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Show RED GDITfil GF SlIGffl PRICES Licenses to Be Revoked by Government When the Dealers Profiteer. WASHINGTON, Aug. 21. Active control con-trol of sugar prices was resumed today by the government, through an agreement agree-ment reached between the department of justice and the food administration that licenses will be revoked by the latter when it is shown that dealers have been profiteering. Sugar should reach the consumer at approximately Jl cents a pound, it was i announced, based on the ownership of the j entire domestic and Cuban crop by the I United States sugar equalization board, which is selling to refiners at 7.28 cents 1 a pound. Refiners are under contract with I the board to sell at S) cents, JesH pcr i cent discount for cash ; wholesalers and jobbers are allowed a maximum of cents per K0 pounds for handling, and retailers re-tailers are permitted a profit of j to 1 u, cents per pound, making a fair price n cents, cxcv.pt in cases where df-aiers have purchased at an "unreasonable" priced due to misunderstanding in t lie i rade! When this is a fact, a reasonable ad-va ad-va nee over the act ual cost will be per-niitted. per-niitted. With (he house agriculture committee's amendment for extension of the pow-rs of the food-cmiro act before M, the house tonight was prepa red to take a.c-iiou a.c-iiou tomorrow on the amendment and thereby ma ke its first e ; fMif ive f- f --n town rd beating oown living cost s. The amend n I'm I . v hich was report erj to the house tod a y i,y a u ua n imous vote, i n-cludcr n-cludcr retailers among thof.-e liable under the food -com ro! a-t, and its enact men t along wiib tlie control exercised over f-ugar, officials b-li'-e- will do much to curtail profiteering by r'-tai!eT-s. "Our desire is to secure a fair price fo,- j the consumer." -n, Ariorney General' J-'a ItiifT in a n noijii'-j rig re.ii i n pf io n of su -gar control, nd we do not wish lo pursue pur-sue a wholesale policy of rcommend .ng the canc.-ii;;'.,on of lie.-,feS. Where trade adjusts i'self to a fair price for th'- fn-tu'-e. prt-t transactions, unl-' -- fiaurant, (Continued on Page 2, Column 5.) HEW CONTROL OF SB PIES ( Continued Ficm Pare Oue.) will n;-t ordinarily bo made the basis of a recommendation by this department for the cancellation of the license." Makes Startling- Admission OMAHA, Nob., Aug. I!L Charles O. Trim Me, produce commission merchant, testifying as the first witness in the state's inquiry into marketing conditions, admitted today that seven commission merchants of Omaha and Council Blufis meet, m his office daily and decide upon purchases of fruits and vegetables, placing; a sing.e order and then dividing the shipment ship-ment on a percentage basis, fie said that these firms hand.e probably 50 per cent of the business in Omaha, and that practically practi-cally all of their purchases of deciduous fruits, vegcia Mes and berries are pur-i pur-i chased through this "pool." J-lo denied that the purchase agreement extends to sale prices, declaring that the competition compe-tition of outsiders prevents any such combination. LIVESTOCK MEN OPPOSED TO PLAN, WITNESS DECLARES WASHINGTON, Aug. 21. Livestock producers object to legislation proposing restriction of the packing industry, Henry W. Lynch, representing California and Arizona stockmen, toid the senate agriculture committee today. "Wo feel that the packing Industry is the marketing' end of our business," he said, "and that the Kenyou bill would tend to demoralize and hamper it. The bill is entirely destructive, and at present, with prices falling on our steers, it will cripple us further." "Suppose evidence here showed that during the last year they hoarded hides for higher prices, would you think then they needed regulation V" asked Senator Smith, Democrat, Georgia. "I don't know much about that." "Well, suppose it appeared that tho five had combined to control the price paid for livestock, would you want them regulated?" regu-lated?" "Yes, certainly," Lynch said. He added that the idea in the Kenyon bill seemed to be to build up the small independents at the expense of the larger packers, which, he said; would be bad, because the larger concerns, by utilizing by-products, could- pay more for live cattle and yet sell meat cheaper. "But do they do so?" asked Senator Wadsworth, Republican, New York. "Yes, on the coast." Lewis H. Harvey of Jacksonville, Fla., representing the Southern Wholesale Grocers' Gro-cers' association, appeared in behalf of the Kenyon bill. He said the dominance of the five big packers was founded on their "possession of certain economic advantages, ad-vantages, not their efficiency and service." ser-vice." Harvey expressed the opinion that low profits advertised by the large packers were not fairly stated, and added: "They juggle their business around make one line of products carry the costs a while, and then another does it." Existence of independent packers, Harvey Har-vey said, was explained by their being permitted "to stay to prevent appearance of monopoly." Senator Wadsworth, referring to testimony testi-mony of independents, asked if they knew they were "only permitted to live." "They've told us they were making money," Senator Wadsworth observed. "Are they fooled about their business?" "I don't know the conditions," Harvey said. "The giant corporation controlling S5 p'er cent of the business could drive the little ones out by exerting their strength, but that would involve lowering their profits. They prefer to keep a fringe hanging on." j DECLINE IN FOREIGN MONEY TO REDUCE HIGH COSTS IN U. S. CHICAGO, Aug. 21. The decrease in ! value of foreign money has caused a large curtailment of exports from Chicago, ac- : cording to local bankers, and this condition condi-tion of the foreign export and money : market, it was said, would tend to reduce ! the price of commodities here. "A very large curtailment in foreign exports has been caused by the advanced value of the dollar in Great Britain and France." Arthur Reynolds, vice president of the Continental and Commercial bank, explained today. "The value of the pound sterling is so low that it takes a considerable consid-erable percentage above par for foreign buyers to purchase commodities they formerly for-merly bought when there was not such a large difference in the exchange." The value of the British pound sterling ster-ling has fallen from $4.SG to ?4.12, the ! point touched yesterday, it was explained. : Chicago banks lost between $400,000 and $600,000 yesterday in the drop of English money, according to published reports in Chicago newspapers today. This loss, it was said, is the difference in the value of drafts at the time they were deposited by American exporters and their value when paid by foreign importers. Mr. Reynolds stated that any reduction in exports from the United States would tend to reduce prices here. COURTROOM TAKES ON APPEARANCE OF "BARGAIN" SALE CHICAGO, Aug. 21. Articles of cloth-jng cloth-jng bought at downtown stores were brought into court today by attorneys for the packer. in the hearlntr on tne demand of stockyards employees for increased pay before Federal Judge Alschuler. The price he paid for the clothing. James G. Condon, attorney for tlie packers, said, would upset the contention of Mrs. Anna CMcQuillen, who, in a budget submitted on behalf of the employees last week, said it was impossible to purchase serviceable clothes with present wages. Half a dozen pairs of shoes were exhibited ex-hibited by Mr. Condon, who said he had purchased them at prices ranging from ?3 to $4.25. Mrs. Anna Koutecky. superintendent of the woman's employment department of Morris & Co,, testified that she had purchased pur-chased children's shoes of good quality for as low as $2.17 a pair, whereas Mrs. McQuillen had stated that the least children's chil-dren's shoes could be bought for was $4. Mrs. Koutecky said that women's shoes could be had for $2.77 to ?1.!i3 a pair, while Mrs. McQuillan declared the cheapest cheap-est would cost tS.uO. The jurist's bench was stacked with shoes which had been bought by witnesses for the packers as evidence of their statements. |
