New-York tribune., 1918-12-02
Venomous Aspersions


that would SOW dissension between the
Allies and America in the interest of
Germany continue to sound through all
the columns Of the Hearst organs. AS
sociated Press dispatches from Paris on
Friday stated that:
The appointment Of Mr. Hoover as Di-
rector General of Relief having charge Of
the entire food and relief administration
for the European Allies and the United
States is under consideration. 1t Is un-
derstood the offer Of the position has
been made in behalf Of the Allies.
The idea is to centralize the organiza-
ton of all the food and tonnage available
to the Allies to be used to the best pos
sible advantage of each Of the Allied ma
tions And from this comes the fine and
generous suggestion that:
Part of the plan is that relief ships,
forming extensive inter-Allied relief
feet, shall fly an inter-Allied flag, so that
the countries receiving relief will feel
that it comes from al alike rather than
from any one country.
But the centre Of the page of The Nc1v
Yorb American was occupied with SEN
sational story, in black type, not from
Paris, but apparently hashed up in
Washington, under the title: "a Nies
Break Hooaers Plan, on Food Price,
The food programme of America and
8 the Allies has been broken. What ar
rangements Herbert Hoover will be able
tn nlra In <ha -
istrators in Europe is problem
According to The Americans story,
this country, having purchased the entire
Cuban sugar crop and depending on an
agreement with the Allies to take over
third of it, America would be left to hold
the bag
With peace England at once sent her
ships to Java and Sumatra to get what
sugar she could. If she could get her
sugar cheaper in these markets Britain
would buy only the small needed surplus
from the United States. The United States
has refused to allow such condition to
arise and has notified England that she
would take all the sugar she expected to
use at once would get none at all. AS
result Britain has contracted for 16OO,-
900 tons
And again:
America had encouraged q great wheat
crop by guaranteed price and has
agreed to see the Allies through on
wheat. With the armistce England
rushed her ships to Argentina, where she
gets wheat at $1.35, and to Australia
u,ba bo
guaranteed price at New York for export
is $780, Y. Her ships are also going to
Argentina for meat, where she pays 13
cents, and to Australia, where she pays
II cents, while in America, whose food
programme for the last year has centred
about production for the Allies, she must
pay 26 cents.
1t is not difficult to read between the
lines the purpose of this concoction
England, our arch enemy, is to use its
ships to get food elsewhere than from the
United States, and leave this govern
ment with a huge supply of surplus
wheat and sugar on its hands, causing a
possible loss of hundreds of millions. The
facts we know Even with every bushel
of grain and pound of meat which can be
brought from Australia or South Amer
ica, and probably also with all the sugar
that can be obtained elsewhere, there is
still present prospect of very serious
food shortage in Europe this winter, and
possibly until the new crops come in.
This is the whole intent of and The stim-
uus to the appointment of an interna~
tional "food DICTATOR"
For the rest, the facts in regard to the
cheapness Of foodstuffs in Australia and
Argentina are simple. Prices are low
because of the impossibility of obtaining
ships. Otherwise they would be on a
parity with prices in the United States
The wheat surplus in Australia is esti-
mated at from $50 ,000,0 900 to 100000, 900
bushels, in varying condition. Some of
it is three years old. To market small
portion Of this surplus, to make way for
the oncoming harvest, the Australian
government has decided to offer million
tons--something like 35,000,0O0 bushels,
at a price of about $118 This is prob
ably not one-ffth of the amount needed
by Europe in the next ten months at a
minimum. And yet to bring this wheat
from Australia will require fleet Of 200
average size steel ships. The voyage
from Australia is, roughly, three times
as long as from the Atlantic seaboard, so
that to draw even a moderate supply
from Australia would entail highly un-
profitable diversion Of ships needed for
other purposes.
For the rest, the available meat supply
of Argentina and all other countries is
small. Otherwise, with the practical end
Of the war, the food administration in
this country would not attempt to con-