Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-13
GENERAL SHORTAGE
|OF FOOD AS RESULT
|OF DROUGHT DENIED
Government to Fight Attempts
to Profiteer on General
Damage Claims.
PLENTY OF SUPPLIES
FOR CANNING AVAILABLE
President Confers With Hyde and
La Guardia on Means Of Keep
ing Prices Normal.

There is no general shortage of food
Stuffs in prospect, there is no occasion
to boost the prices of canned food
stuffS and there is no reason why the
housewife should overstock her larder
with canned goods for fear Of rising
market this Winter.
This was the consensus today of lead.
ing Capital chain store executives,
backed by q statement from Secretary
of Agriculture Arthur M. Hyde.
In the meanwhile, 1t was made
known at the White House that every
effort would be made to curb any
profiteering in foodstuffs due to the
emergency.
Just what action the Federal Gov
eminent could take against profiteering
of this kind has not been determined.
This would be left to the Department
of Justice if conditions warrant. The
department can act where there is an
attempt to fix prices through an agree
ment of two or more food dealers and
can act where there Is evidence of an
attempt to form monopoly of any food
stuff. Whatever action of this kind
taken by the Government would be
under regulations of the Sherman anti
trust law, the Clayton act or the inter-
state commerce act.
Acting on reports that storekeepers
throughout the Capital and the drought
affected States are advising housewives
to lay in large supplies of canned goods
to hold against a rise in the market
later on this year, both the Secretary
Of Agriculture and the chain store ex-
ecutives said they saw no cause for
alarm over the footstuff situation as q,
result Of the drought.
No General Shortage.
Mr.. Hyde said there was some little
shortage of green vegetables in certain
localities, but no general shortage, in
try, not affected by the drought, will
be able to supply the drought-ridden
States with all the foodstuffs they need
at prices not out of line with these now
being received. -
Secretary Hyde today saw actual dam
ger in great rush of buying of canned
good encourf 1lng attempts of individ.
uals to Great corners" in canned goods,
and SO raise the prices on the basis Of
| supply and demand.
The general opinion of the chain
store heads here was that while some
States particularly those in the section
about the Capital, will not produce their
share of canning vegetables and fruit
this year, the drought in this and other
sections has encouraged the farmers of
other sections, not hit by the lack Of
AcAAAB W PA0AAt Aa1 SC1 4QduG1tlCS Vi CdIl-
ming vegetables and fruits to compen-
safe for the non-producing areas.
Where short crop in a certain lo-
callty limits the pack OF vegetables and
fruit, notably in the case of cheap can
ned corn in this section, the consumer
will have to pay q slightly higher price
rejecting the added freight charge
necessary to get the product into this
section, the chain store men say. But,
they point out, the public does not have
to eat corn-tnere are other vegetables
In the same class. the pack of which
has been normal this year and the price
OF which will not be advanced.
Sees No Danger.
Edward G. Yonker, president Of the
| Sanitary Grocery Co., Inc, today
stated emphatically that he saw no
reason for alarm on the consumers
| part over the foodstuff supply situation.
With the carry-over of last years
! heavy pack of canned goods the vege-
tables that were packed in the drought
| section before the drought came, and
with the immense acreage to be given
over to canning vegetables and fruit
when the next planting is done, the
| situation offers no alarming aspect,
Mr.. Yonker believes.
As a result he and the heads of
the four other large chain store or
SdA1A1dtIOLAS AL OIAC C1by AAdEC Ac1IuCIcu
! their employees not to advise house,
holders to buy up supplies OF canned
goods, not to give their customers any
market outlook whatever
MIR. Yonker has written the man
ayers of all his stores the following:
Our instructions are that you shall
not endeaVor to secure business on the
basis that there is likely to be a short
age of merchandise on account OF
weather conditions We are perfeCtlV
willing to sell a customer anything and
everything he wants to buy, but If you
are asked as to the possibility of short
age, tell them that neither you nor my
self are able to predict what is going
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