Newspapers / The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, … / Jan. 29, 1918, edition 1 / Page 2
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AMERICAN SUGAR SENT TO FRANCE American Price Rigidly Regulated by United States Food Administration. CONSUMERS HERE PAY 9c. Sugar Cost 35 Cents a Pound During Civil War ? Refiners' Profit* Now Curtailed. Sugar la selling today throughout America at from 8V4 to b cents a pound to the consumer, even though there Is a world shortage which has reduced this nation s sugar allotment to 70 per cent, of normal. Through the efforts of the United States food administration the sugar market has been regulated as far as the producer, refiner and wholesaler Is concerned. The food administration has no power to regulate retail prices except by public opinion. Even though more than 85,000 tons of sugar have been shipped to France In the last four months the retail grocer's sugar price Is around 8 to 8% cents. He should sell this sugar at 8>? to fl cents, the food administration believes, and nsks the American housewife to pay no more than this amount Last August when the food admin istration was organized the price of sugar rose suddenly to 11 cents a pound. During the Civil War sugar cost the consumer 35 cents a pound. By regulation of the sugar market and reducing the price to 8% and 0 cents and keeping It from advancing to 110 cents the food administration has snv ed the American public at least $1K0, 000,000 In four months, according to a statement made by Herbert Hoover the other day. "It Is our stern duty to feed (he al lies, to maintain their health and strength at any cost to ourselves," Mr. Hoover declared. "There has not been, nor will U<* ns we see It, enough sugar for even their present meagre and depressing ration unless they send ships to remote markets for IL If we In our greed and gluttony force them either to further reduce their ration or to send these ships we will have, done damage to our abilities to win this war. "If we send the ships to Java for 250,000 tons of sugar next year we will have necessitated the em ployment of eleven extra ships for one year. These ships ? If used In 1 transporting troops ? would take 150,000 to 200,000 men to France." Reason for World Shortage. As Mr. Iloovor pointed out, the United States, Canada and England were sugar Importing countries before the war, while France and Italy were ?cry nearly self supporting. The main sources of the world's sugar supply : was Germany and i?clghborlng powers, I the West Indie* and the East Indies. German sugar Is no longer available, as It Is used entirely In Germany, which also absorbs sugar of surround ing countries. England can no longer buy 1,400,000 long tons of sugar each year from Germany. The French sugar produc tion has dropped from 75Q.OOO to 210, 000 tons. The Italian production lias fallen from 210,000 tons to 75,000 tons. Thus three countries were thrown upon East and West Indian sources for 1,925,000 tons annually to maintain their normal consumption. Because of the world's shipping shortage the allied nations started drawing on the West Indies for sugar ; East Indian sugar took three times the number of ships, since the dis tance was three times as great. Sud denly the west was called on to fur nish and did furnish 1,420,000 tons of sugar to Europe when 300.000 tons n year was the pre-war demand. The allies had drawn from Java 400,000 tons before the shipping situation be came acute. "In spite of these shipments," Mr. Hoover stated the other day, "the English government In August reduced the household sugar ration to a basis of 9.4 pounds per annual per capita. And In September the French govern ment reduced their household ration to 13 2-10 pounds a year, or a bit over 1 pound of sugar a month. Even this .meagre ration could not be filled by I the French government It was found j ? early In the fall. America was then asked for 100.000 tons of sugar and succeeded In sending 85.000 tons by ; December 1. The French request was j granted because the American house hold consumption was then at least 5!5 pounds per person, and It was consid ered the duty of maintaining the French morale made our course clear." j Today the sugar situation may be summarized by stating that If America will reduce Its sugar con sumption 10 to 15 per cent, this t nation will be able to send 200.000 ! more soldiers to France. Sugar today soils at seaboard re . fineries at $7.25 a hundred pounds. The wholesale grocer has agreed to limit his profit to 25 cents a hundred plus freight, and the retail grocer is supposed to take no more than 50 cents , a hundred pounds profit. This regu I latlon was made by the food adminis tration, which now asks the housewife to reduce sugar consumption as much as possible, using other sweeteners, and also reminds her that she should pay no more than 9 cents a pound for sugar. Control of Cane Refiners" Profits. "Immediately upon the establish ment of the food administration," Mr. Hoover Bald, "an examination was made of the costs aud profits of refin