Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-01-18
Administrator Thanks
Nation for Support in Bat
tle-Now that Reed en-
vestigation' Has Failed to
Discredit Administration,
Hoover Asks Continued
Support of People in
Meeting Food Problems.
(By Milton Bronncr.)

VIZ HAAASoA DAOAAkIAsJ
Washington, Jan. 1S.-"We have
q basis Of confidence and understand
ing between the food administration
and millions of consumers and pro-
ducers. We nave been of mutual
service to each other. I do not think
that attacks made by that minority OF
profteers, who have been baked in
their petty schemes to s~ky-rocket
prices. will hurt us any. One of the
gratifying things about this job is
the hundreds upon hundreds of letters
we receive from the plain people in
which they not only show that they
understand what we are trying to do,
but also seek to send along the en-
couraging word"
The speaker was Herbert c. Hoover,
United States food administrator, who
has been the object of an ''investiga-
tior" by a committee headed by Sena.
tor Jim Reed.
Reed is the mar who nauseated the
country last sulnmer by his repeated
and enormous attacks upon the man
who for three years fed and acted as
starving Belgian and French people
ground under the heel of the brutal
German satraps.
Hoover now has a far harder job
that of trying to save enough to feed
Great Britain, France n Italy, to
say nothing Of neutrals like Switzer-
land. which it is necessary not to
throw into the arms Of Germany.
Hoover, mex to President Wilson, is
about the hardest man in Washington
to interview. l asked him to toss his
modesty into the discard for once be-
cause it was important that he speak
a word to the people of the coun-
try. lest they be confused by the
sound and fury Claus S%preckles, the
sugar king, attacking other sugar
kings, succeeded in getting into the
record, under the benign questioning
of Reed.
Hoover refused to be drawn into
any talk on Spreckles or Reed. He
But he was perfectly willing to talk
glowingly Of the way the American
people were helping him.
There is one thing that distin-
cuisines the American people-it is
their positive desire to make some
sacrifice for their country. We hear
it all the time. That is why they
have helped us so willingly to save
meat, wheat. fat and sugar. and have
more they a do. That is why so
many OF the trade have voluntarily
reduced price and profits.
when we took hold we had one big
object in mind-We had to secure fair
prices to the American producers and
the American consumer with the
minimum loss to the producer and
the through the handling of
foodstuffs. We had some power
granted us by the food administration
BILL"
But not anything like as much as
Lord Rhondda has in England" I
asked.
Hoover's serious face broke into a
smile.
1.-THE English food controller can do
anything he wishes by a mere stroke
Of the pen," he replied. I'VE have
positive power through our ability to
license many of the wholesale dealers
and manufacturers of food. Further
than that we cannot go"
"In other words, most of the teeth
were extracted from the American
food law?' 1 asked.
mot necessarily: food law must be
developed as necessity arises" Hoover
replied. Nevertheless. thanks to the
patriotism and the cooperation of
most of our American business men,
we have been able to do n good deal
in the matter Of stabilizing food sup
plies.
"Of course. our outstanding pieces
of work have been the stabilizing of
the price Of sugar and breadstuffs and
pork. In the cas- of sugar what was
done was achieved through voluntary
agreement.
with all the world outside of the
central powers grabbing for Cuban
sugar.. we succeeded in getting an in
ternational committee representing
the buying needs of America, France,
England n Italy. which arranged for
the purchase Of all the Cuban sugar
crop.