Daily Kennebec journal., 1918-01-14
PLENTY SUGAR SOON
SAYS PRES. BABST.

! EIhii ~. odOSt, mead OF tne american
Sugar Refining Company and one of
the three United States members of
the International Sugar Committee,
says:
Sugar will soon be more plentiful
with the new crop of sugar cane be-
ing harvested in Cuba and Porto Rico.
sEverything is favorable to sufficient
supply for our needs. but not enough
10 use sugar eXtravagantly or waste
fully. There must be no overbuying
or boarding.
Ordinarily the So called law of sup
ply and demand is a most important
factor in regulating the price OF sugar
as OF every other commodity But this
law has been more or less, if not en-
tirely. suspended as the result of the
control of the sugar situation by the
act of six governments including our
own.
"All during the war sugar in the
United States has been lower in price,
taking the average yearly price. than
anywhere else in the world TODAY,
comparing sugar on the basis Of
caloric food value, it is one OF the
cheapest foods
After the new supplies are received
from Cuba and refined, and prices are
lowered under the proposals of the
food Administration, sugar will be one
OF inc cheapest. if not the cheapest,
loodS 70 go on the American table
Mr.. Babst agrees with Mr.. Hoover
that If the Allied nations had not en-
tered into joint agreement to conserve
the IN:1Iln hIa
to the consumer would have scared
Said he in explanation
The facts are these: E.uropes pro-
duction of sugar was not only greatly
curtaled when the opposing armies
swarmed over the sugar beet fields of
northern France and Belgium. but
England and other foreign countries
were forced to turn TO other sources
for sugar. The logical source was
Cuba, from which the United States
gets the bulk OF its cane sugar
This developed competition which,
until the international agreement was
reached. caused y serious advance in
price both OF raw and refined sugar
But with the International Committee
acting for the Allies and the Food Ad-
n,
the supply will he equally distributed
and prices stabilized
Great quantities CT raw cane sugar
are locked up in far away Java, un-
available because ships cannot be
spared to transport il. Hence the Eu-
ropean Allies are asking Cuba and the
United states Ets a practical patriotic
duty u supply them with sugar. The
t'nited States is making every effort
to comply with this request for the
very interesting reason that if we save
the Allies from the necessity Of trans
porting 100000 tons Of sugar from
lava, 1t Will release shipping sufficient
to carry about 100000 American SOL
dierS to France"
When NEr B;abst voluntarily ap-
peared the other week before the Sen
ate Sub committee inquirins into the
sugar situation, he told what his com
pany rs well as the other large refin-
ing interests were doing TO safeguard
the sugar supply. Among other
things, he laid emphasis on the value
uf sugar in packages as an economical
means Of distribution. This especially
interested Senators Lodge, Jones and
! Nardaman. and the subject was
brought up in the interview In reply
to questions, Mr. Babst said:
Yes, I presume the public, being
interested in having the sugar supply
conserved, is equally interested in
knowing why sugar in packages can
be more economically distributed than
loose sugar. And this is the reason:
In the first place package sugars
are weighed and packed by machine
This saves the grocer's time and stops
his loss by spillage which occurs when
SUGAR has to be scooped by hand out
of a barrel carried to the scales
weighed and tied in paper bags. And
when he counts this saving, plus the
value OF his time and the cost of paper
bags and string, he finds he can handle
package sugar more economically.
Sugar in packages also enables him
to restrict sales to actual needs, to
make it 30 as far as possible. In our
own experience during the recent
period Of great scarcity. we were able
to distribute sugar more widely be-
cause instead of sending barrel of
$50 pounds to one grocer we could
send the same number Of pounds. in
three cases of 1a0 pounds to three
srocers."
The American Sugar Refining Com
pan. OF which Mr.. Bahst is president,
refines ant distributes about one third
of all the sugar consumed in the
United States.
viii Sell Direct to Trade.
! Mr Babst further saws.
This company has announced that
. il will hereafter sell refined sugars to
the domestic trade by means of its own
selling Crganizat ton. instead OF through
brokers. 1t is like uSin:5 our own
! trucks instead Of hiring from an cx-
press company. The sugar broker is
a on-essential niddleman. He neither
buys. sells, produces nor manufactures.
The announcement that this com
pany would deal direct with its GUS
toners has had the Widespread ap-
proval of the trade. We have as Vet
TO receive single letter Of protest
from n customer or consumer"
The efforts of myself and of my as
sociates have been directed against
speculation, manipulation. boarding
and wastelful practices in the sugar
| business. In wartime stress we have
sold our sugars at lower average
price than any Of our competitors; at
finaS ne much 40 a cent ppr pound be-