ing and it was finally determined that the spread between the cost of raw nnd t lie sale of refined cane augur should be limited to $1.30 per hundred pounds. The pre-war differential had uveraged about 8."S cents und Increased costs were found to have been Impos ed by the war in Increased cost of re fining, losses, cost of bags, labor, Insur- I ance, Interest and other tilings, rather | more than cover the difference. After prolonged negotiations the refiners were placed under agreement estab lishing these limits on October 1, and anything over this amount to be agreed extortionate under the lajv. "In the course of these Investiga tions It was found by canvass of the | Cuban producers thnt their sugar had, during the first nine months of the | past year, sold for an average of about KM per hundred f. o. h Cuba, to which duty and freight added to the refiners' cost amount to about $!VG<1 per hundred. The average sale price of grnnulated by various refineries, ac cording to our Investigation, was about $7.r?0 per hundred, or a differential of $1.84. "In reducing the differential to $1.30 there wns a saving to the public of M cents per hundred. TTad such a dif ferential been In use from the 1st of January, 1017, the public would havo j Saved In the first nine months of the year about $24,800,000." Next Year. With a view to more efficient organ ization of the trade In Imported sugars next year two committees have been formed by the food administration: 1. A committee comprising repre sentatives of ull of the elements of American cane refining groups. The principal duty of this committee is to divide the sugnr imports pro rata to their various capacities und see that absolute Justice Is done to every re liner. 2. A committee comprising three rep resentatives of the English, French and Itullan governments; two repre sentatives of the American refiners, I with a member of the food admlnlstra tion. Only two of the committee have arrived from Europe, but they repre- ' sent the allied governments. The du ties^of this committee are to determine the most economical sources from a transport point of view of all the al lies to arrange transport at uniform rates, to distribute the foreign sugar between the United Stntes and allies, subject to the approval of the Ameri can, English, French and Italiun gov ernments. Tills committee, while holding strong views as to the price to be paid for Cuban sugar, has not hnd the final voice. This voice has rested In the governments concerned, together with" the Cuban government, and 1 wish to state emphatically that all of the gen tlemen concerned as good commercial men have endeavored with the utmost patience nnd skill to secure a lower price, nnd their persistence, has re duced Cuban demands by 15<#ents per hundred. The price agreed upon is ahftut $4.00 per hundred pounds, f. o. b. Cuba, or equal to about $0 duty paid New York. "This price should eventuate," Mr. Hoover said, "to about $7.30 per hundred for refined sugar from the refiners at seaboard points or should place sugar in the hands of the consumer at from 8'/2 to 9 cents per pound, depending upon locality and conditions of trade, or at from 1 to 2 cents below the prices of August last and from one half to a cent per pound cheaper than today. "There la now an elimination of 8peculatlon, extortionate profits, and In the refining alone the American people will Have over $25,000,000 of the refining charges last year. A part of these savings goes to the Cuban, Hawaiian, Porto Klcan and Ixmslanlan producer and part to the consumer. "Appeals to prejudice ugaiust the food administration have been made because the Cuban price is 34 cents above that of 1917. It Is said In effect that the Cubans are at our mercy; that we could get sugar a cent lower. We made exhaustive study of the cost of producing sugar in Cuba last year through our own agents Id Cuba, and we find It averages $3.31), while many producers are at a higher level. We found that an average profit of at least a cent per pound was necessary In order to maintain and stimulate production or that a minimum price of $4.37 was necessary, aud even this would stifle some producers. "The price ultimately agreed was 23 cents above these figures, or nbout one fifth of a cent per po'ind to the Ameri can consumer, and more than this amount has been saved by our reduc tion In refiners' profits. If we wish to stifle production in Cuba we could take that course Just ?t the time of all times In our history when we want production for ourse'ves and the al lies. Further than that, the state de partment will assure vou that such a course would produce disturbances In Cuba and destroy even our present supplies, but beyond aU these material reasons Is one of huuu.n Justice. This great country has no right by the might of Its position to strangle Cuba. "Therefore there in no Imposition upon the American public. Charges have been made before this commit tee that Mr. Rolph enleavored to ben efit the California refiaery of which he was manager by this 84 cent increase In Cuban price. Mr. Itolph did not fix the price. It does raise the price to the Hawaiian farmer about that amount. It does not raise the profit of the California refiner y, because their charge for refining Is, like all other re finers. limited to $1,110 per hundred pounds plus the freight differential on the estpMished custon. of the trade. "Mr. Rolph has not t ne penny of In terest In that refinery * CORN WILL WIN I DEMOCRACY'SWAR | America's Greatest Cereal Crop Is Now Moving to Market. MAINSTAY IN NATION'S CRISIS. 