The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-04
SUGAR SHORTAGE MAY DE RESULT
 OF PROHIBITION
Not Brought On by Sales to Foreign Governments
 Says Hoover.

says 1OOter.
 Washington, D. C., Nov. 4-With continued Federal control of sugar and a more stringent allocation of sugar supplies in sight in the recent testimony of Herbert Hoover, former food administrator, before the John son subcommittee Investigating war expenditures threw an interesting side-light on the Administration policy with regard to sugar, both dur ing and since the war. During the war it was absolutely necessary to control the sugar supply and since that time President Wilson has been advised by followers of two different schools of economic action. The Ad- ministration has followed the advice that recommended control and conse- quentIy assured low prices Reeom- mendation has now been made for further control and allocation by the chairman of the United States Sugar Equalization Board.
 Of the two theories advanced, one class of advisers recommended to the President that the ban of Federai control and international agreement be lifted and in it's place unrestrained competition for the Cuban and other important crops be allowed This would mean that the highest bidder among the nations would get the available crops. but the consumer would have to pay the price of this competition. There was no predic- ton as to how high sugar might go under this plan. The other plan was to continue Federal control and in ternational buying and allocation permitting purchase at reasonable price, and thus keeping sugar, even during the war and shortage period as low as ten and eleven cents d pound. This was the course pursued by the Government.
 Congressman Bland, junior Re- publican member of the committee, had Mr. Hoover called before the committee to inquire whether or not the sugar given away for relief abroad and sold to foreign governments through the A. E. F. and the army sales agency in France was not re- sponsible for the present sugar short age. MT. Hoover hastened to dis abuse the minds of the committee on this point, declaring that the cause of the present shortage was an in creased consumption of sugar on the part of the American people. This Increase. beginning in the spring of this year, and apparently aggravated
 
 ness, has risen from a normal of 73 pounds per year per person to 93 pounds per person. The highest known consumption heretofore, MT. Hoover stated, has been S4 pounds per person.
 Getting down to specific questions, MT. Hoover assured the committee that there was consumed every day in the United States a little over six million pounds of sugar for the man ufaeture of candy alone. This, he said, was the approximate amount of sugar given away by the United States relief commission to the strick- en countries abroad. Speaking of the sugar given to Russian prisoners he declared that this country had given away only one-tWentieth of one days candy making supply to the Rus sians
 Congressman Bland tried to make an issue of the sugar sold through the army sales force and the A E. F. abroad, amounting he said to ap- proxinately 22,G0o,0O pounds, but his attention was again called to the fact that this amounted only to several days candy supply in this country and most of that sold or given away went to adults and children nearly starved.
 Following the hearing the question arose informally of controlling cold storage activities in the process of food delivery from producer to con- sumner. MT. Hoover suggested con- trol within cold stora ge circles rather than a too stringent Federal control He pointed to the success of the gov ernmentS control Of the Chicago grain market by allowing the Board of Trade to leg:slate for it's members He pointed out that cold storage is a necessary forward step to take care of produce from the time it actually comes into production until such time as it is needed for consumption,' but he declared that some steps ought to be taken to legislate out of existence the ability of speculators to buy stor- age receipts. and without any actual turnover of goods to advance food prices through mere speculative in vestments and sales.