pay-ing 15 conts. Milk they chargo costs 10 conts a glass in restaurants, which buy It for 12 a quart; that they have to. pay 35 cents for linen collars costing cost-ing at wholesale $2.-10 a dozen; pickles pick-les cost 6 cents each; cabbage 40 cents a head; 75 cents a bunch for asparagus aspara-gus and 25 cents a head for lettuce. Caught on "Bargain." A young woman protested after having hav-ing paid $3 for a bag at a department store "bargain sale" which she discovered discov-ered later, co3t 75 cents to manufacture. manufac-ture. She said that many big business houses were not satisfied with 100 per cent profit", but were making, In some cases, 150 to 200 per cent. She suggested sug-gested a "remedy" as follows: "Do not buy anything In tho first-store first-store you visit. Ask the price, and if it seems at all excessive, say you will 4not pay it, and walk out. Then go next door and you may buy It for less. At any rate, these profiteers need to know that the public is wise to them. I A tremendous volume of refusals to ! buy -would make such merchants realize rea-lize they must stop overcharging if they would not precipitate a general business boycott." Obviously the "flying squadron" Is .working with tho utmost secrecy and , names of complainants are withheld. Several big New York corporations which have been accused of making unjustifiable profits on foodstuffs and clothing are now reported under Investigation. In-vestigation. According to Mr. Riley, one convicted profiteer blamed the public for much of the high prices, j Lure of Prices I "It's so easy to get what you ask for," tho merchant confided to the chief investigator, "that few business men can resist the temptation to raise j .in u-r mi u ' .. i ! i-l. . . in-rrrrrnl I L- .11 ' .1 , L prices. If I put two garments in my store window of exactly ihe same cut! and materials but with a $50 tag on one and a $55 tag on the other, most persons would buy tho higher-priced one. It's a strange freak of human nature. People nowadays don't seem to concern themselves any more about wliat a thing costs." Protests against profiteering are reported pouring into the federal building here from all over the country. coun-try. When a complaint la received, it is indexed and forwarded to federal prosecutors and "flying squadrons" operating op-erating In the United States judicial territory where the victim resides. Investigation In-vestigation follows and, if tho facto warrant, arrests are made. The campaign, cam-paign, Initiated by Attorney General Palmer, will go on, according to IT. L. j Voh Slckler in chorge of tjic New York I office for Mr. Riley, "until prices of I food, clothing, fuel and feed for live-I live-I stock are brought to more normal lev- !els." i