Evening star., 1942-12-06
BY BLAIR BOLLES,


The first problem confronting
Herbert H. Lehman in his job as
director of Foreign Relief and Re-
habilitation Operations is where to
find the vast quantities of varied
foods needed to rescue Europe and
Asia from starvation when the war
is over. Gov. Lehman has gone
to work in an Office in the State
Department.
Enough wheat to feed Europe for
a year, 900, 900 ,O00 bushels-is at
Gov. Lehman's disposal in United
States and Canadian warehouses,
but nutritionists consider a diet Of
bread inadequate.
Gov. Lchman's Job in time prom
ises to be one of the biggest in
history. His work is expected to af-
feet the peace conference and the
shape of the world to come.
Milk to BE Problem.
Confidential reports indicate that
the foreign relief director will have
difficulty in obtaining enough milk
in the United States to make it
possible to satisfy Vice President
Wallace's aim of a quart of milk a
day for everybody in the world.
The estimate is that 160,000O 600
pounds of milk could be used in 1943
to meet foreign relief and domestic
needs, but the production prospect is
for only 100000 pounds.
The hope is that the Europeans
and Asiatics who benefit from the
Lehman program will receive milk
and eggs, to be shipped in dried
form, along with their bread from
United States and Canadian wheat,
as we'll as sugar, coffee and corn.
S-ockpiles of the last three foods in
Cuba, Brazil and Argentina are to
be drained for distribution abroad.
The administration has been urg-
rhg shifts in the whole nature of
American agriculture during the past
year in order to provide for the
worlds postwar needs, but little
progress has been made in dis
couraging wheat production.
Wheat Basis of Orerations.
Wheat is expected to be the basis
of Gov. Lehman's operations, just
as it was more than 20 years ago
for Herbert Hoover in his European
relief work and just as it is today
in the Near Eastern countries, where
the British and American govern
ments are distributing bread land
baby food among the Arabs and
other peoples of Egypt, Palestine,
Syria, Lebanon, Trans-Jordan, Ara
bia, Iraq, Iran and even neutral
Turkey.
Some disappointments for the
exile governments of Europe have
come in Washington's preparations
for the relief work The govern
ments submitted to the State De-
rartmont detailed food needs Of
their countries calling for perfectly
rounded diets for every man, woman
and child. The American Govern
ment found it necessary to curtail
these lists sharply because to dis
tribute many of the foods needed
for complete diets is considered to
llS OuISlQt JliS lCdilil VI pooolOlAies.
The wide expansion in the proc
essing of vitamized foods in the
United States during the past two
years is said still to fall short of
making it possible to provide starv-
ing Europe with these foods.
The United States is swiftly de-
veloping a concentrated food indus
try that is playing its part in the
fighting Of our own and our allies
soldiers, sailors and marines and
probably will play part in the
work of Gov. Lehman and his aides.
By next July l. for instance, it is
expected that this country will be
producing dried pork at the rate of
60000,000 pounds a year. Dried
pork takes up about one-flfth of the
shipping space of fresh or salted
pork.
Vegetable -dehydration plants in