The Topeka state journal., 1919-12-20
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HASkIN. Director.
Washington, u. G.
WHY NO SUGAR.

WHY NO SUGAR.
Washington, d. c. Dec. 19.-Why
are we short of sugar and paying ex-
orbitant prices for sugar now that the
war is over, altho We managed to get
fair supply at a fair price while the
war was going on?? 5
Discussion in the senate with regard
to the bill to continue the life of the
sugar equalization board Which will
otherwise end with the year, has cast
much light on this question. The gist
of what it shows is this: During the
war the American people created
government agency to buy their sugar
for them, and to regulate it's distri-
button. In effect. acting thru con-
gress and the president, we formed
national association. for the buying
and selling of sugar. It was exactly
the same in principle as a community
store, which all members of a COM
munity chip in to buy goods, and then
they are sold to the same people at
a Stiplated price The Cuban sugar
crop was bought last year by the sugar
equalization board with money be-
| longing to the American people. and
was sold again at terms which the
sugar board was able to dictate The
result was that all thru the wsr We
/ got sugar at IL cents, and while it was
( scarce, it was not so scarce as II is
now.
! With the ending of the war. the
/ sugar equalization board discontinued
it's most important activity-the buy
ing of sugar. 1t di1 not buy the
/ Cuban, sugar crop this year. This was
\ a proper policy according to the view
| of the matter generally accepted in
this country. The war being over. We
should discontinue government control
t as much as possible, and return to the
good old law of supply and demand.
But that famous unwritten statute
| seems to have worked against us in
! this instance. The Cuban sugar crop
| is being scattered all over the world
linstead of coming to the United States
| in a gigantic lump. And what has
come to this country has come ~at
| greatly increased prices. The Cuban
sugar producers have gotten as much
! as IS Z cents a pound for some OF
their raw sugar.
1t is as a result~of this situation
| that congress is asked to authorize the
sugar board to buy what is left of the
J Cuban sugar crop before it is all gone,
and to continue the life of the board
for another year 1t seems as if this
| is the only thing that can save US
from an even greater scarcity of sugar
than we now face.
OF course, there are other causes
for the sugar shortage besides our
| failure to buy the Cuban crop. For
one thing we are eating more sugar
than ever before. Our average per
capita consumption Of sugar used to
/ be about eighty-five pounds. During
| the war this was whttled down to
seventy-fiYe pounds by Mr.. Hoover
with his gospel of conservation in the
name of patriotism. Since the war
/ ended, it has risen to about ninety
| three pounds. Senator McNary at
, tributes this rise in sugar consump-
ton to prohibition and prosperity.
Then, too, the world is about 3,000,-
600 pounds short of it's normal sugar
i supply. Since we are eating more
| sugar than ever before, and there is
less sugar in existence than ever be-
fore. it would seem easy enough to
explain the shortage without trying to
put the blame on anyone. But the
indisputable fact remains that if the
sugar equalization board had bought
the Cuban sugar crop this year. you
and I would be enjoying the boon OF
a full sugar bowl right now. Failure
to secure the Cuban sugar has caused
both scarcity and boarding of sugar.
] For Cuba was willing to sell US the
sugar at : reasonable price. The
Cuban suGc producers wrote letter
to the board last July urging 1t again
| to buy the sugar crop in a lump. 1t
may seem strange to you that Cuban
producers should prefer to sell all OF
their crop to the United States govern
ment at a price somewhere between
D anu { cents pOuHu, NneI ttleN dEe
getting in some instances as much as
l131a cents a pound. But it is really
not strange at all. Any producer
would rather sell his whole product
for the year at one sale and at a fair
profit than to sell it slowly to many
different purchasers at different
prices. with all the expense and risk
A which such a procedure involves. The
Il principal of the community store
again comes in. The American people
by communal effort can get their
sugar for less for the same reason
that the citizens of any community
can buy foodstuffs for less if they
buy them in quantity. In both cases
J the producers can afford to sell for
less because they do not have to bear
the expenses of retailing, and the risks
Of many different credits and of q
flUctuating market.
Besides. Cuba would rather have
the American dollar and American
, credit than any other coinage or credit
in the world, and Cuba is anxious tt
stand in with the United States. Fol
all of these reasons the Cuban pro.
, ducers were not only willing but anxi-
GUS to sell to the sugar board. This i.
proved by the letter to the boart
which Senator McNary caused to bt
printed in the Congressional Record
5 Just who is to blame for the fac
: that the sugar crop was not bought /!
a moot question. The buck is bein.
passed with great zeal. Some senators
: blame the president and some blam,
the board, and the board blames con
, gress. The president, SO far, has KEEP
mum.
: You should be reminded that tn,
5 Sugar Equalization board is a commit
tee of eight wise men APPOINTED b,
the president in 1917. and equipped
with five million dollars from the pres
ident's special fund After it had beel
, appointed the board had itself made
corporation under the laws of Della
ware. The president was the sol,
stockholder of the corporation witt
the five million which he put up Jus
why the board was thus incorpora te,
, is not clear-presumabl for its owl
protection. But the fact of it's incor
: marathon is NOT i'm nnrtant II Is rnnn