S1,—Your correspondent H. G. hits {he right note about Food Prices but can he tell us, how such a business fon the lines he suggests, can be profitably run.
Tam willing to start such to-morrow, T can eliminate the squeeze. As long as House-boys are given Carle Blanche where to procure their sup-piles, they will travel miles past Cooperative Stores to secure their per Then there Is the 2% per cent. return commission on sales of butter, Lined milks, ete, that merchants give the shop boys.
The consumer is loaded with at! least 7% per cent. before the slare stans to take lis profit. Were the consumer to insist that the boy buys at the Ca-operative, there would be no_end of trouble and complaints.
There 's also the question of shore weight—"Missie want 2 Ib. you. puttee 1541b, my cumshaw the other quarter."
While H.G's comparison of prices—1934-1935—appear to be not in acy cordance with exchange, yet invoice costs may be higher this year than Vast and again there is always the question of unloading stocks bought a previous lower exchange, in Itself, 4 dificult matier where considerable stocks are held.
This letter is not in defence of the provision shops but merely to en-Tighten LIG. that the running of cooperative concerns is not easy.
T understand two foreigners are already contemplating doing something along the lines suggested in a small way but they will still have to overcome the troubles above mentioned. Mux-Ox, Shanghai, May 6.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.