The Detroit times., 1914-08-10

Stdte0. when tncIe 10 any UGH
mite knowledge, 1t will be made
public through the consulate"
Seven-cent sugar is predicted for
the Detroit retail market by down
town grocers, who say that that ig.
ure Is likely 10 be reached in the
course OF few days The wholesale
market for sugar took another jump
up Of % cents q hundred pounds Fri
day, 30 that sugar Is now selling at
retail for from $500 to 1925 hun
dred, and In some cases as high as
six and a half cents pound for
small packages. The idea that the
price OF sugar is being boosted by a
trust, or that there Is a large enough
supply In this country to meet con-
sumption for year or two, Is scout
ed by representatives OF some of the
largest grocery stores In the city.
The advancing price they say is
the natural result of the laws Of de-
mand and supply. fhe effect of the
higher prices of the finished product,
II 10 pointed out, VIII greatly benefit
one Michigan industry. 1t will place
on Arm foundation the beet sugar
industry OF the state, which was seri-
ously effected as result of reduc-
tons In the duty on sugar in the last
tariff law.
"The rising price of sugar comes
from competitive bidding for short
ened supply" asserted Avery Wal
lace, Of the Arm Of David Wallace &
Sons, Saturday. Germany has long
been the king-pin In the production
Of beet sugar, and after her came
Russia and France. Those sources
Of supply are now completely shut
on. Great Britain, being q hand to
mouth country In the consumption OF
sugar as In many other things. must
now come to this country. British
ket. Friday, bidding 10 cents a hun
dred over local buyers"
talk of trust boosting the price
artihcially Is out OF the question.
Take the latest figures we have from
the New York market. They show
raw sugar at $4.26, while the refners
were selling II to the wholesalers at
$3.50, giving them margin OF only
$1.24, which Is not too large. es-
pecially when conditions are as un-
settled as they are now The whole
saler was then selling for IS. giving
him a margin OF so cents freight and
other expenses besides his profit.
Gas for the statement that there
IL IN this country supply large
enough to meet all demands for q
couple OF years. It cannot possibly be
true. Such an investment as that
could not be profitably carried. The
interest would be too great. And,
aside from that, there would be the
reduction In the import duty OF one
fourth Of the tariff as It stood before
the passage Of the Underwood tariff
law. which will come March 81 next,
and then another similar reduction
one year later.
those alone would make II pro-
hibitive to hold sugar over such a
long time"
Mr.. wallace asserted that the ad-
vance In -four also Is the result Of
natural conditions and not an arti-
ficial one engineered by a trust.
Look back into the accounts Of
crop conditions all over the world as
they came in before the present war
was thought Of" ne said. "The
wheat crop of other countries was
comparatively poor. II II had not
been for that fact the price would
have been very low In this country.
The coming Of the war merely ac-
centuated the effect which already
had shown itself as due to a poor
world crop outside the United States
For q few days there was q reaction
and wheat fell on again. That was
due solely to a temporary lack OF
facilities to ship the wheat to Eng
land.
"As soon as Britain's navy has re-
established safe shipping conditions
across the Atlantic, as is indicated
she may In the announcement that
the North Sea n clear for trading
vessels, then We can look TOR q still
further advance"
Friday and Saturday morning
showed no advances In prices Of food
stuffs other than In sugar.
Producers Of meat products, sugsr.
Hour and similar foodstuffs, who have
raised the prices OF their goods since
the opening. Of war In Europe. are Wig
orously attacked by some Detroit re-
tail grocers with the charge that the
trusts to which these large producers
belong have raised the prices OF their
goods unnecessarily. II Is asserted
that they are robbfng the public and
using the present war a. an excuse.
M. J. Maloney. president Of the Ma
tional Federation Of Retail 0rocers.
declares that the advance In prices at
this time 10 an OUTRAGE. There II no
reason, he says for q higher price on
either -four or vulgar. two OF the prod
ucts which have gone up most.
Mr.. Maloney ukens the actions Of
the food trusts and cold storage men
70 those Of men who became rich by
Speculation in foodstuffs during the
Civil war.
Financial conditions IN Detroit have
settiod down again 70 practically nor
NAL amer the sudden nurry over TIE