New Britain herald., 1917-08-13
PRICE Of FLOUR TO RE HAMMERED DOWN
.,HooVer to Take Over All Mills
 and Elevators

uuU u1VIUCUAO
 Washington, Aug. 13.-To control the wheat and ,fiour supply for the ' beneflt of the nation and its allies. Herbert c. Hoover. food administra- tor, last night announced a sweeping scheme of regulation.
 MT. Hoover announced that, with the full approval of President Wilson the price to be paid for the wheat crop of 1917 would be fixed by com- mission headed by Harry A. Garfield, son of the late president. James A. Garfield, and president of Williams college.
 Gambling on the wheat exchanges, Mir. Hoover asserted, must end, even if the government has to purchase the entire wheat supply of the nation. He said the food administration. un- der the power given to 1t by the food control law, was prepared to act inn mediAtely in that direction if neces- sary.
 AS . preliminary step, MT. Hoover will take over control of all grain elevators and all mills with a daily capacity of over 100 barrels of flour and place them under system of licenses which will make hoarding impossible. The grain exchanges at tho same time will be requested to suspend all dealings in futures.
 The program announced by Mir. Hoover is the most revolutionary step ever taken by the government to protect itself and the public against extortion. It is drive to reduce the AAat Ne I@yy centrated government control the sup ply of wheat and flour for the allies, As we'll as for domestic purposes. The food administration. despite the protests of some of the bread making interests. considers that the present level of prices extortionate. It has been asserted in some quarters that . sixteen-ounce loaf of bread could be sold at a profit of five cents if the food administrator had power to reg ulate the cost of wheat and flour.
 Reasonable Profits Only.
 The statement showed that MT. Hoover had decided against all but reasonable profits, and might abro- gate contracts made for futures if the prices seemed to him out of pro- portion. He advised all who held wheat or flour contracts in larger quantities than necessary for the or dinary course of business to liquidate them, pointing out that the food ad- ministration had full power to prose- cute them under the law. Shipments to the Allies and to neutrals, MT. Hoover decided. would. for an in- definite period, be made largely in the form of flour in order not to take work from American mills. There was no intimation as to the price which would be fixed for the 1917 crop, but MT. Hoover was care tul to point out that the minimum of $2 . bushel fixed by the Food Con- trol act did not apply to it. and af= eected next years crop only, under , restrictions to be later explained. Following Is the administrations lnnouncement:
 ''The disturbance to the worlds commerce and short supplies have caused . greater disruption of the normal markets for wheat than any other cereal
 1-As a result of the isolation of certain of the world5s wheat-pro-
 ducins countries. by either bel
 ligerent lines or short shipping,
 the normal determination of the
 price of wheat by the ebb and
 How. of commerce Is totally de- stroyed.
 2-In order to control specula-
 ton, and to secure more equit-
 able distribution of the available
 wheat and flour between their
 countries, the allied governments
 have placed the whole purchase
 of their supplies in the hands of
 one buyer. Also the European
 neutrals are now buying their wheat through single government
 agents, instead of in the normal
 course of commerce. Therefore,
 the export price of wheat and
 flour, and thus the real price, if
 not controlled, will be subject to
 almost a single will of the for
 eign purchaser.
 3-1n normal times, American ~ wheat moves largely to Europe
 in the fall months. This year.
 the shortage of shipping necessi-
 tates it's distribution over the en-
 tire year. Therefore, there is
 danger of a glut in our ware
 house system over consider
 able period.
 4-There are large stocks of wheat which cannot be drawn upon by the ~ Allies during the war, but in the went of peace or defeat of the sub