of ninety-five per cent of the trades of the country,
but under peace conditions it would degenerate into an harassing
blue law.

"The law has well justified itself under war conditions. The
investigations of our economic division clearly demonstrate that
during the first year of the Food Administration farm prices
steadily increased by fifteen per cent to twenty per cent on
various computations, while wholesale prices decreased from three
per cent to ten per cent, according to the basis of calculation.
Thus middlemen's cost and profits were greatly reduced. This was
due to the large suppression of profiteering and speculation and to
the more orderly trade practices introduced under the law.

"It is my desire that we should all recognize that we have passed a
great milestone in the signing of the armistice; that we must get
upon the path of peace; that therefore we should begin at once to
relax the regulation and control measures of the Food
Administration at every point where they do not open a possibility
of profiteering and speculation. This we cannot and will not permit
so far as our abilities extend until the last day that we have
authority under the law. When we entered upon this work eighteen
months ago our trades were rampant with speculation and
profiteering. This grew mainly from the utterly insensate raids of
Europe on our commodities. I look now for a turn of American food
trades towards conservative and safe business because in this
period that confronts us, with the decreased buying power of our
own people, of uncertainty as to the progress of the world's
politics, with the Government in control of exports and imports, he
would be a foolish man indeed who today started a speculation in
food. This is a complete reversal of the commercial atmosphere that
existed when war began eighteen months ago, and therefore the major
necessity for law in repression of speculative activities is, to my
mind, rapidly passing. It is our duty, however, to exert ourselves
in every direction so to handle our food during reconstruction as
to protect our producers and our consumers and to assure our trade
from chaos and panic."

On the same day that this address was made Hoover began the canceling of
the Food Administration regulations, and this cancellation co