The Great Cabbage Scandal

Will you kindly allow space for a brief comment upon our public market. From the attitude of certain councilmen and city officials it is very evident that pressure from some source is being exerted to compel them to fight the public market. That this influence comes from competitors of the public market is morally certain. The attitude of wholesale dealers toward the market, however, proves beyond a reasonable doubt the animus behind the campaign of abuse directed at the D street enterprise. The market has demonstrated its ability to sell produce to the consumer at a substantially lower figure than the average retail merchant. And now comes the commissioner of public works and discovers some cabbage leaves around the booths, and the edict goes forth that the last enterprise that offers relief from the extortion of a grocers combine must lose its most essential feature, the booths. I can take this commissioner into prominent groceries between Ninth and 17th sts. and show him open cases of dried fruit such as figs, raisins, prunes, and peaches sitting on the floor. Every time the floor is swept the dust flies right into these boxes of fruit. This dust is collected from gutters and sidewalks. The dried sputum of consumptives may form one of its most dangerous elements.