Evening star., 1920-05-21
CUT SUGAR PRICES,
CONSUME 1-3LESS
Secretary Houston Quotes
Consumption Figures
With Proposal.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

If the American people want to
bring down the price of sugar. they
have very simple remedy available.
David Franklin Houston. Secretary of
the Treasury. who used to be Secre-
tary Of Agriculture. and who is just
now trying to exert the influence of
the Treasury Department in the
movement to cut down the cost OF liv-
ing, is the author Of the suggestion
that the best way to handle the sugar
question is to point out some salient
facts about sugar consumption that
will probably be amazing to the aver
age householder.
Did you ever look over the data as
to the amount of sugar folks used to
marked Secretary Houston to the
writer. as he took from the shelf in
lis Office thick volume. called THE
Statistical Abstract of the United
States" and opened it to page SCI.
what Figures Show.
Down the page of figures is the
average amount that was consumed
by every individual in the United
States since 1865. In that year. di-
viding the total amount consumed by
the population of the country, ap-
pro1mately 1s pounds was eaten At
the end Of 1875 this had gone up to
43 pounds. Ten years more and the
per capita consumption was 81
pounds. In 1895 it was 81 pounds, and
in 1905 it was II pounds. From that
year on the amounts vary between 20
when the food administration was
urging conservation, the per capita
consumption was II pounds.
93 Pounds Last Years Figure.
Now, what do you think was the
average consumed last year," con-
tinutd Secretary Houston. 1T was 80
pounds! Surely there is no necessity
for such a large consumption. We
used to get along on less, and il we
pounds per individual the price of
sugar would come down Immediately.
1T isn't at the breakfast table
where the overconsumption OF sugar
occurs. It isn't the sugar we take
with our coffee or with cereals that
counts up. But we eat SO much more
cake and pies and ice cream and candy.
Time was when children were eau
toned against too much sweets. But
their elders are not observing the rule
themselves. We could get along and
be just as healthy as people have been
for the last forty years if we con-
sur sumed less sugar. # each individual
any trouble about the price"
Indeed Secretary Houston empha-
sized that it was to a large extent out
side the home, in the restaurants, cafes,
soda fountains and pastry shops where
the consumption Of sugar had risen,
although the extravagant use OF pies
and other sweets in the home was by
no means 3 small factor in the ninety-
three pounds per capita consumption
last year.
Pronteer Unexeused.
Nobody. on the other hand. excuses
the prof1teer who has taken advantage
of the demand for sugar to raise prices,
but. if the demand hadn't existed, the
profiteers would never have had their
opportunity.
Some people here are inclined to
think the coming Of national prohibi-
tion has had q good deal to do with
the overconsumption of sugar, but it
will be observed that the figures 49,
was the average for the year 1913. be-
fore prohibition applied to the more
populous sections OF the United
States.
OF course, in many cities like New
York the candy shop and soda foun-
tain have taken the same quarters pre-
vfously occupied by the saloon and
attract a constant dow of people who
are tempted to eat candy with their
luncheons. The government used to be
able to control the amount Of sugar
that could be used in candy, but gov
ernment control Of food consumption
is thing Of the past
Little Sugar Conserved New.
Very few efforts are made toward
conservation. It is true that the food
administration did not apply it's
power Of law, but depended upon pub
licity and the power OF appeal to get
the cooperation Of the American peo-
pie, but the licensing sysem was as
effective as any statute could be. The
government therefore can only point
out the facts from time to time to the
American people.
And Secretary Houston believes that
if the fathers and mothers will search
their recollectfonS just a trif1e they
will recall that the world, and the
United States particularly, got along
just as vel. and perhaps better, in the
thirty years before the European war
by eating less sugar than folks do
nowadays.
And if everybody conserves just one
third there will be more available for
the whole country, and the govern
ment will be better able to check up
on the profiteer. whose argument to-
day is that the great demand is what
fixes his price