Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-02-28
PRICE FIXING HAS
FAILED, LODGE SAYS
Senator Declares object OF Prevent
Ing Profitccrine * unaccom-
plished.

WASHINGTON. Feb. 27.--Gov-
ernment price fixing hs method Of
preventing profiteering has proved
failure, Senator Lodge OF Massa-
chusetts declared today. In giving
tho senate tho conclusion he had
drawn from the recent sugar short
ages. In the. cRse of coal, Senator
Lodge said. price fixing had only
served TO curtall production, while
the food administrations price plan
for sugar had kept western beet
sugar from the eastern states. and
In the meantime retailers OF coal and
! sugar had profiteered,
'ro prevent proflteorlng by a
few the Massachusetts senator ex-
! planned, the fundamental error OF
| the administration was that n policy
| OF fixing all prices--declnrod fail
ure In both Germany and France
was adopted, instead OF one OF slim
ulatng and Increasing production" !"
Blame for the coal shortage, Sena-
tor Lodge laid to the fuel adminis-
| tration's price fixing plan, together
with railroad difficulties, and the
closing order he described as q
complete confession OF impotence
and failure" He denounced the fuel
administration as an unnecessary
agency" which was composed large
bly, n aitateurs."
Miider with Hoover.
The senator dealt In milder man
ner with the food administration,
altho asserting that fixing the price
OF sugar was n mistaken policy and
the sugar famine largely artificial.
| lilo added:
In Justice to Mr.. Hoover, he made
every effort to got rail distribution
and get Java sugar.
How much he was thwarted by
! the railroad situation and the tangle
| OF priority orders do not know, but
| am certain that II he had been ef-
Efficiently aided. instead OF being
crossed by other commissions, there
could have been no sugar famine in
the eastern states"
Discussing the procedure OF the
fuel administration. Senator Lodge
| said.
"They fixed price which made
| Il impossible TO work many miners,
| frightened the producer and tended
TO reduce production.
Whole System Changed
Not content with this. they also
set to work 10 change the whole sys-
TEN OF distribution. No more reck
less experiment could have been bet
| ter CALCULATED TO make railroad diff
| flcultics almost insuperable, ~ "a
single blow they partially paralyzed
all the mAchlnerey OF distribution.
! Only ignorance OF economic laws
! could be offered az an excuse
! There was no need OF the fuel ad
| minlstratiou, no reason why IL should
exist al all and the powers, how
| ever amiable and patriotic the pur-
pose Of their possessor have been
employed to make situatlon worse
and do nothing but ham.
'"The vital point OF the whole coal
situation was the railroad problem.
Either Secretary Lane or Francis
Is Peabody Senator Lodge said
should have charge OF the coal situ-
alton. Annulment by Secretary
Baker Of the agreement, Mr. Lane
brought about at conference OF
operators dealers and consumers
was criticised by the senator. lie
also denounced comforting OF vast
powers upon state fuel admlnista'
tors.
80 far as 7 can learn" said Mr
Lodge, the only qualification OF
those gentlemen Is that they should
be democrats"
4 Senator Lodge also warned tn,
senate against official interference
with what some government bureat
may decide TO be non essential IN
dustry Neither. he said. In Conclu
sion, should those who cri,lcise gov
ornment affairs, be charged with be
ing friends OF Germany