The Donaldsonville chief., 1918-06-08
LONG WAR IN PROSPECT.
Stricter Enforcement of Food Laws
Decided Upon at Conference.

Stricter Enforcement of Food Law
Decided Upon at Conference.
John NJ. Parker, food administrato
| for Louisiana, returned this weel
| from a meeting Of Mr.. Hoover's stat
| at Washington. He reports that tn
food administration and other au
thorities at the national capital ar,
| impressed with the outlook for j:
Hong war and the constantly increas
ing Importance of food conservation
ference of opinion regarding thu
great necessity for food regulation:
and their complete observance. L
was considered that ample time anc
energy had been given to education
SO that hereafter the food laws will
be strictly enforced and fewer ex.
ceptions will be made. E. T. Mer.
rick, the prominent lawyer who has
been made the volunteer head of the
Louisiana enforcement division, made
his first trip to Washington and in.
terviewed the departments so as tc
obtain first-hand Interpretation re.
garding regulations, rulings and mo.
| tives. He has returned to aid the
food administration in carrying out
the food program, which he en-
lorses as vital to the protection of
the people and the successful con.
| duct of the war. S. j. Shwartz
| state merchant representative, was
another of the party, and was given
many evidences of the high rank
which Louisiana is accorded in the
great n, .ional work. One of Mr..
Parker's first appearances upon his
return was before the school chill
dren of New Orleans, parochial as
well as public, and he interested the
boys and girls greatly by the nara
tion Of some of the things he had
heard at Washington.
The elaborate reporting system
which the food administration re-
quired of licensees has served its
purposes, and an announcement will
soons be made dispensing with such
frequent returns, except on the part
of the bakeries. With wheat the
test of patriotism and preparedness,
and the bakeries handling 40 per
cent of the nations flour output, the
supervision of bread continues a
paramount duty.
While they may be relieved of the
work of making out frequent records
of transactions, it will still be i'm
portant for all licensed firms to keep
full and accurate books and to have
them in such shape as to permit of
instant and easy inspection. The
government will organize an expert
inspection service for. the purpose,
and will detail inspectors to work in
states ii, which they are not interest
ed and have little acquaintanceship
There will also be an inspection ser
vice in connection with rice, which
product will be grad ed, weighed, in
spected and certified to by the gov
[ernment. The new system is ex
peeted to meet with the hearty ap-
proval of rice producers as we'll as
Of other branches of the industry, as
it will guarantee an absolutely square
deal all around and will facilitate and
encourage broader trading in the
Louisiana cereal, which the govern
ment has done great deal to popu-
1arize nationally. Rice prices have
been fixed by general consent, the
basis being z cents for Blue Rose
Nos. ] and 2, and 7.25 for Nos. / and
Il Honduras.
Suga4 prices have not yet been
fixed for the coming season. Mr..
Parker did not feel authorized to
venture upon any guess or promise,
hut he felt safe in assuring the Lou
isiana planters that the interest of
the states sugar producers will re-
ceive every consideration possible.
Reading between the lines ought to
be very cheering for the planters.
Mr.. Parker said further that the SUI
gar situation is regarded as serious.
There is enough sugar in the world
to meet all the worlds needs, but the
great problem is to transport this
sugar so that it will be available for
distribution and use. There is an
immense quantity of sugar stored in
Cuba, but the ships to bring it over
must be used in the direct route to
the battle zone. So all that remains
for the United States to do is to con-
serve sugar in every way possible and
to distribute the supply to the best
advantage. This is being done un-
der the new certificate system in
which the sugar is divided among the
various industries in accordance to
their food essentially. Preserving is
being encouraged, and ice cream and
sweets regarded as food are being
given larger allowance than soft
drinks, candy and similar products
which the people and even the sol
}diers can do without until there is
| more sugar to spare. At the same
time, they are not being asked to &c
without, the industries less essentia.
being cut down only 20 per cent OF
their normal consumption of sugar
! The concerns which have failed to re-
1 port as ordered, and who will fail te
file their next reports by June 10
will have hard time getting sugar
for any purpose in the future ane
may even run the risk of having theil
license revoked. sHs 3g
ACT QUICKLY.
Do the right thing at the righ
/ time.