New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-02-12
FLOUR MOVEMENT
TO EAST STOPPED
Sale in Some Connecticut Cities
Practically Ceases

Hartford, Feb. 12.-Reports gath
cred by the Federal Food Admins
tTauon from various sections of Con-
nectcut and made public today indi-
cate that the movement of wheat
| flour, which has been rather scarce
because of transportation difficulties,
has almost stopped since last weeks
rulings on the purchase of wheat. In
Hartford and some other cities in
connecticut, the sale of flour has
practically ceased and the food ad
mlnlstration officials today expressed
their satisfaction at the speedy ac-
complishment of their chief design in
limiting the sales of flour, which was
the conservation of wheat for ship
ment abroad
AS in other places, Hartford is
known to have boarded -four and the
food administration inspectors have
at various times uncovered stocks Of
from two to five barrels held in
small private families which were
ignorant of the boarding penalties Of
the Food Control Act Of August 10,
1917. Apparently these stocks Of
-four are now being brought out and
used because the food administration
has not heard any serious complaints
or any instances of want or hardship
from people who felt they must have
-four without also taking an equal
amount of substitutes. The food adj
ministration officials think they see
the new regulations working two
ways at once-smoking out the
hoarders and also saving the previous
wheat.
In New Haven, where attempts at
flour boarding were common until
the Italians were shown that their
unpatriotic and illegal action was
sure to work serious hardship on their
fighting countrymen in Italy, there
has been a fair amount of -four and
substitutes available, one reason be-
ing that the stocks held by the
SWirskys, father and son, when the
food administration deprived of Ii
censes and put out of business for
sugar profiteering, have been put on
the local market and absorbed by
the wholesalers. In New Haven,
some of the retailers have protested
against the new regulations, which
have now been eased by the addition
substitutes-four pounds of potatoes
to one pound of wheat. New Haven,
like other cities, is awaiting the i'm
provement in transportation which
will bring in the substitutes, such as
rice, rolled oats, white and yellow
corn meal and barley.
Bridgeports -four has been reduced
materially, according to assistant fed
eral Food Administrator D. Fairfield
Wheeler and although substitutes
there as elsewhere are not plentiful,
the absence Of any protests and the
slackening in the retail -four trade in
dictate that people have flour on hand
and are using it. AT any rate here
again, the food administration is be-
ginning to save the wheat Potato
growers in northern Fairfield county
and in Litchfield county are finding a
market for their potato holdings in
Bridgeport and other Fairfield county
cities, especially since potatoes have
been added to the wheat substitutes
Both flour and substitutes are short
in Waterbury and the tep pOrary
rule on potatoes was timely. Some
Waterbury consumers have secured
full barrels of flour not realizing the
January 2Sth rulings were retroactive.