Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-10-09
GROCER ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL
PREDICTS RELIEF by MIDDLE
OF PRESENT MONTH.
FUTURE FAVORABLE FOR
AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY
Beet Sugar Soon TO Reach Market
Plenty Of Sugar in Cubs, But No
Ships Available for It's Transporta-
tion-Prioes Held to Be still Under
Control Of Equalization Board and
Will Not Soar.

council BUNS, Oct. 9.-The sugar
shortage thru this section of the coun-
try should ease by the middle Of
October. in the opinion of John Mehl-
hop. secretary of the Iowa Nebraska
Wholesale Grocers' Association. Ac-
cording to Mr.. Mehlhop the grinding
Of the Colorado sugar beet crop will
begin Oct. 6 and the first product will
be ready for distribution about twenty
four hours later. The sugar will then
have to be shipped out to the dealers,
which will take several days. The
shortage will not, be relieved until this
sugar is on the market, he believes.
Don't Blame Wholesale Grocers.
Wholesale grocers are not respon-
sible for the shortage, Mr.. Mehlhop
says. On the contrary, he says, they
are doing everything humanity possible
to secure supplies for the consuming
trade. The shortage is due to the ma
rine strike on the Atlantic coast, Mr..
Mehlhop says.
THE wholesale grocers can not in
any way be held accountable for the
shortage of sugar because the entire
output Of cane sugar for this country
has been and is under the control and
direction Of the government thru the
sugar equalization board. which has
full disposal of it and the naming of
the price at which 1t shall be sold to
the refiners, and also names the mar
gins that may be charged by whole
salers and retailers. ...a
This applies to all such sugars that
have been and are now in the market
and will continue until Dec. 81 this
year. The government has not yet ar
ranged for the control Of the beet
sugar crop Of this country. which will
come into the market some time in
October, and may not do so.
"The government thru its sugar
equalization board has Communicated
and already allotted 100000 bags of
western beet sugar.
Under the government control of
price the tobber may charge so cents
per hundred margin over the laid in
cost and the retailer TX cents per
pound margin.
1.-THE marine strike on the Atlantic
coast is largely responsible for the
sugar shortage, as 1t made it impos-
sible for the government to procure
ships with which to carry, raw sugars
from Cuba, where our supply is largely
secured. to this country for refining
The following article from the New
York Journal Of Commerce and Com
mercial Bulletin, issue Of Aug. Is, has
this to say regarding the sugar short
age:
There should have been no short
age due to the strike emergency. be-
cause the crops available for this
country were greater than ever, and
twenty four hours before the harbor
strike was declared, about the middle
Of July, nobody in the trade antici-
pated a shortage. There are, even a,
this time. over 2,O0o,O00,0o0 pounds OF
sugar in Cuba awaiting shipment "a
this country, and had the shippine
board been able to supply the neces-
sary ships enough OF this sugar would
have been here to forestall any short.
age due to the strike emergency.
1.-THE statement that wholesalers haG
! attempted to dictate the price of sugar
to the trust Is entirely erroneous be-
cause, as stated before, the sugar
equalization board controls the price
| absolutely.
THE statment that manufacturers
OF candy and gum and Gamers Of
vegetables and fruit were able to Sc
cure sugars Is doubtless true. for II
has been the policy Of the food ad-
ministration to keep factories and
canneries going if order to keep wage
earners employed" .f.rs