The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-07-28
Paris SUGAR PANIC
!. DUE TO SHORTAGE
Government Now Doles Out Sup
p!y In One Pound Packages
To Consumers

PARIS, June 2O-The recent disturb
anee about sugar, once the Government
took hold of the matter, attracted more
attention than it merited precisely be-
cause it tickled the French instinct for
annoying the powers that are with wit.
ticisps about their capacity for results.
As the BONES in line before Felix
Potin's establishments put it, Now
that the Government has got its fingers
/ into this sugar business there ism I any
more SUGAR.
Meat prices are really more ipdiea.
( tive Of the cost of living and II is
| chiefly by comparisons in them that we
! must draw Aur conclusions.
Z Roughly, meat appears to have gene
1 up about 60 per cent since the opening
Of the war, against 80 per cent at the
end of the first year of hostilities. I.
Retail Sugar Auctions -.
/ In some quarters the authorities have
avoided the troubles arising out of the
sugar panic by holding public sales, at
! WHICH each family in a neighborhood
was permitted to buy 1--WE pound sack
every so many days at the strictly legal
price. For three weeks there were lines
l outside the groceries, with policemen
every little way to prevent edging up.
[ At present there are officially six
classes Of sugar, described in wonder.
ful language on the police posters, but
as matter of practise it is chiefly the
"sucre ,cristallise GU granule" that Is
obtqinable. at leo francs eco cents) a
| pound.
Prices Are Net
The police have been successful in
their enforcement of the class specify.
ing that the price is for a pound of
sugar exclusive of the weight of paper
| sacks, which is remarkable because the
system imposes so much additional de.
lay each pound being weighed out sep.
arately before being turned into the
sack in presence of the purchaser. -
Evidently the housewives and sery.
ants have so little confidence in the
honesty of grocers that they prefer to
soc the sugar done up rather than to
accept the suck itself as Of a certain
| weight.
No Profits To Grocers
The authorities finally held, after
long discussion, that grocers with
g, stocks which they bought before the
sugar crisis may refuse to sell, but
they are not permitted to use sugar az
q premium to encourage the sale of
other goods; once they refuse they
must refuse to everybody.
! The little grocers are naturally dis.
contented, because there is no longer
"vep the three centimes profit that
there usually is in sugar and because
heir customers are deserting them to
go to the big establishments run by
"w"rful companies, which can natural,
~ afford to do business at loss In the
h"p" If attracting other trade.
Ameti an Shipment Helps
When the crisis first broke the i'm
mt dat" relief came from single cargo
of 5000 tons Of American sugar. The
total Government purchases up to date
, are 100000 tons. There are probably
several thousand tons on pantry shell,
yes in the large towns of France, laid
in some time ago on the advice of gro.
GERS in anticipation of the crisis.
The basis Of the crisis was in shorter
production of beef sugar, for ordinarily
France produces little more sugar
than she Consumes. Even two years ago
the production was nearly up to needs
but last year ii was away on. 200. 900
tons against q consumption of CSC. 900