The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1920-07-14
SOME CAUSES OF
FOOD SHORTAGE

IL HOO always u0OA houAu si~A"AS~%
to make large bodies of people real
ize threatened danger. Warnings
have been repeated constantly in
many of the leading newspapers and
publications of threatened food
shortage. but people go on serenely
buying the best Of everything at high
prices, while the country as a whole
shows a shortage in production and
labor of practically 80 1-3 per cent.
When the matter is brought to their
personal attention they want to know
what is the cause Of the shortage OF
production and the threatened food
shortage, not having given the matter
any serious thought or consideration.
There are many contributing causes,
but chief among them is the shortage
of farm labor and this, added to the
deflation of credit and the withdraw
al of assistance from the banks and
the consequent lowering of prices
paid to the farmers, has caused many
farmers, to raise only what they could
handle themselves and many big pro-
ducers have cut their crops in half
this year.
The Manufacturers Record, COM
menting on this condition had the fol-
lowing:
"A business man of Florida, in
letter to the Manufacturers Record,
enclosed clipping referring to the
failure of a bank in Kissimmee, of
that state, due largely to the fact
that cattlemen who have been Dor
rowing from the banb in order to
carry their cattle have not been able
to realize on their live stock a sufli-
cient amount to meet their obliga-
lions to the bank and their failure to
pay compelled the bank to curtail
credit and call their loans. Yet some
people are rejoicing in the decline in
the price of live stock, apparently in
capable of understanding that every
decline in the prices paid to farmers
for foodstuffs means less food for
next year and the year after and for
years to come, and at prices by the
side of which present prices will seem
small. When the federal reserve
board undertook to break down the
credit of the country in order to
break down prices of farm products
as well as all other things, it inaug-
urated a movement which could never
have been begun except by men who
were without any vision and who
knew nothing Of the terrific conse-
quences certain to follow their cam
paign. They are like the politicians
who have been clamoring against cold
storage products, not realizing that
cold storage is the governor of the
foodstuff supply and that il vast
amount of food is not stored during
the summer, there will be none to be
had at any price during the winter.
In the effort to break down prices of
foodstuffs the federal reserve board
will doubtless succeed In breaking
down the supply instead of increasing
foodstuffs, and next winter and the
winter following the country will be
eagerly scrambling for food the sup.
ply of which will be exceedingly
short, due In part to the work of the
federal reserve board i'm debating
credit.
AS we have said before, here is
Florida's opportunity. 1t is knocking
at your door and 1t only knocks once,
they say. Florida is in better posi-.
ton to increase production than any
other section of the country, because |
of its ability to produce heavily when |
the rest of the world is out of COM
mission and labor is more plentiful |
Our banks should encourage in.
creased production next fall and win.
ter, as there will be an unlimited de-
mand and prices will be higher than
ever before If the marketing end is
properly handled.-Jackson Times