TRUSTS AND PRICES 



155 



On the other hand, the price at Denver is precisely the 

 same as Cheyenne, Wyo., though the population of the former 

 is nearly ten times as large as that of the latter. San Fran- 

 cisco and Vicksburg, Miss., are charged the same price, 

 though the former has a population twenty three times as 

 large as the latter. Indianapolis pays the lowest price; if 

 the increase in the size of the city carries with it increased 

 cost of distribution, then there are at least thirteen cities, 

 beginning with Denver, where the price ought to be lower 

 than at Indianapolis; if, on the contrary, the larger the mar- 

 ket, the lower are the selling expenses, then one would ex- 

 pect the price at San Francisco to be the lowest, whereas in 

 reality it is 60 per cent above the minimum. The difference 

 in population and size between Indianapolis and Denver 

 does not seem to be such as to account for the fact that the 

 net price at Denver is more than double what it is at Indian- 

 apolis, while the price actually paid is nearly treble. 



Let us now take at random a few instances within the 

 same states. In Arkansas the highest price, 15 cents per gal- 

 lon, is charged at Hot Springs, with a population of 9,973, and 

 the lowest, 11 cents per gallon, at Helena, with a population 

 of 5,550. The former, with a population nearly twice as 

 large as the latter, ought to have the advantage coming from 

 larger sales, while both are so small in size that there can be 



