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Show OBJECT, OF ATTACK BY SPRECKELS War Probe of Congress Into the Food and Fuel Administration Opens in Spectacular Fashion With Independent Indepen-dent Refiner as Chief Witness. NO SHORTAGE IN SUPPLY OF SUGAR American Company and . Those in Control Are Charged With Being "Hand in Glove," to the Detriment of the Trade and the Con-suming Con-suming Public of the United States. By International News Service. WASHINGTON, Dec. 14. In spec-4 spec-4 tabular fashion congress has swung its war probe spotlight full on the food and fuel admiuistration. I Out of a few hours of testimony to- day tho special subcommittee of the senate committee on manufactures brought forth sensational testimony to indict tbo administration of Herbert C. Hoover. (Tans A. Spreckels, president of trc Federal Suar Unfitting company, rliarpred bluntly that the food administration adminis-tration was working hand in glove with tho sugar trust in tho administration of the suiar problem of the country. The charge was but one of many sensational sen-sational utterances made on the witness slaml. A ft or lonf erenco this evening , with subordinate officials, Mr. Hoover lot it be known that he will not Tcply to Mr. Sprivkels unless he is summoned to testify before tho house committee. Senator Reed tonight at the closo of a penes of startling rovelations before li is subeommit too. announced that he had telegraphed Governor .lames Cox of Ohio, in i ting him to ')i?hington to api'Cii.r in the coal probe. It is hoped lie Oitn reuch the city for Monday's session. ses-sion. Senator Keod 's conuuit tee plans to use the Garfield Cox cnnl tVud as a wditre with which to open up tho entire subject of coal shortage. Targets for Sprockets. .Herbert C. Hoover, food administratis administra-tis tor, and George M. Rolpli, head of the sngjir division of the food administration, administra-tion, but formerly of the f'nli forma-"Hawaii Sug:tr licfiuing company, were the two special turrets of Mr. Sprorkels today. to-day. They will have a chanee later to rcplv to his st a t emeuts. "V'hat is coimuouly or perhaps vulgarly vul-garly known hj the sugar trust T' asked Senator Hoed, in opening the investigation. investiga-tion. . 'Tho American .Sugar Refining company,' com-pany,' answered Mr. Sprnckcls. "It owns five companies of the twenty-one refining sugar in this country, and controls con-trols about 40 per cent, of the stock of the other principal ones.' 4 ' What companies are outside the trust?" asked Senator Reed. "Practically nil are affiliated with it . ' ' said Spreokcls. ''There is an understanding betweeu them,'' said Senator Vardamau. "1 think so,1' Sprockets replied. Outlines Situation. At Senator Reed's request. Spreckels then outlined the sugar situation as to Victual availnble sugar there is for the refineries. There is now, he declared, about l..''J3.000 tons over and above last year's supply for world uses. The Cuban crop is larger than ever before. , and the American doficionov, if there is any, would not be more than ISO.Oi'O tons, he said. The crop now coming into the markers, he said, is about Odp.noo tons larger than ever before. Consumption Consump-tion in Kngiand and Krance has do-creased do-creased about oil per cent, but the neutral neu-tral consumption is about as usual he added. t "'Then.'' asked Senator Reed, "what would you say as to a world short a "o of sugar supplies?" fc No World Shortage. "The is no shortage," declared Spreckels emphatically. . He then described "the formation of (f the sugar division of the food administration. adminis-tration. Three commit tees were ap- ( Continued on Page Four.) I(MR IS OBJECT OF FIERCE ATTACK (Continued from Page One.) pointed to work with Mr. Ttolph, he said. An international committee with Karl Babst, head of the American Sugar Refinery company, as chairman, and two other Americans and two Englishmen English-men a.s members, was formed to allot supplies to the various countries. A national committee was formed to distribute dis-tribute American supplies with Mr. Uolph as; chairman, to apportion raw sugar to the refiners. A refiners com-; mittcc was also - organized, of which Spreekcls was a member. Copy of Agreement. As the final step in the preliminary process, Mr. Spreckels produced a copy ! of the agreement between all the refiners re-finers on one side and the food administration admin-istration on the other. Senator Heed read it, emphasizing that section, which stipulates no "refiner shall buy or import im-port raw sugar without the sanction of the international committee. The international committee, Sprcck-els Sprcck-els said, was also to set prices. "Have you or any other refiners had anything "to do with fixing prices?" asked Senator Reed. "No," Spreckels replied. With this groundwork laid, Senator Reed turned attention to two , sugar; sources, Cuba and Louisiana. Cuban sugar