Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-10-19
HOOVER PREDICTS
DROP IN PRICES
Declares Corner Has Been Turned
on Food Prices.
WARNING TO RETAIL MEN
Cost Of Flour and Sugar in Many Parts
Of Country UnwaTanted, He
Asserts.

The United States Food Admins
tration has begun a determined fight
to obtain lower prices FOR foodstuffs
20 the consumer
Herbert c. Coover in an interview
stated that, while the intermediate
branches of trade in food staples,
which would be placed under license
on November /, had co-operated pa
triotically, producers, in the large
majority OF cases. had failed to re-
spond.
However, Mr.. Hoover said that
subject to cooperation from the
| farmers and the retailers, ..'the cor
ner has now been turned in high
prices" and that most of the essen
tial commodities should, one after
another, continue to show reductions
between now and the end of the
year.
Unwarranted prices, he said. were
now charged in practically every sec
tion of the country by retailers in
-four and sugar although the retail
ers were obtaining these commodities
at prices lower than those in effect
month ago.
Beef, he said, was being sold at the
packers door at 1415 cents pound,
as compared with 16 in July. The
average retail price for round steak
in 796 cities, he announced, however,
had jumped from 27 cents to 81 cents
O pound Flour in these cities was
retailing at an average of $1377
barrel, or from $1.50 to 50 more than
was warranted by the prices charged,
under existing regulations, by the
millers.
Producers who are not within the
reach of the Food Administration un-
der the food control law, Mr.. Hoover
said, were holding back the huge
bean crop. hoping to get from 1874 to
Is cents a pound, although the aver
age price, with crop smaller by T.
100000 bushels, was only 8 cents last
year Potatoes, he declared, also
were being boarded by producers in
some districts.
The time had come, Mr. Hoover as
serted, for a break in the inflated
prices charged by many retailers
The situation will be watched care
fully, and it is entirely probable that
Congress will be asked for further
drastic legislation for the control of
prices charged by the retailer, and
possibly the producer, unless there
is a decided change in the present sit
uation. The attitude of the Food Ad-
ministration in this connection, it was
irtimated, would be very largely de-
pendent upon what the retailers did
in the meantime.
At present it is within the power of
the Food Administration to place un-
der control only the retailers doing
a gross business of 100000 or more
annually in the twenty food staples
named by President Wilson. There
are about 1,200 of these concerns in
the country, and in all there are more
than $4,000 retailers. Mr.. Hoover
hopes that the regulation of great re-
tail stores in the larger cities which
ccme within the provisions of the
case will have decided effect upon
prices charged by other smaller deal
ers in these centres
Liberty Loan Total Near Two Million.
The Liberty Loan Bureau of the
Treasury Department is confident
from the unofficial advices received
that subscriptions are drawing near
the $1,750,000,00O mark.
The officialAfgures show the total
of 1927. 7.074,6 $50 subscribed down to the
close of business yesterday, according
TO the reports from the twelve Fed
eral Reserve Banks.
This was an increase of $127,OOO,-
600 over the total that was reported
the day before.
The unofficial adyices indicates, ac-
cording to Treasury officials, that the
total mark is now between $l,50O,-
600 900 and $1,75O, ,000, 900.
T0NICuT,c NETTING