Evening star., 1923-03-25
BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY G.. GOULD LINCOLN.
~ AMBLING in food products
for the purpose Of forcing
Y j exorbitant prices, or for the
! purpose of forcing down the
| price paid the producer. unfortunate
| ly, is not new in this country. But
| the recent rapid rise in the price OF
| sugar, which has come to be looked
| upon as necessity in American
| homes. has again brought to the at
/ tention of the American people the
evils of such gambling.
! Notwithstanding the fact that, ac-
| cording to the estimates Of the De-
! partment of Commerce there will be
/ a surplus of some 476,000 tons of
I, sugar the world over at the close
| of the present year, in the last few
| weeks the prices of sugar have been
forced up approximately cents a
| pound and sugar is now retailing
! around 10 and IL cents q pound
Blame Placed ON Gamblers.
| The claim has been made by big
! refiners and others that the increase
! in the price is due to gambling in
raw sugar, on the sugar market
| principally in New York. II the price
| Of sugar should remain at 10 cents
] q pound, the price to which it has
| been advanced in few weeks by
market manipulations. it is charged,
! il is estimated that the American
people will pay s300,00o,000 more for
| its sugar this year than had the
! price remained at Z cents. If the
| price should be forced still higher
! then the bill, naturally, would be still
| larger-or the American people would
use less sugar.
| Americans, il has been said in
| European countries in years gone
by. apparently like to be cheated.
and some European merchants en-
| deavored TO fulfill this desire to the
limit. But, whatever may have been
| said of Americans who Travelled
| abroad in the past, the people of
| this country today are fed UP on
| being compelled to pay millions and
| billions of dollars for necessities Of
| life-not because it cost more TO
produce those necessities, but because
certain persons dealing in those COM
modities had been bitten with the
"get-rich- quick" idea It is quite
| within the realm of possibility that
strenuous steps will be taken to put
an end to this robbing of the people
and that if further laws are needed
they will be enacted.
Sugar on Top of Coal.
The people are just emerging
| from a winter during which they
had to pay prices for coal that soar
| beyond the heights reached during
the war-and for inferior coal in
many cases. And now they are con-
fronted with the prospect of paying
much more for their sugar and, 1t
is said, that unless something is
done, sugar may touch 20 cents a
pound.
1t is true that sugar is not as es-
sential to life as coal. But sugar has
become an article of food which every
! man, woman and child regards as his
right. While they were willing to
deprive themselves of sugar during
the war so that the Army should
have its full ration. etc, they do not
look with favor now on the alterna-
tive Of paying high prices for sugar
or curtailing their consumption. II
is true that the people, by merely
) stopping the purchase of sugar, could
bring the prices tumbling. But the
!. %1n@ t.
why they should be compelled to de-
. prive themselves of this article OF
} food; that there should be some other
way of obtaining protection against
corners in sugar, in coal, etc.
Inquiry Proposed I'm Congress-.
Just before Congress closed-or
March 8, to be exact-Senator Brook
hart of Iowa republican progressive
introduced a resolution providing for
ian investigation by the Senate COM
mittee on manufactures of the rapiG
advance in the price of sugar. The
resolution was not acted upon, but
was referred to the committee or
contingent expenses of the Senate
| where 1t died 1t may be remarked
), Y
, tee on manufactures. headed by Sena
, tor La Toilette of Wisconsin, had jus
concluded a searching investigation
: of the manipulation Of prices of an
other commodity used in great guam
tity by the American people-gaso
line-and had reported that the price:
of oil and gas are controlled by the
big interests, and advanced at vii
by them.
But notwithstanding the fact thai
the Senate committee was deprived OF
the opportunity of investigating the
sugar gamblers, the demand upon the
executive department of the govern
ment to take up this question, made
through Basil NJ Manly of the peo-
pies legislative bureau, apparently
has had its effect. and agents of the
Department of. Justice already are
working on the matter.
/, More Law If Needed.
, Much will depend upon the manner
in which the matter is handled by
the Department of Justice as to
! whether there shall be a demand fol
; more stringent laws dealing with the
: gamblers in food products at the mex
, session OF Congress- If the execu.
tive departments find they are unable
to cope with the situation, or te
bring the gamblers to justice anc
prevent the manipulation of the mar.
, ket, 1t may be expected that demands
!, for legislation giving the govern
mem additional powers will be forth.
coning