The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-06-19
N ..:o+'
)u'u1 IMe
), F.U.O.T.A.,,

Nine-Man Committee.
To Control All Food.
What the British Did.
1t Tells the Farmer.
Rationed Consumer.
This is to break the news gently to
both farmers and consumers of the
arrival of what will be known com
monty later on as the Nine-Man Board.
Its name now is the Food Require
ments Committee" and the things it
has absolute power to doAand prob
ably will dds something to write
home about. With Claude r. Wick
ard, secretary of agriculture, as its
head, it has eight members, one each
from the state, army, navy depart
ments, board of economic warfare,
lend-lease administration, and three
from the war production board. This
committee, subject only to the war
production board, will be lord and
master of all food production and the
ALLEGATION of it.
Another Hoover food administration,
such as ran things in the first World
war? Not quite the same. That adj
had no power over pro-
duction. 1t was chiefly concerned
with conserving and distributing foods
and particularly the buying by Britain
and the other Allied nations of that
period 1t had the power to fix the
price of wheat, which it did at about
So net to the farmer, when the law
provided that that should be the min
imum price. Such price fixing is not
to be in the hands of the committee
Of Nine Men. Fixing the price cell
ings is in the hands of the OPA, and
subject to the consent of the secre-
tary of agriculture on products of the
farm. So this new nine-man commit
lee has a different job-one that has
more to do with control of the plant
ng and production of food and its
and less with it's price
40
The British took over their farm
in similar manner and have
lpped food production so that, where,
before the government took control,
here were but 100000 acres plowed,
oday there are 10 million acres under
How did they do it? BY
making farmers pillow and plant more
md by taking the lordly demesnes
md grounds of the landed nobility,
he golf courses and the hunting
grounds and blowing them. In the
United States we have not much of
hat sort of thing to contend with
we have paid immense sums
o wealthy landowners, insurance cor
'orations and investment companies,
o cut down their acreage and let the
and lie fallow. That was mainly on
he surplus crops-cotton, tobacco and
o some extent wheat. Hereafter
hese will take orders from the new
line-man committee and will plant |
nd produce as ordered.
The new committee can tell farm
+ not only what to plant but what |
lot to plant! 1t can say: Lay off |
Wheat and produce flax" and it will |
otton farmer to raise more of the |
ong staple stuff-of which we are
hort-or to cut out the cotton and |
aise corn, which is needed for live
took feed. If it can't get enough
I what it wants inside the U.SA., it
an go outside and import what is
eeded and there will be no tariff
uty imposed on the imported stuff.
n time of war the sacred tariff takes
swift kick, and seeing that domestic
rices are fixed by ceilings, the tariff
as little if any influence on prices.
Here's where the consumer feels
ne halter draw: He can be put on
ationed food The committee gets
)gether and sees what is needed first
)r the Army and Navy and then for
ur Allies under the lend-lease.
fter that is apportioned - the con-
inner gets his. He may take what's
1T. There is plenty of wheat, so he
ill have bread. But If the meat pro-
uction is used up, he may get his
forming bacon with coupon-just as
g gets his sugar, now. When he
ants milk and it is found that the
Military forces need more or that
lore milk, in powdered form, must
D to the Allies-he will get a milk
cket When he wants eggs and the
avy needs them-he will get eggs
My after the Navy gets its eggs first.
he consumer will discover that the
Irmer is not the only chap who has
} take orders. In fact, the farmer
no raises meat, milk and eggs on
IS farm can have all he and his fam
Y wants to eat, while the consumer
town can have just what his ticket
Ills for. 1t is going to be a strange
is war and all that Sher-
an said it was-but for once the
rmer gets a break, he eats within
ration ticket