Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-10-22
CITY FACES MOST
SERIOUS SUGAR FAMINE
[Continucd from First Page.l
establishments when the present
supply of sugar is exhausted.
Don't Hoard

l
vice of wholesalers and retailers
throughout Harrisburg to-day. Buy
enough sugar to last you two or
three days. Then. on Wednesday or
Thursday, buy a little more. Don't
hoard sugar. Such a course at this
time is both foolish and unpatriotic.
Above all else. Harrisburg house
wives are urged to save. Use less
sugar. Plan the menu so that less
sugar will be required. Instead of
cocoa or chocolate. use a beverage
requiring less sugar. Use less pastries
and rich puddings. So often is the
housewife called upon to conserve
that she is likely to pass by an item
of this nature with a smile.
Hand to Mouth Supply
This is no laughing matter how
ever. To-day there is scarcely
enough sugar in Harrisburg whole
sale houses to supply to-day's needs.
This doesn't mean that there is less
than days supply IN the city. Many
retailers have on hand a fair sup
ply. and will be able to take care
of their trade under normal condi,
tions. but as conditions exist, there
is less than a normal days supply
OF sugar in the wholesale houses of
Harrisburg.
More than that, there is.no sugar
in sight.
In an endeavor to help out, the
Food Administration Sugar Distrib,
uting Committee has wired whole
salers that orders for carload lots
of western sugar will be accepted at
once. Under present conditions, 1t
may require three or even four
weeks TO move the sugar from Col
orado and other western states to
this section, and while the price in
carload lots next is 1925 a hundred
weight that does not mean Z Il cents
pound here.
The Evans Burtnett Company has
on hand to-day about $50 bags of
sugar. For three weeks this COM
pany, anticipating the present short
age, has refused to sell any one GUS
toner more than one bag of sugar
per day. Ordinarily the supply in
stock consists of from 1000 to 1000
bags.
Use Soft Brown
An effort will be made to substi-
tute soft brown sugar, but dealers
say that the supply of this gade is
also very limited. Many persons will
not use brown sugar unless COM
PEELED to do so. The price of brown
sugar will be almost equal to that
of granulated.
In Harrisburg comparatively few
few retailers are in position to sell
sugar in any amount desired. The
Acme stores. of this city, do not de,
pend upon the local wholesalers. and
are selling to regular customers in
any desired amount up to twenty
FIVE pounds. Most retailers in this
city have limited the amount of
! To- A1
chased by any person in one day to
two pounds. Some have placed the
limit at one pound. One big store
will not sell sugar unless the GUS
toner purchases not less than the
value of the sugar in other COM
modities. This is done to prevent at
tempts to hoard.
The scarcity of cane sugar may be
attributed, in part at least. to the
| fact that England has purchased
vast quantities of the raw material
in Cuba. Beet sugar is not yet on
the market. and the announcement
that the Administration Sugar Dis
tributing Committee is ready to ac-
cept orders for immediate attention.
| comes as a surprise to dealers here.
May Not Go Above 10 Cents
Most retailers in Harrisburg are
selling sugar to-day at nine and a
half cents a pound. some dealers
are asking ten cents While the
Food Administrator is not in po-
sition to regulate the price charged
by retailers. there is a tacit under
standing that the price will not
mount above ten cents. When beet
sugar is received here the price
should drop to nine cents per pound,
| it is said.
The telegram from the Food Ad-
ministration S Sug ar Distributing
Committee to Frank A. Smith, head
of the Harrisburg Brokerage Com
pany is as follows:
Food Administration, Sugar
Distributing Committee of Chicago
authorizes public announcement TO
press that quotation Beet Sugar In
dustry will come to rescue OF Now
England and North Atlantic States.
east of Buffalo, Pittsburgh and north
of and including Baltimore, during
the existing exhaustion of cane sup
plies. Shipments will commence
Immediately upon all operating
beet sugar factories. Owing to eX-
tremely difficult transportation con-
ditions. necessary limit offerings only
to manufacturers and jobbing trade
in such communities as entirely
without sugar. Furthermore, manu-
| facturers of candy, gum, syrup. cor
diala and all othar food lux.tri nc