New-York tribune., 1919-11-25
Food administrator Declares
Retineries Report Heavy
Quantities Available and
Condition Here Is Wrong
Factories Are Tied Tn
Crocers Are Completely Out
i'll Many Gases and Others
Sell by the Half Pound

Tlre-sugar shortage in New York is
oped yesterday.
Refiners, manufacturers. wholesalers
and retailers agreed that, through n
combination Of disappointments and
misfortunes, the city is virtually in
the grip Of a sugar famine. Officials
of the United States Sugar Equaliza-
tion Board declared that only with the
aid Of the consumer in conscrvati ion
could the shortage be relieved.
Henry +. Costello, chairman Of the
raw sugar division Of the Sugar Equal
ization Board, said the situation would
become worse if, houscholdcrs made q
mad scramble to corner tho small sup
ply now available.
An official Of one Of the largest re-
fining companies said that between
500 and 700 manufacturers and re-
tailers besiege his firm daily with pleas
Tor sugar he said he had heard every
form Of hard luck story, but could do
nothing. Because of the shortage of
raw sugar, he said, his firm had been
forced to close down Friday, remaining
idle until yesterday noon.
he said that thousands OF plants in
the Eastern section using sugar in
their manufactures will be forced to
close down next week unless they are
supplied. AS for the wholesa,ers-he
couldn't say where their supply would
come from. The situation was due en-
tne4y t. the lack of raw sugar, he said.
Practically no sugar was in local
warehouses he asserted
Factories Are Idle
Several candy manufacturing con-
Germs reported yesterday that they are
wholly without sugar and arc keeping
their plants open purely on the suppo-
stion that they may receive some at
any moment. They had not received
their ALLEGATION Of 90 per cent of their
normal demands even up to November
10, they said. One firm, which reported
less then per cent of its normal
sugar supply on hand, employs more
than a thousand men,
A. 2. Will ans, Of the sub committee
on wholesale groceries Of the Fair
Price Committee, declared that whole
salers were finding it impossible to OBJ
tain any quantity of sugar, however
small.
"Our firm" the r. s Williams Com
pany," he said usually sells about
10000 pounds of sugar o day. To-day
we haven't Il pound on hand, although
our customers are clamoring and be-
seeching for even the smallest consign-
| ment. We have no idea where the sugar
has gone. Perhaps tho manufacturers
are better able to pay for it than We
are"
Retailers, who are forced to face the
! consumers. are totally without sup
plies, in many instances. Fred II. Amor,
chairman Of the subcommittee of re-
tail 5rocers of the Fair Price Commit
tee and president of the Retail Groccrs'
Association of New York, sa d retailers
! throughout the city were selling the
j litt e sugar they had in haN-pound
packages~and less if su~ar hungry
customers would accept smaller guam
titles.
Cranberry Sauce Doomed;
DR.. Jonathan c. Day. Commissioners
Of Public Markets, said that 800 600
pounds Of canned fruits. including
pumpkin. peaches and apricots, have
been sold at the twelve food depots
where surp Us navy food is being dis
posed of. He attributed this unex-
pected demand for canned fruits en-
tirely 10 the sugar shortage, house
wives being eager to obtain foods
already swcctcncd. These canned
fruits, he adds. would probably sup
plant cranberrics on the Thanksgiving
Day menu.
Federal Food Administrator Williams
said that he had received numerous
reports that sugar cannot be obtained
at retail stores. He said that, since
the reports from the retineries show
that enormous quantities of sugar are
being made available here, this con
dition is unnatural and should be
investigated Any sugar unearthed by
his investigators will be put on the
open market within twenty-four hours,
he declared. Equalization board of'ic lis
and rcfners said last night that tho
reports Of the fixing of price of
twelve cents pound, wholesale, fer
1920 sugar, were not authentic.