Evening star., 1934-08-16
DROUGHT TO RAISE
PRICES OF FOOD
Roosevelt Drive on Prof
iteering to Have Little e.
feet, Says Lawrence.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


The American people may have to
change their diet as a result of the
drought.
President Roosevelt threatens ac-
ton against 'profteering," but gov
ernmental influence or power will
have little effect on the law Of supply
and demand What is rare or scarce
will 60 up in price and what costs
more to raise will have to bring an
increased price.
Thus feed will be scarce for cows
and cattle. Hence milk and meat
prices will reflect the higher costs.
Wheat of the kind used to make bread
probably will not be scarce, but 1t will
be none too plentiful. Certain kinds
of wheat will have to be imported in
larger quantities than usual.
Less Pork Available.
Many of the hogs having been
killed, there will be less pork avail
able, and what the Government didn't
order destroyed the drought may have
diminished.
So meats will be high and butter,
eggs, milk and other dairy products
generally will reflect the results of the
feed shortage, and the public will take
care of the price situation by dimin-
ishing its consumption of certain ar
ticles and buying substitutes.
The fishermen should have a good
year. People who can't afford meat
will buy more fish. Canned products
may have wider market in areas
where the vegetable soil has been i'm
paired or where farming has had to
be abandoned altogether due to the
failure of major crops.
1t is bit too early to talk about
"'profiteering," for the shortage will
not make itself felt until next Win
ter. 1t Is quite probable that one Of
the most effective weapons against
excessive prices will be the dropping
of barriers on imported products and,
of course, the consumers own check.
The housewife will buy what she can
afford and will turn to other foods
that are cheaper. This may mean an
interesting change in dietary habits
and cannot help influencing perma-
nently the American consumption of
certain foods.
Meat May Be Out Of Range.
Meats may go out of the range
of the poorer people altogether for
O season or so. This is one of
the damaging effects of the readjust-
ment caused by the drought. On
the other hand, If meat takes on
the character of luxury and more
and more cattle are raised, the people
will be attracted by constantly dimin-
ishing prices as succeeding years
build up a surplus. This may bring
consumption up again.
Broadly speaking. the drought is
a blessing in disguise-that is, con-
sidering only the question of remov-
ing surpluses. 1t might have taken,
according to the Presidents own COM
ment, another two years to eliminate
surpluses by acreage control. The
A. A. A. program Of permitting GER
tain planting will be retained and
the control will be as effective as
it was hoped 1t would be, but the
amount of acreage will be changed
with the idea of increasing the sup
ply gradually to a normal point.
Whether this artificial regulation
of the production of Americas farms
can be sustained under q political
system of approving or disapproving
every two years what an admins
tration or Congress has done, and
whether a drought in some other
country which might absorb an
American surplus will bring resent
ment among farmers, because they
would then be denied profits, is some
thing that is as unforeseeable as was
the present situation.
Relief Money Assured.
The administration, of course, is
going to pay relief money to farmers
who were affected by the drought.
But every farmer probably will i'm
agine he might have had more than
the Government paid him. Hence
resentment is not altogether squelched
by Government subsidies.
Food prices will be high irrespec-
tive of the talk about prosecuting the
''proflteers." The Government cannot
interfere unless it Is willing to take
the responsibility for determining
costs and fixing prices all along the
line. If the administration starts
approving certain prices, it will be
in the position of giving sanction to