Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-04-25


 be jailed; fair prices may be set that consumers should pay; some conspi- racy in restraint of trade, or some combination that speculates in stor- age, or future demand exceeding SUD- ply, may be located; individuals who create deficiency, or dump a sur plus of foodstuffs, by agreement, periodically, to influence prices or who n1anipulates prices to keep sup, ply just short of demand, may be ex- posed; but in the final analysis, af- ter all these defects have been dis covered and. the delinquents punish ed, as IS already being accompls by the proper Government agencies, and all of which will have bene, ficial effect, the facilities of the postal service will have to be used to encourage the food producer to produce more food, or a larger num- Der of producers to engage in the production thereof.
 Could Feed All.
 Through the maximum use of the facilities of conveyance provided by the postal service, the food producer would not have to suspend produc- tion to engage in conveyance, and thus labor or man-poWer would be conserved for production
 Where numerous employees of food producers are now engaged in the transportation and distribution of foodstuffs in small quantities, one employee of the postal service, with adequate equipment, could provide the conveyance now supplied with them, and thus labor or man-power could be conserved for food produc- tion.
 Twenty-six million food producers are trying to feed themselves and 74,0o0,OOO additional American citi- ems, together with their foreign friends.
 There are 6OOO0 employees of the postal service who traverse 100000 niles of highways, through produc- ng territory in this country every lay. If each individual carrier would transport 2OOo pounds, or one on, the total transported would mount to 120,000,0O0 pounds daily. Is the average consumption per man, woman an dilttle child, is about two pounds per day, or two-thirds of our antire population.
 Why don't they do it? Three obstacles present themsel- yes.
 First: The Highways. It would be impossible to trans port a load of one ton on the high ways traversed by these employees except in fair weather and then only with difficulty.
 Second: The vehicle. Under the present system of com ,ensation it would be impossible for 'orty- three thousand of the sixty thousand carriers to purchase and maintain the character of equipment necessary to covey two thousand pounds of food daily even for a DOT 5ion of the year.
 Third: The Postage or Freight Rate.
 At present the postage rate is too nigh in proportion to the selling value of many staple articles of food
 None of these obstacles is insur- mounta ble.
 This is a great country. It is familiar with billions in finance and industry.
 It is not alarmed when it confronts what is apparently impossible. It is not panic stricken when it confronts with a crisis.
 It patriotically co,ordinates its energies and the product thereof ap- pears in form that paralyses op- position, and the enemies of the country bear witness to recent events which will go down in history to the everlasting glory of our coun- try. This may be called vision but it contains the essence of our nation al development. It is the spirit of America to do big things in a big way We can build roads even though one and one-half million miles would cost thirty billion dollars, exactly the amount we expended as merely small change in the prosecution o1 the war with Germany, and, if we can do that to defeat an enemy, we ca nspend an equal amount for the l benefit of our fellow countrymen. It may be worth while to suggest that this amount could be raised in the same manner and form whereby 1 the railroads and steamship lines raise funds for the conduct of their l business that requires road beds and docks and wharf facilities, and tha, is by charging sufficient tariff up on the matter transported, which while renumerative, would not be re- strictive, but which nevertheless would cover the cost of operation. in cluding the compensation of the per sonnel employed, maintenance, of the equipment used, and the up-keep o' the highway over which the food- stuffes, commodities or merchandise might be conveyed.
 Only recently the American manu facturers designed and constructed thousands of self propelled vehicles I for the national defense, many thou sands of which are available today and could be utilized in the trans portation of foodstuffs. They may be depended upon to do likewise fol | this purpose.