Evening star., 1940-11-03
Large Sectors in Europe Face
Malnutrition Despite Rationing
Economics Professor Sees More Serious Situation,
in 1941; Arguments on Feeding Victims
Vary as to Effect on Nazis
John d. Black,


The consensus of best Judgment as to
the total food supply on the continent
Of Europe is that no actual starvation,
though considerable sickness from under
nourishment, need result till the next
crop comes In, II q moderately effective
and equitable job of rationing between
families is accomplished.
But many believe that Germany has
already taken home the food reserves of
the conquered countries, Is slaughtering
their livestock and storing up reserves
Of meats and fats for future German
use, Is requisitioning much of their cur
rent output OF dairy and poultry prod
ucts and Is preparing to have the peoples
in the conquered areas starve unless the
British let food from the Americas
through the blockade. 1t is affirmed
that she fully expects to be able by her
propaganda to get her new subjects to
fasten the blame for this suffering on
Great Britain and the United States.
Press reports furnish some basis for
such extreme beliefs. However, we are
being told by representatives of Amer
ican charitable groups, who have been
looking into the situation recently at first
hand, that such of the more extreme of
these statements as they have been able
to investigate have not proved to be au-
thentic. The American Friends Service
Committee, for example, states that it
has been allowed to distribute $11 ,OO0, 900
worth Of food in occupied Poland, one
NTH Of it to Jews, not only without
molestation from the Germans, but with
their helpful cooperation. Most of this
food was bought in the Balkan countries.
People Face Denial.
The statements released by the Office
of Foreign Agricultural Relations indi-
cate that the Germans have surely
taken possession of the reserves of bread
stuffs in the occupied countries. But
they imply doubt as to whether the
Germans have actually transferred them
largely to the homeland. For one
thing, the Germans probably have all
the breadstuffs they need on hand with
out these reserves The Germans surely
have requisitioned or purchased con-
siderable livestock for slaughter in
France, Belgium, the Netherlands and
Denmark, have purchased much of the
dairy and poultry output of the Low
Countries, and have imported grain and
livestock freely-probably exerting some
pressure with it-from the Danube and
Balkan states.
AS long as the breadstuffs reserves of
France, the Low Countries and Norway,
are under German control, wherever
they happen to be stored, the people
who need them are in peril of being de-
MED them. The future will see. No
doubt the size and activity of the army
Of occupation, and of the armies en-
gagged in fighting elsewhere, will have
much to do with the disposition of the
reserves. A rough rule is that an army
in the field requires fifth or fourth
more food than an equal number Of
civilian adults. But an aeroplane war
does not call for large armies in the
field.
AS for the dairy and poultry products,
the continent of Europe had a sizable
surplus of these before the war, which
1t exported mainly to Great Britain.
Given the same production as before,
much could now be sent into Germany
without any sacrifice. But production
has already fallen of, perhaps as much
as fourth, because of the lack of the
large former imports of feedstuffs from
the Americas and the tropics. The
slaughtering of livestock has been good
economy under these circumstances, and
no immediate hardship need have re-
suited thus far, or need ensue in the
months just ahead.
Rationing Not Enough.
This years crops have been we'll be-
low normal. The bad spring weather,
the shortage of draft animals and Of
motor oil for tractors, the drafting of
farm labor for armies and the destruct-
iveness of the military campaigns in
some of the best farming provinces. all
contributed to this result Nevertheless
the crop has been enough so that with
the reserves accumulated in anticipa-
ton of war, the actual supply of food
energy will be enough if it is carefully
husbanded and distributed. This means
rationing everywhere, so that part of
the people do not eat more than a sub
sistence and starve the rest.
With the best intentions in the world,
and the exercise of all the mastery of
organization which the Germans are re-
puted to possess, and full cooperation
of all the conquered peoples. the kind of
rationing needed in the present situa-
ton would still be unattainable. There
has been too much destruction of cities
and Of transportation and too much
disruption of the usual channels of dis
tribution, to make possible the drastic