8urplua Wheat of the United States Has Been Sent to Famine Threat ened Europe. America's great corn crop, exceed ing 3,000,000,000 bushels, will save the worlds food situation, officials of the United States food administration be lieve. Corn Is the nation's host food cereal, housewives are beginning to realize. It contains all the elements needed to keep the body In a state of health and when used according to the scores -of tried recipes, especially when com bined with an added portion of oil or fat, will sustain life indefinitely. In dian warriors in colonial days lived on parched corn alone for many days at a time, and at Valley Forge parched corn was at times the sole ration of the Continental ?ofdiers. Owing to transportation difficulties caused by the war the corn crop moved more slowly to market this year than ever before. Now, however, the cereal is reaching the millers and consumers. In the meantime the nation's surplus j wheat has been sent to Europe. Today there are approximately 30 j bushels of corn for every American. This quantity is greater by live bush els than In former years. Corn has become the nation's main stay in the crisis of war. Just as this cereal saved the first ! American colonists from famine on many occasions. Just as It served as a j staple food during the War of the Rev olution and during the Civil War, King Corn has again come to the front in the nation's batMe with autocracy. Corn meal is finding greatly increas- ' ! ed use In tl}e making of ordinary white ] i bread. Hundreds of housewives and i many of the larger bakers are mixing j | 20 per cent, corn meal with wheat flour to make leavened bread. This i kind of a mixture is worked and baked In the same recipes and with the- same methods that apply to straight wheat bread. Corn bread ? using corn meal entire ly ? is gaining a greater popularity than ever before. Housewives ara coming to realize that every pound of wheat saved In America means a pound of wheat released for shipment to the nations with which America Is associ ated In the war. There are a score of core products that today possess unusual importance for Americans. Corn syrup for sweet ening corn cakes and buckwheat cakes and for use In the kitchen Instead of granulated sugar is one of the leading products made from corn. Corn oil, excellent for frying and for every other purpose filled by salad oils, Is appearing on the market in large quantities. It comes from the germ of the corn. MADE-IN-GERMANY LIES CIRCULATED IN CANADA Canada Is also having trouble with Made-ln-Germnny lies calculated to hinder Canadian food conservation ac cording to an official statement re ceived from the Canadian food con troller by the United States food ad ministration. The stories bothering Canada are of the same general character as those the United States food administra tor recently denounced In this coun try, such as the ridiculous salt and blueing famine fakes and the report that the government would seize housewives' stocks of home canned goods. The Canadian food controller esti mates that when the people listen to and pass on such stories, each one has the power of destruction that lies in a battalion of soldiers. "Stories without even a vestige of foundation have been scattered broad cast," said the Canadian statement "Nor have they come to life casually. They have started simultaneously In different parts of the country and In each instance have been calculated to arouse public Indignation. "They are Insidious, subtle, persist ent Bit by bit they dissipate public trust, the great essential In the work of food control. "It lies with every Individual to for bear from criticism ; to refrain from passing on the vagrant and harmful story, and thus the more effectively to co-operate In work which is goiinr to mean more than the majority of people yet realize." THE UNITED STATES FOOD ADMINISTRATION SAYS: There is no royal road to food conservation. We can only ac complish this by the voluntary action of our whole people, each element In proportion to its means. It is a matter of equality of bur den; a matter of minute saving and substitution at every point in the 20.000.000 kitchens, on the 20, 000.000 dinner tables, and in the 2,000.0&9 manufacturing, whole sale and retail establishments of the country. NEED 37,500 NURSES 1,000 Per Cent Increase Is Sought by Government. Nurses Being Called for Duty to Meet Needs of the United States Army. Washington. ? Thirty -seven thousand five hundred nurses will be needed In the army nurse corps of the medical department, uccordlng to present esti mates based on an army of 1,500,000 men. The present strength of the corps Is about 3,800. Increasing the enrollment by nearly 1,000 per cent In a year Is the task confronting the corps. Daily numbers of nurses are being called for to meet Immediate needs In army hospitals In the United States and for duty overseas. The pres ent rate of enrollment does not meet the demands. Hospitals at National Guard and National army camps still need 371 nurses to bring the quotas of all up to the minimum considered necessary ? 