Evening star., 1946-10-27
Maritime Strike
End Will Bring
More.SugarHere
! Bakeries Expect Relief
By Thursday; OPA
Extends Sugar Stamps

End of the maritime strike, which
has tied up large quantities of sugar
at East Coast ports, will bring re-
lief to Washington bakeries by
Thursday and will avert further cur
tailment of baking operations, in
Gustry officials predicted last night.
And with the possibility that con-
sumers also may benefit by in
creased sugar shipments. OPA yes
terday granted housewives another
80 days to use their canning sugar
stamps.
Spare stamps Nos. 9 and 10, each
good for five pounds of sugar, will
continue valid through November
80. They were to expire at the end
of this month. The regular sugar
coupon, spare stamp No. 81. re-
mains valid for five pounds of sugar
until the end of this year.
Bakeries Buy Beet Sugar.
Meanwhile, it was learned that
two of the city's largest bakeries
have taken advantage of the Gov
ernment decision to pay extra
transportation to get beet sugar into
the East and each have ordered
10000 pounds.
For one bakery, this will be a
two-weeks' supply based on their
present reduced operations. The
second estimates it will be a Is to
20-day supply, also figuring on cur
tailed operations. t
This sugar, however, is not ex-
pected here before. a week or 10
days, it was said.
The first measure of relief will
come this week, bakers said, when
sugar from Cuba and Puerto Rico
that had been tied up at United
States ports starts to move. Some
of it may have to be refined, which
will require an additional few days.
Other quantities are believed to be
refined at the islands and, there
fore, should be available by midweek
or little later.
One bakery yesterday laid of
90 persons in its cake department
because of the sugar shortage, but
an official said they should be re-
called just as soon as sugar supplies
arrive.
May Avoid Price Increase.
The industry here was still hope
full of avoiding a price increase In
bread and other products even
though shortening prices have sky
rocketed and -four has risen slight
ly in price. This was to be the
subject of a meeting of the Wash
ingtop Retail Bakers Association
Tuesday night.
This problem likewise drew
statement from the Millers' National
Federation last night. Herman
Staen, secretary, declared that pub
Lie anticipation of sharp retail bread
price increases, based solely on high
er -four costs, has no basis in fact. "
Flour prices, he claimed, have
risen only an average of Is to go
cents a hundred pounds for vari-
Gus grades since the end of cell
ings on flour earlier this week.
ANY rises that may occur will
reflect an increase of considerably
less than one cent for the -four that
goes into loaf of bread" Mr.. Steen
said.
Larger Size Bread.
Consumers can expect the larger
lTnss1 So 4ssM sIua JsoI pesIq szIs
of Yesterdays order by the District
Department of Weights and Meas
tires directing return to the 10
ounce loaf. ....
This followed Fridays decision OF
the Government to drop it's restric-
tions, on manufacture and dlstr1bu-
ton of bakery products. They were
instituted during the extensive fam
inc relief campaign last spring and
summer
Bread loaves have been 10 per cent
smaller since spring.
In taking the sugar stamp action,
OPA said the extension will permit
housewives who have been unable to
obtain home canning sugar to finish
putting up the last fruits OF the
canning season."
Sugar is the only food still ra-
toned and one of the few food COM