The Prescott daily news., 1918-01-28

hundred pounds profit. This regu- lation was made by the food admins tration, which now asks the housewife to reduce sugar consumption as much as possible, using other sweeteners, and also reminds her that she should pay no more than cents pound for sugar.
 Control of Cane Refiners' Profits.
 Immediately upon the establish ment of the food administration" Mir. Hoover said, 'an examination was made of the costs and profits of refin- ing and it was finally determined that the spread between the cost of raw and the sale of refined cane sugar should be limited to S1.30 per hundred pounds. The pre-war differential had averaged about S5 cents and increased costs were found to have been impos- ed by the war in increased cost of re- lining, losses, cost of bags, labor, insur- ance, interest and other things, rather more than cover the difference. After prolonged negotiations the refiners were placed under agreement estab- fishing these limits on october l, and anything over this amount to be agreed extortionate under the law.
 "In the course of these investiga- tions 1t was found by canvass of the Cuban producers that their sugar had, during the first nine months of the past year, sold for an average of about $4.24 per hundred f. O. b. Cuba, to which duty and freight added to the refiners cost amount to about $5.66 per hundred. The average sale price of granulated by various refneries, ac- cording to our investigation, was about S750 per hundred, or differential of S1S4
 'In reducing the differential to $1.3O there was a saving to the public of 54 cents per hundred. Had such a diff ferential been in use from the 1st of January, 1917, the public would have saved in the first nine months of the year about $24,SOO.O00."
 Next Year.
 With view to more efficient organ ization of the trade in imported sugars next year two committees have been formed by the food administration:
 l. A committee comprising repre- sentatives of all of the clements of American cane refining groups. The principal duty of this committee is to divide the sugar imports pro rata to their various capacities and see that absolute justice is done to every re- finer.
 2. A committee comprising three rep resentatives of the English, French and Italian governments two repre- sentatives of the American refiners, with a member of the food administra- tion. Only two of the committee have arrived from Europe, but they repre- sent the allied governments. The du- ties of this committee are to determine the most economical sources from q transport point of view of all the al- lies to arrange transport at uniform rates, to distribute the foreign sugar between the United States and allies, subject to the approval of the Ameri- can. English. French and Italian gov ernments.
 This committee, while holding strong views as to the price to be paid for Cuban sugar, has not had the final voice. This voice has rested in the governments concerned, together with the Cuban government, and 1 wish to state emphatically that all of the gen. tlemen concerned as good commercial men hGvo endeavored with the utmost patience and skill to secure a lower price, and their persistence has re- duced Cuban demands by 15 cents per hundred. The price agreed upon is about $4.60 per hundred pounds, f. o. b.. Cuba, or equal to about $6 duty paid New York.
 "This price should eventuate,"
 MT. Hoover said, "to about S7.30
 per hundred for refined sugar from
 the refiners at seaboard points or
 should place sugar in the hands of
 the consumer at from 8H to g
 cents per pound, depending upon
 locality and conditions of trade, or
 at from to 2 cents below the
 prices of August last and from one
 half to a cent per pound cheaper
 than today.
 "There Is now an elimination of speculation, eXtortionate profits, and in the refining alone the American people will save over $25,000,000 of the refining charges last year. A part of these savings goes to the Cuban, Hawaiian, Porto Rican and Lousianian