The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-07-09

ed . Potatoes Make Liv.
 ing Cost Rise !. What New Deal Has or Hasn't Cost Is Exercise in Mathe-
 matics.
 Washington, Julg Q. = The droutiI's potentialities aS Q nlajoI disaster in Q campaign year natur- ally enough have aroused spectila. ton here as to the possible polit- icai efect. Hardly anyone, how. ever, seems to have any clear idea as to what that effect might be or even to be sure that there will It may be worth remembering that the great drcuth in the guili- sller and fall of 1884 was followed by c Democratic landslide in the November congressional elections. Yet it would De hard to demon. etratO that the fact means a1y- thing in le30--or that the big drouth relief effort of the admin. 1stration two years ago had aily- thing to do with the results ct the polls.
 If the present drouth assumes 1884 proportions, the price of meat almost Surely will soar. Rising meat prices make urban voters sore. Food Prices Climbing
 Drouth causes livestock raisers to ship cattle, hogs, and sheep to market as fast as they can get them there. As supplies pile up at the packing ceflters, meat prices tend to 30 down In proportion to the size of the gut.
 Thus, steaks and pork chops are likely to be cheaper between now and election if the drOuth intenslfien.
 Flour and bread prices, on the
 other hand, may 90 up very soon unless the drOuth is br0s ken. The spring wheat crop has been hit, and spring wheat iS what gees into bread.
 There has been little adrninis- traticn ballyhoc about 1t, but the general level of retail food prices lately has been higher than ct any previous time in the Roosevelt ad- l1iiniStration.
 Spuds to Blame
 Instead of going down in June, as lt usually does, the index went LID. You can blame thatson pota- toeA which became 50 expensive that they forced up the general level.
 This has nothing to do with the excessively cockeyed potato control act Of last year, which never Do. came effective and was knocked out by the AAA decision. Early frosta last fall cut down potato bushelage that should have been available this year and bad spring weather has likewise iait this years
 RotaGoes are like that. They usually have two bod years runs ming, boosting prices, then two good years, sending prices down.
 Probably potato prices will be going down ngalfi soon, ees- ing of the general food price level for . while.
 The meat price rise, if this drcutn equals that of 1884, will Dc no fun at oil when 1t comes. The cattle and pig populations are low aS 1t is, thanks to the previous drouth, and another similar Scourge now would creaGe c record scarcity of meat. Try This on Your Figureola If you want to do some tricks with figures, just take Secretary Morgenthau's radio announcement that the national debt has reached SS3, ,7D0, 100000.
 The increase since Roosevelt took ofiice has been Just about @i3O00,- O00,0CO, according to the balance sheets.
 But # you gre Q Republican, you must tell your nelghbor thnt the real cost Of the New Deal Co date has been shout 5,700,O0O,OO0 You get that by adding the bonds guaranteed by the Home Owners Loan C0FpOs ration, tho Farm Credit Admin- istration: and other agencies, which didn't appear on M0rgen. thnu's statement
 Other items sometimes also are edded,hut that ought to hold al- most anyone for Q while.
 Here's Democratic Side
 On the other hand, if you're 8 @fu Amk AaaAn in the world to whittle down the cost of the New Deal to less than 9T.0O0,00,000.
 You begin by asserting that the guhrRnteed bonds are adequately covered by security and hence are no liability. You then point out that the treasury's cash balance is @2,20O, ,000,000 larger than when Mir. Hoover and Mir. Mills checked out of Washington, and subtract from $l3,000, 100000, which leaves ei0,- S00.OOO,00O.
 Then deduct that 9e,00o,OOO,- 600 "profit" from gold devaIu- atlon which is now in the cure rency stabillzation fund, leave ing $S,s00, ,000,0OO.
 Then Q couple Ok billions more in loans by REC, PWA, and other federal agencies which are supposed to be recoverable. By this time you're down to S0,eOO, ,OoO, 600 and there are plen- ty Of officials here who can think of more deductions if you want them.
 But the difference between el7,- 700,O0O,OO0 and 900OO, 100000 would seem to be enough difference to accommodate plenty of campaign charges and alibis.
 Copyright, 1886. NEA Service, Incl
 yUNE's BOOK STARTS