What might happen without this Sugar Equalization Board is illustrated by the Civil War, when sugar, because of speculation, went as high as thirty-five cents a pound. And at that time there was no world shortage of sugar. If there were no sort of sugar control today, it may readily be believed that the consumer might have to pay sugar prices soaring far above those Civil War levels.
"It costs more to produce and market some sugars (such as domestic beet sugar and Louisiana cane) than it does others, such as Cuban cane sugar. But that is no reason why the sugar manufacturer, whose production costs are high, should suffer, even to the extent of being forced out of the market. Nor can the country afford to have this happen under present war time shortage of nearby supplies. Consequently, when it becomes necessary, the Sugar Equalization Board through its purchasing powers can insure fair profits to the manufacturers. Then the Board may resell this sugar, so that it reaches the public at a price lower than what the maximum would otherwise be."
POTATO ECONOMY
In order to remedy the generally inadequate food supply, it became necessary to treat such a standard food as the potato according to newly devised methods by which it could be stored for permanent use and widely distributed. In a lecture in Economics given to a class of the National City Bank, it was stated that, since the war began, it was found practicable so to preserve the potato by grinding and drying as to transform it from a local and perishable commodity to one which could be produced in almost unlimited quantities and distributed to any part of the world:
"The potato can be grown in almost any temperate zone area, but theretofore nine-tenths of the world's crop of 6,000,000,000 bushels is grown in a half-dozen countries, and almost exclusively in Europe and North America. Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, and the United States have produced in favorable years about 5,000,000,000 bushels, while the remainder of the world produced only 1,000,000,000. These six countries that produced five-tenths of the world's potato crop have only 450,000,000 peoples, while the potatoless world has a population of over 1,200,000,000, from which it appears that 'fully two-thirds of the population of the world live outside of the area.'
"Germany is by far the largest potato grower of the world, producing about 2,000,000,000 out of a world crop of 6,000,000,000 bushels, using them as a food for man and animals and the production of alcohol for use in her industries, and for the production of heat and power when necessary. Next in line is European Russia, with an annual crop of about 1,000,000,000 bushels; Austria-Hungary, 600,000,000; France, 500,000,000; United States, 450,000,000, and Great Britain, 300,000,000 bushels.
"This new system of turning the potato into a condition in which it can be readily distributed has, quite naturally, developed in the country which has the largest potato production of the world, Germany. Factories for the crushing and drying of the potato and turning the product into flour for man, flakes and cubes for animals, or alcohol for the chemical industry and also as a substitute for petrol, have grown from about a dozen a few years ago to over 400 in 1914 and 840 in 1916, with a capacity to turn into this condensed form more than 1,000,000,000 bushels of potatoes a year. The reduction in weight is about 60 per cent., while the product can be preserved almost indefinitely.
"The value of our own potato crop in the United States last year was approximately $540,000,000 at the place of production, and yet the amount entering international trade was only $4,000,000. Our potato crop averages about 90 bushels per acre, that of European Russia 100 bushels; France 135 bushels; Austria 150 bushels; United Kingdom 124 bushels, and Germany 200 bushels and upward per acre, her large flavorless potato, grown chiefly for alcohol, having reached and sometimes exceeded 500 bushels per acre."
FUEL CONTROL
The coal industry was the one basic war industry. Food and munitions were dependent upon the coal supply. It is not necessary to elaborate this argument; it is patent to every one. The following table gives a view of the coal production of the most important countries: