Sugar Equalization Board

The U.S. Sugar Equalization Board was a United States government agency established on July 11, 1918, during World War I, to stimulate U.S. sugar production by equalizing prices of domestic and imported crops. The board was an agency of the United States Food Administration, with the Food Administrator serving as its chairman. The board was abolished in 1926 by Executive Order 4475.

U.S. Sugar Equalization Board

Agency overview
Formed	July 11, 1918 (1918-07-11)
Dissolved	July 14, 1926
Headquarters	Washington D.C.
Agency executive	Herbert Hoover, Chairman
Parent agency	United States Food Administration

Background

The board bought and distributed the 1918–19 crop of Cuban sugar, and stimulated U.S. sugar production by equalizing prices of domestic and imported crops.^[1][2][3] The board also regulated coffee imports under authority of the War Trade Board and the U.S. Food Administration.^[4][5] In 1919, the board's contract with U.S. sugar refiners expired, and the responsibility for regulating and licensing sugar companies became a responsibility of the U.S. Attorney General.^[2][6] The board was a furtherance of the U.S. government's efforts to control the sugar industry during the early 20th century.^[7][3]

The board was abolished by President Calvin Coolidge by Executive Order 4475 in July 1926.^[2][8]

Members of the Sugar Equalization Board

Early members of the board included:^[9][3][10]

• Herbert Hoover, chairman
• George M. Rolph, president
• Theodore Whitmarsh, U.S. Food Administration
• Robert A. Taft
• Dana F. Acker
• F.W. Taussig, Tariff Commission
• George Zabriskie, Sugar Administrator
• Clarence Woolley, member of the War Trade Board
• William A. Glasgow Jr., U.S. Food Administration