Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-08-15
Tubs Of Butter, Tons Of Co..
fee and Many Barrels of
Sugar, Taken by Federal
Men Throughout U. S.
REAL PUNCH BEHIND "a
GOVERNMENT CAMPAIGN
Palmer Tells Senate Commit
tee He Does Not Think Ma
jority Of Farmers and Food
Dealers Are Profiteers.

Washington, Aug. l4.-Indicatiors
of the real punch behind the gov
ernment's campaign to reduce the
high cost of living were given today
in unmistakable fashion in many
cities.
While Attorney General Paine.
was telling the senate agriculture
committee that he intended to prose
cute every dealer guilty of selling at
higher prices than those listed by
the fair price committees of each
county, word came from Chicago,
St. Louis and Birmingham of seiz-
ures of great quantities of foodstuffs
by federal officials who recently
were instructed to proceed under the
food control act to stop boarding.
In Chicago 1882 tubs of butter,
worth $4,000, was seized and in St.
Louis 2S4, 100 pounds of coffee which
has been showing rapid advances in
price, and in Birmingham 100 bar
rels of sugar.
Not Many Prohteering. .
Mr. Palmer told the Senate COM
mittee that he believed the great ma
jority of farmers, and food dealers
were not profiteering, but that the
suggested amendment to the food
control act extending it to clothing
and providing a criminal penalty OF
$4,000 fine or two years imprison-
ment or both, was necessary to make
effective the campaign against those
who are dishonesty ,gouging the
public. There was division of opin
ion among the senator's as to the ad-
visibility of the legislation, several
declaring that the amendment gave
the Department of Justice too dras-
tic powers over commerce, while
others questioned the CONSTITUTIONAL
ity of extending the life of the food
control act beyond the declaration
of peace, as has been suggested. .
"Given this penalty, we can break
the backbone of this profteering in
90 days." Mr.. Palmer retorted crisp
ly, "and then you won't have to wor-
~ dpoul
- Cold Storage Legislation.
The house agricultural committee
proceeded with cold storage legis-
lation today and announced that to.
morrow the amendment to the food
control act would be taken up with
Assistant Attorney General Ames,
discussing the need for it in the
campaign to reduce prices. Mayors
of SO New Jersey cities made ar
rangements to appear before the
committee Monday to demand that
something effective be done to miti-
gate the hardships under which the
man of average income is suffering
Absent members of the house
were ordered tonight to return to
Washington at once, when it became
apparent that the agriculture COM
mittee would report out the new leg
islation this week. Republican
Leader Mondell and Minority
Leader Clark declared they were de-
termined to have~a quorum present
Monday.
To Invoke Food Act.
While the more drastic method OF
prosecutions will be used by the De
partment of Justice to punish and
stop flagrant cases of profiteering,
it was made clear today that the still
effective licensing provisions of the
food control act would be invoked
to reach dealers against whom no
indictment could be found in fed
eral courts. Officials of the food
administration notified the depart
ment that II cents a pound was a
fair price for sugar and this informa-
ton was transmitted to district at
torneys, with the significant state
.nent that where higher prices iwere
being charged there evidently was
profiteering.
The Department of Agriculture
TODAY asked 100000 from congress
for establishing information centers
in various cities, which would col
lect and. disseminate information
coorern;no priceS