The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-11-05

l II VI IAVSSSSulk of food is in the hands of the Wal Production Board, the moving o, food crops is in the hands of tn, Off1ce of Defense Transportation and distribution is in the hands oi the Office of Price Administration.
 Over all this there is within the War Production Board 8 Food Re- quirements Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary of Agri- culture Claude R. Wickard. The Food Requirements committee was announced last June and at the time 1t was assumed this was to be the central food authority of the United States. Nine agencies were repre- sented on the committee, which seemed to give it the necessary dis tinction and front to make 1t the real tops for winning friends and influencing the right people.
 In the five months of its existence the Food Requirements committee has in weekly meetings and in be- tween times boldly tackled such problems as adequate supply of farm machinery, increasing the capacity of plants to dry milk and dehydrate meat, etc.
 It seems, however, that whenever the Food Requirements committee would make a recommendation on what to do about supplying farmers with machinery, this recommenda- tion would have to go to some iron and steel allocation branch or some machinery branch of War Produc- tion Board, where it would be held up for some weeks to make sure that this manufacture of more farm machinery wouldn't interfere with the manufacture of something else. In most cases 1t did, and & stale- mate resulted.
 AUTHORITY LACKING
 Now this may have been neces- sary, but while 1t was being done the food programs had to stand still. In other words. this begins to look little like the well-known wartime Washington runaround The Food Requirements committee has no authority of its own. It can only recommend. So a new or- ganization must be set up which will have the authority to step in and get action.
 This situation has developed many times in the last couple of years. The National Defense Ad- visory committee had to be re- placed by OPM and SPAB and finally WIPE with one man in charge as boss. The Housing Co., ordinator's job had to be replaced by complete reorganization of housing agencies with one man in charge as boss. The rubber mud dle had to be investigated and fought ever and finally reorgan- ized with one man in charge as boss. The governments informa- ton service had to be reorganized. The War Manpower Commission is now in the throes of being re- organized by law.
 Tn this process of shaping up a food administration there is, as you might suppose. the usual Washington push-pull as to who SIldn run LIlC ollOW. MI. NCloOlA as yet unanswered letter to the President recommended that the food administration be set up within the War Production Board. It might. however, be given to Justice Jimmy Byrnes' new Of1ce of Economic Stabilization.
 POWER WANTED
 Office of Prize Administrator has a Foods Price Division, expand ing rapidly under A. c. Hoffman, formerly a principal economist with Department of Agriculture. Depart ment of Agriculture men would like to see Secretary Wickard and the present Food Requirements commit tee given more power.
 The food processing industry is building bonfires all over the place to have man from their indus try named to the job.
 In the meantime, here is nice job waiting for the right man. Let's see. The last man who was food administrator, a fellow named Herbert Hoover. got to be Presi- dent. didn't he?