The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-25
SUGAR CONTROL SAVED MILLIONS
American Consumer Profited by $1eO,00O, ,WO-French Situ-
 ation Helped.
HOME PRICE HELD AT g CENTS.
This Nations Sugar Supply Reduced
 to Seventy Per Cent. of Normal. Java Stocks Unavailable.

Sugar control has saved the Amer ican public $1sO, 900, Herbert Hoov- CT, United States food administrator, declared the other day.
 He pointed out that sugar was sell ing for Il cents a pound last August and that it would have advanced to 20 cents a pound, with the world short age as a stimulus, had not the food administration secured the co-opera- tion of the refners and wholesalers and fixed . sugar price that today en- ables housewives to buy sugar at from Sk to cents a pound.
 "Every 1 cent raise in sugar from September 1 to January 1 means $1S,- COG, 1000 to the American consumer" MT. Hoover said. Numbers of gen tlemen will tell you that 20 cent sugar would have prevailed and the public robbed of $18o,OO0,O00 this year if we had not taken these actions" Later MT. Hoover called attention to the fact that uncontrolled sugar advanced to 35 cents a pound during the Civil War. France Got Our Sugar. Today the American public has been allotted 70 per cent. of its normal sup ply. Before the war the average an- nual household consumption here was 55 pounds a person. In England the i annual consumption during the war is "A pounds, and in France each person is allotted a little over one pound a ! month.
 "1n August the French government found itself unable to maintain even this ration" MT. Hoover declared. An appeal was made to America. France needed 100000 tons. We agreed to fill this demand and up to December had shipped S5, 426 tons. In the meantime an appeal was made to the American public to reduce it's sug- ar consumption, and requests were made to distributors to supply the confectionery and sweet drinks trade with 50 per cent, of normal supply. This has been generally followed, al- though such regulations were volun- tary, as the food administration had no authority to impose them"
 Domestic Price is aR to Cents.
 Retail grocers throughout the coun- try are supposed to take profit of no more than 50 cents hundred-half a cent a pound-on sugar. By reason of food administration regulations, bind ing refners and wholesalers, the re- taller is able today to buy sugar at from 8 to 8h cents a pound. This enables him to sell to the housewife at 8h to cents a pound.
 There have been some violations of the sugar rulings. MT. Hoover said recently: Sales of sugar from 16 to 20 cents per pound have been reported and followed up vigorously and stop ped and is evidence itself of the prices at which consumers would have been mulct had we not intervened. We have forfeited wholesalers licenses in az. grayated cases, and we have issued warnings to first offenders in a great many instances through our local ad' ministrators."
 Effect on Military Situation. ;l American sugar stocks could be fill ed to normal very soon if ships could be sent to Java, where 250,000 tons o1 sugar is waiting for shipment. But the shipping situation Is so acute that the nation cannot spare the clever ships needed to transport this sugar It would take the boats one year tC 1 Tr, they could be used for transporting 100000 soldiers to France.
 The food administration believe! that the American public will diminisl it's sugar consumption by 10 or 15 pel cent. when it is made clear thIt Sucf sugar saving is a patriotic act ant when it is understood that there art plenty of sweeteners available tO takt the place of sugar, such as honey O
 corn syrup.
 Why Shortage Exists. '..
 The three great sugar producing cen ters of the world are Germany, tn, West and East Indies. German Suga is, of course, used at home. The Eas Indian sugar is unavailable because 0
 the ship shortage.
 While U boats made big inroads ol
 the worlds shipping, France and Ital ceased to be self sustaining in suga manufacture. England in the mean time was cut off from German sugar Ii l, 100000 tons a year-becSuse of tn
 war. The result has been that the al
 lied nations have been forced to tET
 to America and the West Indies fo | their sugar.