Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-08-05
Holding Government Food Stocks

n n ANY OF the postwar charges made against
lFA the War Department and against Sec
rotary Baker arise from pure partiSanShip
and are pressed with the sole aim Of making
political capital. The record TO date, is COM
plete enough to impress that fact upon the
mind of any reasonable man, and it is not to
be doubted that the country will appraise
such charges when it calmly considers all the
facts and circumstances surrounding them.
But it is unfortunately true that the War
Department has Numbered and blundered
seriously in fixing and carrying out it's policy
with respect to the distribution of the vast
amount OF food products which were accumu-
lated in anticipation of fighting through the
greater part Of this year. The revelations
before the House investigation committee, I'M
disputed as they are, proof Of wrong
mndedness in dealing with this question. One
group of witnesses laid the blame for the
situation on the regular army officers. An
other group laid it on the chief of staff and
still other witnesses passed the responsibility
directly 10 the secretary himself. In the
final analysis the secretary, of course is
nomlnally, if not actually, responsible for all
that goes on in his department, RESPONSE
bility which he never has sought to escape
however much or little personal knowledge
he might have had of the acts which he sane
toned.
The important facts are that when the
armistice was signed, the army had on hand
nearly half a billion dollars worth of food
products Very little OF this was intended
for the immediate of the troops or could
be used by them during the progress of demo-
bilization The bulk Of it stored away
for use this year when the overseas army
would have passed the 100000 mark The
average man or woman, therefore, would
naturally have argued that, inasmuch as
these stores could not be used by the army
they should be turned over to the general
public for consumption.
This was not done. In the first place the
army officers refused to declare this property
as surplus and until it was so declared the
bureau of sales had no way of Offering it to
the public. In the next place the packers
and Gamers and others went trooping to
Washington to mplorc the government not
TO unload the food stores on the market, as
1t would "demoralize" domestic business In
sive prices which the big provision interests
were getting for their goods. Mr.. Baker and
ms subordinates, according to the record
consented to keep the army stores off the do
nestle market, deciding to sell them if pos
siDle, to relieve agencies in Europe
Ihen IL came to pass that while these vast
tood stocks were being held in warehouses
awaiting European buyers, much of them be-
gan to spoil and practically all to deteriorate
Finally ii was discovered that the goods could
not be unoaded upon Europe and that they
would either have to be sold at home or al
lowed to go 10 waste. AT this point domestic
sales began, but upon limited a basis that
the public scarcely knew that the food sun
plies were to be had. The whole program
seems TO have been badly handled No cir
cumstance has been cited even by the War De-
partlncnt that is accepted valid excuse
for the bungling policy adopted