The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1920-05-17
PRICE OF SUGAR
WILL remain Up
ANOTHER YEAR
) Sugar Price Investigation at Wash
ton Gives Opinion Of Experts
OF This Country.


Washington, d. c. - The shortage
and high price of sugar will continue
for another year at least, according tc
most of the experts appearing before
the House committee investigating the
situation.
Until normal world production OF
sugar is restored and increased to
meet the increased demand, there is nc
hope of reducing the price or avertine
periodical sugar "famines."
Neither the department of justice
nor the house committee has been able
to discover a corner in sugar, though
it has been established that there HAS
been considerable speculation and
proflteering. 1t is now proposed to
check rising prices by eliminating re-
sales through agreements on the part
of the refiners. AS a last resort ration
ing of the candy and syrup manufac-
turers may be attempted in order to
divert sugar from commercial to do
nestle uses.
The worlds requirements for sugar
for the year 1919-192O has been esti-
mater at 24,030,140 tons, whereas the
actual yield in the last crop has been
figured at approximately 100000
tons. Germany's output of beet sugar
previously the largest in the world,
dropped during the war from 9,645.125
tons to 3,S79,3OO, and it has been i'm
possible to determine what the Rus
sian yield this year will be.
While there has been an increase in
the output of cane sugar of about l.
$4,000 tons during the war, refiners in
Washington declare it is impossible to
figure an anything like normal supply
or prices until Germany gets back into
pre-war production and the countries
parceled off from Germany, like
Czecho- Slovakia, assume their share
of the burden of producing.
it is estimated by the refiners that
the actual shortage in the supply for
the United States is about 100000
tons, the normal consumption in this
country being about 100000.
This shortage is due principally to
the fact that the refusal of President
Wilson to approve the recommends
ton of the defunct sugar equalization
board that the United States buy up
the Cuban crop, as it did during the
war, and allocate it to the European
powers, left the way open for Great
Britain to buy up the bulk of this
source In this connection the refiners
who profess to be gavely alarmed over
the situation bitterly criticise the adj
ministration on the ground of short
sightedness.
Like the large coal operators, the
refners are fearful that the present
situation over which they insist they
have no control will lead to drastic
legislation and perhaps naturalization
of the industry. o'they declare that
when normal production returns and
prices drop they will find themselves
face to face with high prices for their
raw material and high wages to their
employees.
Under threat of government prose-
cution," said Truman G. Palmer, beet
sugar expert, "the beet sugar refiners
in the west and middle west disposed
of their 1919 crop as rapidly as it was
refined, and at the government fixed
price of 101a cents. So there is no cor
ner as far as we are concerned.
There has been, however, appar-
emily great deal of individual hoard
ing on the part of householders which
has aggravated the situation for the
consumers who did not hoard. Also
there has been a great deal of specula-
ton in the way of resales, which the
offer made by the refiners to the gov
eminent is destined to correct know
OF one instance in which lot of sugar
which went on the Chicago market
was resold eleven times before it
reached the consumer each of the in
termediary brokers taking his profit
How general this is | cannot say.
"But that thRre is a real shortage is
perfectly patent from the figures The
beet sugar crop in this country last
year was 726,451 tons against 76O,95O
tons for 1918, and there was some drop
in the Louisiana cane crop. ! know
that the refiners in southern California
have recently paid farmers as high as
$40 to ton for sugar beets.
According TO Mr., Palmer, the yield
OF beet sugar in the United States this
summer Will be about 10000 or 2O0.-
600 tons more than the 1919 crop. ex-
ira large acreage being reported from
Michigan, Colorado and California, the
three principal beet sugar growing