Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-01
MUCH FOOD IS
HELD IN STORAGE
State Now Lacks Machinery 10
Get Full Report on
Conditions


The report made yesterday afternoon
to the House of Representatives by Sec
retary of Agriculture Patton, in re-
sponse to the Black resolution, gave fig
ures on the amount of food held in
storage and an estimate of potatoes in
the State made from the statistics in
hand at the Department. The document
was chiefly notable as declaration
that the department lacked the ma
chinery to get the information asked,
| except on cold storage contents which
was supplied through Dairy and Food
Commissioner Foust in a most complete
! manner. The information on the crops
was based on estimates and the mem
bers of the House did not even have IL
read, simply directing that it be print
ed.
The letter said in part: 1T has been
impossible for us 10 get the amount of
produce held by commission merchants
and large store companies of the State,
as there is no means whereby we could
| get this"
As this was the chief thing that
the legislators wanted TO know the sta
! tistics furnished were not called for.
The secretary's letter also stated that
there is no doubt that there are sew
eral millions of bushels of potatoes held
by these agencies, as they were bought
UP early in the season and stored for
their customers"
The secretary also. made the state
ment that the potatoes held by the
producers are very little in excess" of
what would be required for seed, which
is another point on which the legislat-
ors wanted specific Information.
The statement that there should be
an appropriation to get the informa-
tion was not very enthusiastically re-
ceived, as some Legislators think enough
money is being spent on statistics to
get more information than was avail
able yesterday.
The report gives the following totals
of products held in forty-seven cold
storage warehouses On February %:
Eggs in shell, 9.104 dozen; Eggs, out
of shell, s6,59I pounds; butter, 5.016,-
asa pounds; oleomargarine, 1880
pounds; fish, 1,S7S.701 pounds; frozen
and preserved fruits, 2S2,S71 pounds;
poultry, 6,S15,912 pounds; cabbage SIS
barrels; poultry, 552 boxes: meat $780,
676 pounds apples, S0,77S barrels;
apples, 66,975 boxes; potatoes, 1906
bushels; celery, 4S6 crates; onions,
6,53S bushels, turnips. 1868 bar
rels; oranges. 2.774 boxes; cheese, l.
231,11S pounds; cauliflower. 110 crates;
lard, 505,492 pounds; dried fruits, 27,-
419 pounds; grape fruit, "a boxes; mis-
cellaneous vegetables, 473 packages.
The report says there are no figures
on exports and presents estimates on
size of crops as printed in the Tele-
graph from time to time. All crops
except potatoes and onions have been
marketed and one potato estimated is
$3,505,654 for the State.
The report concludes: The Depart
ment of Agriculture has no facilities or
power to determine or ascertain the
holdings of potatoes or other produce
by commission merchants, spectators
or dealers or where such potatoes and
produce may be stored, either in small
or large quantities. There are undoubt-
edly large quantities of potatoes held
in some sections of the State, but their
adaptability to storage in almost any
kind of a building where they can be
kept from freezing and yet at n fairly
low temperature makes 1t impossible
to secure data on this subject.