The Washington times., 1917-12-26
SUGAR SENT ALLIES
CAUSE Of SHORTAGE
HERE, SAYS HOOVER

The White House has come to the
aid OF Food Administrator Herbert c.
Hoover by giving to the press the
food chiefs statement which the SEN
ate committee rejected.
In this statement Hoover declares
that the sugar shortage is mainly
due to the sending OF large supplies
to our allies.
Prices, Hoover says in his answer
TO the Spreckels charges, would have
jumped to 25 or so cents pound II
they had not been fixed by his de-
. partment.
It Is expected that when the COM
mittee resumes its hearings on Fri
day Hoover will be permitted to am
plify his statement.
The statement which the White
House gave out yesterday says that
the Food Administration has handled
the situation with c view to sustain
ing the morale Of France and Eng
land. where the sugar ration has been
extremely low for months, and at the
same time preventing a jump in price
TO 20 or 20 cents here.
Some Export Figures.
Since the Food Administration was
created in August the United States
has exported to the allies 11O,35e tons
Of refined sugar. and in the same
period Cuba has shipped to Europe
N346,132 tons OF raw product This, it
Is declared. is just the amount of the
shortage in the United States.
Even with these shipments, It is
pointed out, the supply in England
and France has been inadequate. Con-
sumption in England has been reduced
TO "a pounds a year for each person
and in France to IA pounds, against
q consumption in America of 55
pounds.
The shortage, the food admins
traitor declares, will continue during
next year, as It is the duty OF the
United States to continue to feed the
allies.
Next year" Hoover says, "our sup
plies will be short 900 to 100000
tons unless the allies go to Java for
supplies. This amounts to an economy
OF about 10 per cent on our part II
the allies are forced to go to Java 1t
viii require an extra amount of ship
ping, which, IL used to transport
troops, will move 10000 or 200,0OO
American soldiers to France.
'If statements that there will be
an abundance OF sugar next year are
believed by the American public It
will 90 this country's war efforts in
calculabie harm. The number of
troops we can send across is limited.
II We in our greed and gluttony force
the allies either to reduce their ration
or to go to remote markets after
sugar we will have done tremendous
damage to our abilities to win the
war"
Stocks DeInE Moved.
Charges that the food administra-
tion has permitted sugar stocks to re-
main in parts of the country unmoved
are denied, as are statements that
sugar was left in Cuba while an effort
was made to beat down Cuban prices.
There are no sugar stocks in this
country it is declared. (which are
not in course OF distributioh- Some
10000 tons held up by the embargo
have been released for American con-
sumption. All but trivial amount Of
Cuban sugar has been exported either
to the allies or to the United States
This is shown in a report from the
American consul general in Cuba"
As to the fixing OF sugar prices, the
food administration has this to say:
'In order to prevent profiteering out
Of the situation, the food administra-
tion considered strong action was
necessary, and imposed a maximum
profit on refiners and wholesalers.
''The refiners' margin, was $1.s4 per
hundred the nine months before the
food administration came into exist
ence; It was reduced to $1.30. and a
saving of more than S25, 900 900 per
annum was effected.
"As a further precaution against
profiteering, the administration OBJ
tained 4 voluntary agreement with
the beet sugar factories that they
would not sell sugar at more than
S7.25 q hundred pounds seaboard.
Some who already had contracted
at SO rescinded their contracts. This
was followed by similar agreements
sS TO Louisiana, Cuban. and Hawaiian
arrivals.
"The net result of these voluntary
agreements was to reduce the ruling
price OF sugar tx cents west Of the
Mississippi and north OF the Ohio and
cent on the Atlantic. Had these
arrangements not been made, sugar
would have risen to rs or 30 cents a
pound
Prosecutions Started.
Numerous prosecutions have been
started against firms which have sold
sugar at prices of Is and 20 cents.
THE consumers sugar bill from
the time restraints were imposed un-
IN January / will be about $50. .OOO,-
900. Every cent pound rise means
about $1s.O0O.OOO. Twenty-cent sugar
would have meant about S1S0, 1000. 900
prohteered from the American con-
sumer.
There was no other way under the
law to prevent profteering except by
voluntary agreement, as the food bill
carried no power to FIX prices. These
agreements have OF necessity been
made with the old manufacturers, in
GLIDING the sugar trust.
Independent rehners are repre-
sented by a majority on a committee
whose duty 1t is to divide the i'm
ported sugar between all equitably.
- This committee has no price-hxing
power; # has solely to do with dis
tribution- The independent refiners
who have been fighting the trust for
years could be depended on to watch
any unfair action.
@An appeal to prejudice has been
made against the food administration
because the Cuban price is "a cents
above that which prevailed in 1917