The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-10-28

1ood diStribu- ton by that time, to do the fob that Herbert Hoover did in the last war. But whether there is cen- trali2ed control by then, food in. duStry men hope that through the existing Food Requirements Com- mittee in the War Production Board setup, the government will have oil Its requirements figured out SO that the industry will know how much of every food item will Do needed by Army, Navy, lend- lease and the .. 8. civilian popula. ton.
 Not only that, but also what kind Of Q container will be available to pack 1t in7 With all these pro. grams lined up like ducks in row by mid-December, the food dis. trtbutors figure they'll be able to plan on keeping the nation sup- piled throughout 1o43.
 A further advantage of having all this in order for the coming year is that with or without a food administrator 1t will stop lot of dlSqueting rumors and false reports now floating around on what foods are going to be fationed, and how. Sugar is the only commodity under full rationing now.
 SHORTAGES REPORTED
 But all over this broad land there are daily reports of local shortages of coffee, tea, and numerous items of canned goods. Scares develop, hoarding starts, shortages are ac- centuated and confusion mounts. It is to eliminate this confusion that the need for national food administrator is being talked of more.
 The lat statements of several months ago that there would be no shortages of food are now be- ing seriously questioned.
 The United States can grow enough food to keep going, and food industry leaders are loud in their praises of the way the De- partment of Agriculture under Sec- retary Claude R. Wickard has moved rapidly and effectively to incraese all food production goals.
 Where the shortages come in are not from lack of planting, breeding, harvest or slaughter of herd and crop. The causes are completely indirect.
 Primarily, the food processors face the same shortage that face all industry,-a lack of manpower to gather and ship and clean and pack and can and dry and freeze the food you eat. Unless this man. power problem can be licked next year, people might go hungry.
 Secondarily, there will be a shortage of food conveniences. There won't be the abundance of foods in the particular containers you may have been used to.
 There will be no shortage of beans, for instance. You will be able to buy dried beans by the peck or bushel. But there won't be as many prepared baked beans as there used to be. There won't be as many tin cans of baked beans, not because of the short- age of beans. but because of the shortage of tin cans.
 As a substitute there are of- fered frozen baked beans or baked beans in glas jars. But there won't be as many glass jars.
 MACHINERY LACKING
 There is no shortage of glass, but there is 8 shortage of the spe- cial type of closing machines neces- sary to handle glass jars automat- icaclly. and there is a further shortage of rubber rings and closures for sealing the glass jars and protecting their contents.
 Here are where your food short ages will come in 1943-not in the foods themselves but in their con- tainers and the methods of getting them to you.
 Faced by this situation. the pa- triotic thing for the good housewife to do is to buy no more canned goods than Ter family can use and to buy only as her family neds.
 Rationing of canned and other proceSsed foods is perhaps inevit- able for 1924, maybe sooner. to in- sure a fair distribution. Buying ahead won't help. for as in the case with sugar. everyone will have to declare existing stocks on the pantry shelf in order to get ration