Foresight Fails to Pay

Sugar ration cards were on Washington presses last week. "Within a few weeks," said Leon Henderson, consumers will be rationed to 50 lb. per person for 1942 (v. last year's consumption, including hoarding, of 74 lb.).* Industrial sugar users will also have to reduce their sugar use by about one third.

Rationing was made necessary more by hoarders' fears of it than by a serious shortage in 1942 supplies. Nor does his 1942 quota (77 lb., counting industrial supplies) threaten the U.S. citizen's health, whatever it does to his sweet tooth. But industrial users are in a worse fix. Not only are they under quota, but their foresighted purchasing was in vain.

First official U.S. raid was on the bulging stocks of Pepsi-Cola, which last week agreed with OPM to release 40,000 tons to New York refiners. But the 3.74-c- per lb. that Pepsi-Cola will get for its precious stocks will yield it a useful inventory profit (last year's average price: 3.4-c-)--for Pepsi-Cola, selling a 12-oz. bottle for the same price as Coca-Cola's 6-oz. bottle, has to be doubly careful of the cost of its materials.

*Actually householders will get only about 3/4lb. a week, since the 50 lb. includes sugar for hotels, restaurants, etc.

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