NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
11 
Brook.ine’s New Auro Frere Truck. 
COURTESY BROOKLINE CHRONICLE, 
The purchase of an Auto Fire Truck for Manchester is being Agitated, and will probably come before the Town for 
HIGHER COST OF LIVING. 
‘Beverly Farms’ Write: About the Retailers 
Side of the Argument, in Reply to Breeze. 
A correspondent signing himself “‘ Bev- 
erly Farms’’ has the following to say in a 
communication to the Beverly Times, in 
reply to some editorial comment in the 
BREEZE several weeks ago, relative to the 
high cost of living, which article was 
based on the Secretary of Agriculture’s 
contention that there are too many small 
butcher shops. The communication is 
as follows: 
Dear Sir:—There was published in a 
neighboring paper, under the editorials, 
an article on the “‘ Higher Cost of Livy- 
ng,’ which was a most remarkable one. 
The writer quotes the secretary of 
agriculture at Washington as having in- 
vestigated the causes of the high prices 
of meais and he really makes a_ most 
wonderful discovery. It is an old and 
worthy saying that past history repeats 
itself; the history of all past monopolies 
has been to increase the cost of their 
products. 
It has also been a fact in past history, 
that the more competition there has been, 
the cheaper the products 
Just think of one of the paid officials 
of the United States saying: ‘* The 
higher prices of living are caused by too 
many retail stores, that if we had but a 
few large stores, food products would be 
Action in March. 
cheaper.’’ 
‘The writer of the article says: ‘‘Is 
the North Shore overcrowded with butch- 
er shops? In Manchester there are only 
three shops, in Beverly Farms there are 
five shops.’’ The writer has been told 
many times that the Beverly Farms deal- 
ers sell cheaper than the Manchester 
dealers. 
The fact holds good in all cases that 
the more competition the cheaper prod- 
ucts are sold. It the secretary of agri- 
culture or the writer of the article in the 
North Shore Breeze would look up 
the cause of the high prices of food prod- 
ucts in an unbiased way they could very 
easily find out the true cause of the high 
prices. Judging from past history there 
can be but, two ways of forcing high 
prices on the people. 
One is the natural increase in the cost 
of food products, the other trusts and 
monopolies. 
Last year at this time, fresh pork at 
wholesale was selling for about seven 
cents per pound. Now the wholesale 
price of pork is about fifteen cents per 
pound. ‘The only way the writer can 
see how this extremely high price could 
be brought about is by the natural cost of 
production or the trusts and monopolies. 
It never could be caused by having too 
many butcher shops. The poor retail- 
er does the work for nothing, loses his 
money and all the thanks he gets is a kick 
from his patrons and a call down from 
paid agents of trusts and monopolies. 
Do not be mislead by these big trusts. 
Look at the facts in their true light. Talk 
it Over with your provision man, and no 
doubt he will show you just what he has 
to pay for his goods. 
You know all kinds of business has to 
be conducted on a percentage basis. 
You must allow your grocer and provis- 
ion man to make a living percentage in 
his business. 
Just take time and look up all the re- 
tail provision dealers you have known in 
the last ten years and see how many of 
them have made any money. On the 
other hand look up the big monopolies 
and trust companies and see how differ- 
ent with them. They are all rolling in 
wealth. What a difference between the 
monopolies and the poor retailers. 
Possibly luxuries and social life have 
become so extravagant that there is little 
left for the cost of the real needs of life. 
Many a man smokes several ten cent 
cigars a day but finds fault with the price 
of flour at four cents a pound. 
The cost of life sustaining food is 
hard for us. Luxuries we will have at 
any cost. Letus see to it that our city, 
state and national servants render to us 
the true cause of the higher cost of liy- 
ing. 
“© BeveRLY Farms.”’ 
