Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1918-01-03
USURPAI|||N'
OF POWER
HOOVER
REED
Food Administrato Accused
Of Exceeding His Author
ity in Fixing Prices for
Wheat.
Hoover Says Everything He
Did Had the. Approval Of
the President Claims
Prices Stabilized at Time
Of Emergency.

Washington, Jan. s.--Usurpation Of
authority under the food law In liking
Of wheat prices was charged against
Herbert Hoover. food administrator by
Chairman Reed at the senate sugar
inquiry today.
Didn't you assure congress when
the bill was pending that there was
no authority for price fixlns?" asked
Reed ss, Ia "a ls
Hoover saAdphe did.
! Well, you abused the powerr con-
ferred on you in that bill--an act that
| under normal conditions, would be :
criminal one7" ask ed Reed.
We'll, everything has been dons
with the full approval of the presi-
dent" answered Hoover. Il consider
the bill In its general purpose gives
me authority to do as l have In the
wheat matter. even II 1t does not spe-
| officially say SO. We faced q big emer-
gency."
PRICES STABILIZED.
Hoover maintained that wheat pricea
have been stabilized.
( The farmer, he said. was consulted
and agreed to the price fixed, which
was 6O cents over the previous years
market.
| The flour price. he added. had been
reduced So per barrel to consumers
under the early war prices. This IL
but a small advance over the -four
prices year ago. he said. Reed dis
| I'm yivr
BILE the 1915 price.
Reed had suddenly switched from
sugar to wheat. As he continued this
line. Hoover protested against going
into the wheat situation In this way.
Z Returning to sugar, Reed demanded
to know why beet sugar from the west
was kept from the Atlantic seaboard
district during the shortage there last
fall
TO PROTECT PRoDUcERe.
1--WE had to obtain higher price for
cane sugar to protect Louisiana pro-
ducers." said Hoover.
The American Refining company
through Babst. Hoover said, had con-
| tracted for approximately SO per cent
of the Louisiana output and the COM
\ pdhy Coh "a AOl nave dlIOTQGQ 70 u6-ns
die 1t at a lower price.
Methods to curb extortionate sugar
charges by retailers were outlined by
Hoover.
NO PENALTY PROVIDED.
Hoover said under the food law, re-
tailers are forbidden to charge extor. !,
tionate rates. but there Is no penalty
| for violation.
IF there had I'd have prosecuted
| several retailers" he stated. There
| hive been some very flagrant viola !
| tions"
Wholesalers. who are under license,
have been told not to sell sugar to re-
tailers who attempted to profiteer, he
said. In general. they have obeyed.
But 1900 Of $4,000 retailers, he said, \
were under license.
! The wholesaler. Hoover said, has
| been limited to the pre-war margin Of
profit. which in some cases was loss
HANDLED At A LOSS.
Wholesalers handled sugar at q loss
because they made 1t up on other arti-
| cles." said Hoover.
| Senator Reed declared that Babst
| had optioned practically all Of the
| Louisiana sugar and charged that
Hoover made it possible for Babst, ex-
| clusively, to contract for this sugar
without other refiners getting q chance
at it.
ANY advantage to the refiner to get
this sugar." asked Reed.
well, 1t enabled him to supply his
customers" said Hoover.
1 ie IL
a whole lot to a going concern" re-
Joined Reed.
| Hoover denied that other refinerr
had been shut out Of this sugar mars
ket.