Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-12-18
HOOVER DEMANDS HEARING BEFORE SENATE ON SUGAR Food Administrator Wants to Answer Accusations of Spreckles in Person. COMMITTEE TAKES IT,.
 NO ACTION YET Spreckles Tells Committee That Re. lease of Beet Sugar Would Have
 Prevented Shortage in
 East.

WaSE.HSIOn, DGc. l1.-E1fOrtS Of the Food Administration to bring out be- fore the Senate Investigating Commit tee it's side Of the story of Cuban raw sugar contracts were blocked to- day by an announcement that the State Department deemed it inad- visable to discuss further the negotia- tions which resulted in these con tracts. The ruling of the committee, which followed conference with Counsellor Polk. virtually ended an attempt by H. Curtiss Lindlay, coun- sel for the Food Administration, to question, through members of the committee: Claude A. Spreckles. who. during three days on the witness stand, had vigorously attacked the ad- ministratiCn. The committee, toward the end of the days session. had agreed to permit Mir. Curtiss to sug- ges tquestions, after ignoring earlier request by Food Administrator Hoover that he be given an oppor- tunity to make a statement in reply to Mr. Spreckles' attack. When the committee, after an hours executive session, during which he waited in an ante room, recalled Spreckles to the stand without answering his request. Hoover left the building. Tonight the food administrator went to the White House and laiG the situation before the president
 Washington, Dec. 17.-Food Ad- ministrator Hoover personally ap- peared today at the Senate committee investigation of the sugar shortage and asked to make a statement of his version of conditions.
 The committee, after considering the request in executive session. went on with the questioning of President Spreckles of the Federal Sugar Re. fining Company, one of the food ad- ministrator's chief critics. without an. nouncing any decision on MT. Hoover's request. The food administrator then left the committee room.
 Spreckles declared that if this years Western beet sugar crop had been allowed to come East there would have been, "an abundance of sugar" As the refined price for beet, he said, had been set by the Food Ad- ministration at .25 at all ports, the Western refiners sold to the West to escape freight charges to Eastern ports.
 Spreckles reiterated that at the time his refinery was about to close for lack of supplies 10000 tons of raw cane sugar was held by the Cali fornia- Hawaiian Company and the Western Refining Company, and that George M. Rolph, president of the former and director of the sugar divi- sion of the Food Administration de- clined to allow any of it to come East. 4
 Spreckles testified that the price for the Cuban crop now coming on would have been less than it is had it not been regulated, and that the regulation would result in additional revenue of $9,0O0,0OO to the Califor- nia-Hawaiian Refining Company. of which MT. Rolph is president.
 There would have been plenty of sugar in the East this fall. Mir. Spreckles maintained. if stocks held by Rolph's company and the Western Refining Company had been allowed to be shipped. -
 H. Curtis Lindley, counsel for the Food Administration. suggested that the committee ask if lack of railroad facilities were not the cause of the non-shipment.
 Before the question could be put Senator Reed announced recess.