Evening star., 1941-01-09
kazi Hopes Of Food
Supply From Danube
Grandry Blasted
U. S. Department of
Agriculture Survey Shows
Critical Production Drop
By BLAIR BOLLES.

the German populace and army ade
ouately fed in the face Of the British
blockade Of Europe was disclosed
here today in report by the Asri
culture Department, showing tina
there is little prospect the agricul
turally all-important Danube Basir
will be able to supply the axis powers
this winter with the large quantities
of food formerly imported from
overseas by the blockaded countries
The lower Danube countries ar
Rumania, Hungary, Yugoslavia ant
Bulgaria.
During the last several years for.
eign policy has stressed in one ol
its aspects the development Of thu
Danube countries as suppliers fol
Germany. Germany has won great
political triumphs in all except ont
of the countries, but the Agriculture
Department report suggests tina
these triumphs are in part hollow.
The whole story of the food situa.
ton in these countries is record OF
a grave German miscalculation
whose effects cannot be estimated
It Is certain that Germany must
eat in order to go on with the war
Now Germany's chief basis OF hope!
for a continued supply Of food has
collapsed.
Cites Grain Curtailment.
The Agriculture Department
states that while the German bread
grain needs have increased by 20
per cent since the war began, her
own production has Jagged and the
194O-1 wheat exports from the Dan
ubian countries will amount to only
one-sixth of what they were before
the war began.
One result of the disclosure prob
ably will be to heighten the agita-
ton for shipments of food from this
continent through the British
blockade to the subject peoples in
the occupied areas of Europe. For
these countries as we'll as Germany
itself-and Italy-are dependent
upon the lower Danubian countries
for food. Switzerland, too, depends
on them
The problem is set forth in a study
of 73 pages by Frederick Strauss,
agricultural economist of the depart
ment, working on special detail for
the Office of Foreign Agricultural
Relations. One fact which DR..
Strauss points out is that the great
quantity of pre-war exports from
Dap,,hn roc,t1fHd frnYn
very low living standard for the ma
jority of the peasants in the export
ing countries. 1t was this large
quantity of exports which attracted
the German attention.
Given Attention Since 1888.
1.-THE countries of the lower
Danube Basin" DR.. Strauss says,
nave long been the most important
TIropean producers of staple farm
s'rpluses. Since 1888 National So
cialist Germany has been exerting
great effort to bring about an ex-
pansion in the farm output of the
Danubian countries and to establish
itself as the dominating factor in
determining the distribution of their
agricultural surpluses.
The Importance of the Danube
Basin as potential source of supply
for farm products has been greatly
enhanced by the war. The British
blockade of Norway, the Neither
lands, Belgium, France, Italy and
North Africa has further increased
the demand for the Danubian food
stuffs and feedstuffs. The main
tenance of livestock production and
the assurance of adequate food sup
plies generally in the countries
under German domination depend
to a considerable extent on the
volume of food and feedstuff sup
plies forthcoming from the Danubian
countries during the war.
THE 1910 Danubian surpluses
we're sharply diminished by adverse
weather conditions. The unusually
severe winter of 1939-4O affected
most crops, greatly reducing yields
In addition, the late spring and
extensive floods retarded and cur
tailed spring sowings; and large
scale mobilization, particularly IN
Rumania, led to a sizable reduction
of the winter grain acreage in most
Danubian countries.
ITO these handicaps must be
added the effect of the territorial
changes in Rumania. Bessarabia
now ceded to the Soviet Union
produced normally one-fifth of the
Rumanian wheat and corn crops
end three-fourths of the oil seeds
The wheat loss this year will be
even more serious, since the arid
region of Bessarabia enjoyed
favorable crop conditions, whereas
crops in the rest of Rumania were
s,-ort.
UNLESS the Danubian countrie:
are deprived by pressure OF part ol
their own urgent requirements, the
total Danubian exports of wheat
will hardly exceed 100000 bushels
and those of corn $4,000 900 bushels
This compares with pre-war i'm
ports by deficit Europe OF O,o00, ,oof
bushels of wheat and 100000 ,00(
DuSn6IS Vi COl II. 4ilC Ao1o-Hl
Danubian wheat exports will thu!
amount to only one-sixth and thos'
of corn one-third Of the 1855
exports.
They will meet only 80 per cen
Of the pre-war European and Al pc
cent of the greater German whea
imports and only per cent Of tn
European and l3 per cent OF tn
German pre-war corn imports.
"On the basis of detailed analyst
CT the social and economic struc
ture of the Danubian countries it
believed that there is little hkeli
hood of an expansion in farm pro
duction in the next few years.
Production Education Improbable.
I'm some of the countries peculiar
tiles of peasants attitudes, racis
habits and high degree Of illiterac
make it improbable that educations
methods could accomplish produc
ton expansion In few years, sine