65 each. In order to get the enrollments up to the needed number some of the re quirements heretofore imposed are be ing waived. According to estimates of the nursing committee of the general medical board of the council of nation al defense, there are between 80,000 and 90,000 registered nurses in the country and about 200,000 other gradu ate and practical nurses. Just as soon as immediate needs of cantonment hospitals have been cared for a reserve of 100 nurses will be or ganized for emergency service in the United States. Lakewood hotel, Lake wood, N. J., has been leased by the government for use as a general hospi tal for the army and provisions will be made for housing the reserve nurs es there. This hotel has not yet been turned over to the war department, but will be in a week or so. The nec essary alterations will be made as soon as practicable and the 100 nurses for the reserve will be needed in addition to the permanent nursing staff of the hospital. if trtrfiij i: ? ??? frCrtrt! -Cr-ttirfrtt I WHAT? BAKE BEANS SANS : PORK? IT CAN'T BE DONE i Boston. ? After acquiescing ^ In "meatless Tuesdays and Frl- *? days" and "lightless Thursdays and Sundays," the housewives of this city are rebelling against "porkless Saturday." They are willing to forego roasts of pork, chops and ham and even bacon, but ? How can on& cook the famous Puritan standby, baked beans, without the generous cut of pork snugly nestling in the dish? It can't be done. So baked beans with the pork graces many a supper table these Sat urday nights, and they will right along until Washington sets Its inventing geniuses to work solv- ** ing the question of porkless baked beans. ?it SENDS ONLY SON TO WAR Widow in Straitened Circumstances, Sacrifices Her Sole Support In Cause of Humanity. Denver, Colo. ? Although widowed and In straitened circumstances, Mrs. Clara Doss Burrows, one of the few living descendants of the famous Adams family, urged her only son, Earl Gardner Doss, to enlist for service in Uncle Sam's fighting forces. The young man Is now at the Mare Island Marine corps training station. Young Doss' great-grandfather, Eli jah Adams, was among the leaders of the Mohawks, who staged the historic "tea party" in Boston Harbor just prior to the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, Gardner Adams, was a cousin of President John Quincy Adams, and fought in the United States navy throughout the war of 1812. The boy's uncle, another John Quincy Adams, brother of Mrs. Bur I rows, was with the Union forces in the Civil war. Mrs. Burrows sacrificed her sole sup port when young Doss enlisted, but, although she is aged, she declared she would "manage to survive," and was proud that hor son had voluntarily of fered his services in the cause of hu manity. "An Adams couldn't do less," she said. PARROT SCARES BURGLAR OFF Raucous Voice From an Adjoining Room Causes Negro to Take to His Heels. Trenton, N. J. ? Rebecca Girman was reading comfortably in the parlor. She heard shambling, heavy footsteps on the Icy porch, and the bell jingled per emptorily. As the woman opened the door in response to the ring, a negro roughly pushed her aside, flung pepper into her eyes, and leveled an automatic pun at her. "Just one yell and I shoot!" he warned her. "What language! What language 1 Leave the room, leave the room in stantly !" yelled a raucous voice In the next room. The negro obeyed in all haste and has not been soett since, although the police br.ve been hunting for him. The voice which frightened him away was a parrot's. ] Electric Bulbs 1 I carry a complete line of Sterling Mazda Quality | Electric Bulbs 2 From 10- Watt to 200- Watt Size 3 STANDARD PRICES. I B. W. SUGG ^ Smithfield, - - North Carolina J Shop in rear of SPIERS BROS. and Good Cheer ?o together like Possum and Sweet Potatoes "When It Pours, It Reigns' ==) !..?*! A Utiw I BECAUSE Luzianne makes the best-tasting cup of coffee you ever drank. It's roasted just right. The fragrance ? you can't forget it. And the flavor is delicious. Coffee-lovers know that Luzianne just hits tho spot, for it's full of punch and pep. If you don't think that this good old Luzianne is worth what you paid, then tell your grocer and he'll give you back every cent. A good Dictionary Is needed in every home. We have them at prices ranging from 35 cents to $1.50. HERALD BOOK STORE Smithfield, N. C.
The Smithfield Herald (Smithfield, N.C.)
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Jan. 29, 1918, edition 1
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