held for higher prices at the plantations, plan-tations, was not used to relieve the supposed sup-posed shortage in this country, Spreck-els Spreck-els said. A price of $6.90 per hundred had been fixed for imported sugar; he added. Canadians Pay More. "Canadians, not bound by our price agreement, paid more for this Cuban sugar than we could pay," he testified. Several refineries shut down, including the federal company plant, Mr. Sprockets Sprock-ets said, because the international committee com-mittee refused to let them compete with the Canadians on prices. "We offered to buy at the higher price and sell at the figures fixed by the food administration," Spreckels declared. de-clared. "If you could pay a higher price now could you open your refinery?" asked Senator Reed. "Not at once," he answered. "Much of the supply has gone abroad and it would take time to get the raw product here." There are still about 900.000 tons of old raw sugar unused, Spreckels continued. con-tinued. Why Spreckels Objected. Senator "Reed asked whether Spreckels had objected to various steps taken by the food administration, lie also in-: j quired whether he had opposed the ! j selection of Mr. Uolph as nead of the! sugar division. "1 objected when Mr. Roiph became head of the division and a member of rue i wo oi iuht luummu', opreciv-cls opreciv-cls said. "Because he was a rival?" ; ' Yes. ' Turning to t he Txmlsiana deal, by which the American Sugar Refining company com-pany got lOn.oot tons of raw sugar with which to relieve ihe so-called shortage, Spreckels declared that the pale was arranged ar-ranged by Mr. Itolph. Mr. Hoover and John TI. Parker, food administrator of 1 .ouisiana, in consultation with Karl X). fiabst, acting for the American .Sugar Refinery Re-finery company but not for the international interna-tional committee. "No other refineries knew of the deal." said Spreckels, "until it was published in the press." When be and other refiners charged the food administration with bad i faith in violating- the agreement as re- ! parda allotment of supplies they were told they, too, could buy sugar in Lxuisi- Hall" oT the 100. ono tons bought by Rahst. Sp rook els said, was at ?6.ft5 per hundred and half of it at ?S.15. He wired Louisiana planters and othor refiners alHO wired, he said, offering $6.35. The American Amer-ican Supar KefiniiiR company, he said, thereupon raised the price for the second half oi its purchase to ?S.:ir and the Independent In-dependent refiners learned they could pet nothing from the planters. Not in the Deal. "For the snjror division to secure this suivar solely for .the American Suprar Re-f Re-f iinnp company wms to me to he a ma i ter of bnd faith. We are virtually asked by Mr. Rolph to close down. Our competitors arc in a position to command com-mand the market for a long1 time," Mr. Snreckels wrote to Hoover in October. He added a protest apaiust Rolph. saying hf "used his every effort to divert control con-trol o:' the ma rket s and the supply of siiLrar to tho hands of the American Sugar Refining company." "I am now informed that the old New York office of ilu American Sugar Refining Re-fining company, 111 Wall street, is the office of the food administration in New YWork," he said, "and that there is a privati- telt'iii'.orie line running from the office of tiie I.'nilcd States food administration admin-istration to this office. Kvery employee in the Now York office of the fuud administration ad-ministration from tiie office boys up are ex-employees of the American Sugar Refining Re-fining company." Si - na : or I .odge thru desi - ri bed ' lie suga r si t na t ii 'i in New Kngl; i nd :is hei ni very ": iics. "I i.; 'iders i a nd tii;i t l ie-1! sut:ar . ii- Peiiii;' sciu to relieve ilie siliiaiion." he said. "Tt is from Hawaii. What is the price on it?" "It is ?7.25 a hundred in San Francisco, Fran-cisco, but $S.25 east of Buffalo," Spreckels Spreck-els replied. "Who fixed that?" "Rolph." Kurly in October. Spreckels added, there were about IIO.OOO tons of Hawaiian suar on the Pacific coast, of which about 70,000 belonged to Rolph's old company, com-pany, the California-Hawaiian. The price at which this gugar had been purchased was so much lower, lie said, that Rolph's company stood to make ?l,50i),ou0 on reselling re-selling at SS.2T'. Earl 1. Babst. who attended the session ses-sion t of lay. issued a statement tonight in defense of tiie purchase of .Louisiana sugar. "The purchase of Louisiana sugars," he said, "like Philippine and Hawaiian sugars, is specifically excepted from the Hoover contract . with refiners. Those sugars, therefore, are not under the control con-trol of the international committee. With this made clear, the offer to purchase Louisiana sugar will be seen to have her n entirely Ui order." Much of the amount refined to date Iium been used in New Kngland, he added. Mr. Babst will take the stand in a few days. |