Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1919-08-22
All Government Forces Concen-
trating on Fight Against High
Cost of Living.
FOODS IN STORAGE SEIZED
Test Case Against Alleged Sugar
Hoarders-Labor Situation Is Lit
tile Improved-KoIchak's Siberi-
an Armies in FIight-Rou-
manians In Hungary
Defy Allied Com
mission.
BY EDWARD w. PIcKARD.

Spurred on by the welcome, if long
delayed action of the chief executive,
all available forces of the federal gov
eminent are devoting themselves to
the task of reducing the cost of liv-
ing, and they are receiving the en-
thusiastic cooperation Of state and
municipal bodies and officials all over
the country.
Attorney General Palmer sent out
instructions and authority to confiscate
: at once boarded food stocks, aGd'large
quantities of foodstuffs in warehouses
were seized in Chattanooga, Tampa,
Jacksonville, Fla. Fort Sam Houston,
Tex, and other places. In every case,
according to Mr.. Palmer's instructions,
the anne of the hoarders and the
amounts of food seized were made pub
lie, for it was thought the publicity
would result in the immediate release
of excessive amounts of f%OodStuffS
that have been withheld from con-
sumption. The attorney general cen
tered his attention especially on Chi
cago, not only because it is the great
est food storage center of the world,
but because he had learned the spec
ulators there had been particularly and
perniciously active. The Chicago
packers, naturally, are the chief tar
gets, because they are alleged to be
in control of the cold-storage business,
not only there but all owe the coun-
try. This they deny. Senator Nickel
lar has introduced a bill for federal
regulation of cold-storage plants and
in supporting it he told of the vast
amounts of poultry, eggs and butter
in storage and of the apparent eXorbi-
tant profits made on those commodi-
ties by some middlemen. Louis Swift
says he has been and is in favor of
regulation of storage methods; and
President Horn of the American Re-
fr~igerating association asserts his or
ganization would not object to reason
able regulatory measures, but that
most of the suggested plans are too
drastic.
The governments fight against the
sugar hoarders also centered in Chi
cago, and the first test case is that
against the officials of the Central Su-
gar company who were arrested a
week or more ago. Henry H. Rolapp,
head of the sugar distribution COM
mittee of the food administration, said
the situation was serious, as me
and dealers were clamoring in vain
for sugar. The railway shipments
strike entered into this, as 20, 900
pounds of sugar was delayed in Cali
fornia by lack of cars. Mr.. Rolapp
said that in a few days the arrival of
cane sugar from New Orleans and beet
sugar from the West would flood the
market.
The entire food crusade had it's eff
feet on retail prices, in some instances
only slight and in others, notably po-
tatoes, very marked. The federal
agents intend to go after the retail
grocers and butchers for ~profiteering,
as well as after the bigger game, and
before long the suffering consumer
may get relief that will actually affect
his bank roll.
In Boston a grand jury investigation
elected the rather surprising informa-
ton that the American people demand
shoes of high grade and high price and
scorn the cheaper grades, of which the
manufacturers say they have large
stocks. In a way this is borne out by
the statement of a Berlin paper that
American shoe dealers are making
strenuous efforts to find a suitable