Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-12-15

would stand upon silver dollar. But
France was out Of sugar and this
small amount of this concentrated
food was to be denied; the strength
that is represented by this quantity
/ amounting to one-eighth of what every
American consumes every day. -.
! He knew that America was y5r-
tually ont of sugar, that a time. was
coming when her citizens would have
to drink their coffee bitter in the
morning. He knew that a shipload
to France would. mean a lengthening
of this period of sugar abstinence on
the. part OF the people over here.
Would the food administration and
the expert board knowingly prolong
the coming sugar famine that, French
soldiers might have their ration? i.
Il took the. French high commits
sioner to Mr.. Hoover There he told
his mission and awaited the verdict.
Mr.. Hoover told him that this matter
had been given due consideration and
that the sugar should go to France
The emotional Latin was overcome.
He started for Mr.. Hoover and antici-
pated osculation. But Mr.. Hoover
stopped him and said that. France
owed no thanks to the United States,
! that this country could we'll afford to
60 on half rations for the period Of
the war for the sake Of France and
that then the debt of gratitude we
owed would not be half paid"
I asked Mr.. Roiph about the world
sugar shortage and his answer was a
great surprise to me. ~~ -.-t.
There is no. world shortage" he
said. The trouble is that we cant
| get some of the sugar to market.
Down In Java, In the Indian Ocean next
door to Borneo, the Dutch have store
OF 100000 tons of sugar If that sugar
was in the world market there would
be no shortage. But it is not. There
are no ships to bring II to market.
Forty Dutch ships have been tied up
in New York harbor for months, while
Holland has insisted that the United
States give her grain, which the
United States has refused to doc These
ships might have gone to Java and
brought out all that sugar in the time
so lost. -s:s1-s...-..
I'm the meantime there is short.
age of available sugar. The world in
1916 produced II, 0o0, 900 long tons of
sugar, of which the United States con;
sumed more than one fourth, obviously
more than her share. This. is a great
development from the time of King
Arthur, when England knew not that
such an article OF diet. existed the
world around. The Crusaders brought
the knowledge of IL back with them
nom Palestine, for its manufacture
originated IN the Far East. But even
the Holy Land did not, know it in
early biblical days, as it is not men,
toned in the Old Testament. India
was its original habitat, where, &C.
cording TO legend, the hermit Vishva
Mia created sugar cane and refined
, the sugar to serve as a heavenly food
! in the. temporary paradise arranged by
him for prince who wanted to go to
heaven while still alive. Columbus
planted sugar cane in the western
world first in Santo Domingo in 1893.
. Napoleon Bonaparte was responst-
BILE for the discovery of the possibility
OF making sugar from beets. The
British interfered with the supplies of
sugar that came to France. in those
days to such an extent that it was
possible to but few. The sugar fam.
inc was more distressing in France
then than today. Napoleon issued an
edict to his men of science to find a
substitute for sugar cane from which
to make sugar, and los years ago in
France il was first made from these
roots, and came to furnish nearly half
the worlds crop the year before the
war broke out.
= "ofv that $1,000, 900 tons in world pro-
ductioi5 little Cuba grew 3.o00,0 900 tons
and took the palm. India produced
$500, 900 tons, Java 1,250, 900 tons, the
United States 1,000,00 tons. Europe
produced 100000 tons of beet sugar,
Germany, Austria, France, Belgium
and Russia contributing.