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Show THE FRUITS OF HOARDING A news dispatch tells of a man who registered for a sugar ration book and reported, that he had 15,000 pounds of sugar in his possession. When questioned, he said that he had feared a shortage two years ago and had been accumulating his gigantic stock ever since. That is a particularly glaring example of the kind of action that, if widely followed even on a small scale, will make an extreme extension of rationing inevitable. In other words, hoarding makes scarcities and scarcities, in turn, make iron-handed government control unavoidable. Some authorities have said that there would be' no need for sugar rationing at this time had not purchases by the public in-ci'eased in-ci'eased to an abnormal level. American merchants, including chains and independents, have been fighting hoarding. They have been urging the public to buy normally, and to pay no attention to wild rumors which say that practically everything we need will soon be unobtainable. That advice is 100 per cent worthwhile. worth-while. If all of us follow it, there will be far fewer shortages, short-ages, and rationing can be held to the minimum. The American merchant, big or little, is the consumer's best protection. That's true whether the merchant deals in clothing or general merchandise or food or hardware or anything any-thing else. The merchant knows conditions. He is in a far better position than the rest of us to anticipate What the future will bring. And when he says, "Don't hoard!" he simply talks common sense. |