The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1941-10-30
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Farm Aid TO Britain"
Likely TO Pay Dividends
Better Consumption Market for American
Farmer Cited as Postwar Period Goal;
British Expected to Cooperate.
WNU Service, 1343 H. Street N. w.,
Washington, d. C.
BY BAUKHAGE
National Farm and Home Hour Commentator.

lNuItOIIuL oHt uItk -
WNU Service, 1343 H. Street N. w.,
Washington, d. C.
After sitting down for an hour
with the undersecretary Of agricul-
ture, Paul H. Appleby, on a quiet
Saturday afternoon when only de-
tense workers and newsmen have
to labor, I walked back through the
park with a feeling that perhaps
some Of the lease-lend bread which
America is casting across the water
might come back buttered, and
even with jam on it.
Undersecretary Appleby was fresh
off the Clipper from Europe where
he and AAA Administrator Rudolph
M. Evans had been talking food
with the British.
Three things came out of my
queries of the undersecrctary as to
his experiences.
First: Thanks to the United
States, the British have passed what
looked like a crisis in their food
supply.
Second: The American farmer is
going to get a little extra gravy for
the extra sweating he is going to
do to produce more food for free
DOM"
Third: (and this is what I meant
by the butter and jam on the lease
lend bread) Appleby believes, and
he told the British so, that the Unit
ed States has a postwar goal in its
extra-production efforts. That goal
is to build up a better home-con-
sumption market for the American
farmer-and all farmers-and the
British are expected to cooperate.
AS to the first point Mr.. Appleby
was chary about giving out facts
and figures. He did assure me,
however, that quantitatively the
United States is now delivering at
British ports an amount of food sui
fcient to take care of the basic
needs of the population, civil and
military. That means there are
enough ships to handle and deliver,
taking sinkings into consideration,
this minimum tonnage. So if the
present amount of tonnage is limit
ed and the type of food required for
a balanced diet is raised in the
United States, the islands will not
starve. Although the British will
be getting on with a lot less than
they are used to, they will have
enough of the right kind of food to
do the job they are expected to do.
Complaining wasn't Done
According to Appleby. even when
the pinch was at its worst early last
spring, popular opinion in England
was such that morale was not af-
fected seriously. Complaining SIM
ply wasn't DONE" as the English
say. In other words, if somebody
sounded off about what he was not
getting to eat in a public place, he
would be reproved in short order by
his listeners.
The British food ministry and the
department of agriculture officials
now understand each other, accord
ing to Appleby, and each is salts
fed as to the others efforts, and
those efforts have been co-ordinat-
ed.
Specifically, Undersecretary APP
pleby and Administrator Evans re-
ceived suggestions as to improved
packaging - for instance, minor
changes in the content of a canned
product, the kind Of cartons that
best protected a certain commod-
ity. You see many of these prod
ucts, in fact most of them, the
United States had eve exported at
all before and American officials
did not have experience in the best
packaging methods. For instance,
there we're lessons in packaging and
labelling to be learned about cheese.
The Americans suggested to the
British that it would be easier to
arouse the sympathy and co-opera-
ton Of people in this country if they
knew just what this food was being
used for-say, one thing for school
CIllQTen, announcer lOI pdDiSS, So1llS-
thing else for workers.
The British showed a breakdown
in the statistics was impossible be-
cause of exceedingly abnormal con-
ditions of transportation. There is,
for instance, uncertainty as to
where a given ship is going to land,
what railroad will be available for
shipments. Then, too, there are
many difficulties of administration
which make it impossible to chan
mel special shipments to special
points or assign them to special
groups.
Distribution Control
Another thing the Americans ex-
amined thoroughly was the control
by the government of distribution
of the products. All food belongs
B r ! E + S