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Show IlI-HE FOOD BOYCOTT, FEDERAL PUN Investigator Suggests Cooperation Co-operation by Public as Sure Means of Breaking Break-ing High Prices. PROBE OF CAUSES TO BE CONTINUED Inadequate Laws, However, May Handicap Successful Prosecution of Respon-sible Respon-sible Speculators. By International News Service. WASHINGTON, D. C, Dec. 9. The department of justice tonight practically practi-cally confessed its helplossness in reducing re-ducing the cost of living by legal process and appealed to the people of the United States to join in a nationwide nation-wide boycott against high priced foods. Federal District Attorney George W. ! Anderson of Boston, chiof food price I investigator for the government, in a j statement tonight declared that if the people of the country -will co-operate in boycotting the foods which the speculators specu-lators have run up to prohibitive prices the back of the high cost of living will break within a week. The measure advocated ad-vocated by Anderson constitutes probably prob-ably the largest boycott declaration in the history of the country. After consulting with Secretary of Agriculture Houston and his scientist associates, Mr. Anderson declared that the people should buy such foods us rice, cornmeal and other highly nutritive nutri-tive but low priced commodities. The same advice is given by Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, one of the foremost food experts ex-perts in the country. Dr. Wiley says the United States wastes enough food to support Germany, and advocates municipal mu-nicipal food dispensaries to cut the living liv-ing COBt. Proceedings Go On. Declaration of the nation-wide boycott boy-cott by the government's chief investigator investi-gator will not halt proceedings against speculators, however. Attorney General Gen-eral Gregory gave Mr. Anderson free rein today in ordering grand jury investigations, in-vestigations, and Mr. Anderson announced an-nounced that lie will call such inquiries by the middle of next week in New York, Chicago and Detroit. Other grand jury proceedings may be expected in Cleveland, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Kansas City and other middle western points, Frank M. Swacker was retained today by Mr, Gregory as a special assistant as-sistant in charge of the New York City inquiry, which will turn largelv on coal supplies. Mr. Swacker won distinction as an investigator in the New Haven cases, in which ho was retained by the government. Mr. Anderson said tonight that the peoplo should not expect too much to bo done in the way of apprehendiug speculators. Laws Inadequate. Ho declared that the laws under which the proceedings can be instituted are inadequate and strongly intimated that chief reliance for relief from the present pres-ent food -price situation must be the boycott for which ho appealed. Considerable evidence has been procured, pro-cured, said Mr. Anderson, regarding the operation of food and coal "car sharks." Most of them are brokers in large cities. Their method is to order carloads car-loads of coal or food, Lave it shipped to within a short distance of their city and then hold it there, paying car demurrage de-murrage if necessary, until prices rise. Then the cars arc brought in and the freights sold at the appreciated prices. These speculators can be best reached through a boycott, says Mr. Anderson. His advice is : "Buy nothing at panic prices. Buy only the cheap foods." |