The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-01-19

nS e was
some boarding Of canned goods go
ing on even then, and there was
some need for ALLEGATION. The
Army and Navy were asking that
large supplies Of canned goods be
set aside for them, and the war
production areas with their big new
populations were upsetting all the
normal demands and channels Of
distribution.
At that time, no one had any
accurate idea of what the canned
goods situation of the country really
was, and the curbstone opinion Of
most people in the food industry
was that little or nothing could be
done about allocating output.
That created one of those we'll
known government needs for sta
tistics, and as a result there was
compounded one of those now ia
nous gov eminent questionnaires. 1t
was tough. 1t was everything any
businessman had ever heard or seen
in the line Of government ques-
tionnaire, and NOR 1t went out
to the 1900 food Gamers and pro-
cessors and the 1900 wholesalers.
THE RETURNS CAME
First returns came in May and
by May 81 the division of supply
and requirements In the Office Of
Price Administration had an idea
Of where the inventories of canned
goods were at the beginning and
end of the month, how much goods
had been canned during the month
and at what rate they were disap-
pearing. These reports have been
made out monthly since that time
by 80 to 81 per cent of the $500
firms.
BY summer need for rationing
really began to be felt, so in August
the War Production Board slapped
down its conservation order M-237,
restricting Gamers to the delivery
of not more than IS per cent Of the
civilian allotment of 1912 canned
goods to retailers by Dec. l, 1912,
and not more than 10 per cent by
April /, 1913. This, was applying
rationing at the top.
In September the M-237 order
was amended and rationing was ap-
plt:d to the wholesalers by restrict
ing purchases to 10 per cent Of the
fruits and 80 per cent of the vege-
tables they had sold to retailers
during the first eight months of the
year, January through August. = his
was an effort to control whole
salers' stocks and to limit their pur-
chases in accordance with wartime
bas, period sales.
RETAIL LEVEL REACHED
There were still no restrictions on
sales, however, until November,
when the stocks began disappearing
too fast. Then the wholesalers
sales to retailers were restricted to
9 per cent Of their base periods
sales Per month.
The first plan for rationing
canned goods at the retail level was
drawn up last July. 1t has been re-
vised, sWeated over, amended and
generally overhauled many tiny;s
since then, and 1t still isn't perfect.
It probably never will be. In the
first few months Of canned goods
rationing in metropolitan areas
there will undoubtedly be good
bit of confusion and considerable
bellyaching. But the boys who
have been working on this unwel-
come task for the past year feel
that in the course of the first three
months this rationing Is in opera
ton, the plan will work itself out.
Thes'e ration planners make 1t
clear that they are conducting no
social reforms, no long range eco
nomic experiments. This is strictly
a wartime emergency necessity and
the quicker they are rid OF the
whole business the happier they'll
be. .
All these plans are being worked
out with the food industry, and ra-
tioning of all foods Is being tied to
existing trade distribution methods.
In England customers may trade
with only one store. There is none
of that in the U. S. rationing
scheme. Customers may trade any
where they like so as to keep as
much freedom of competition as
there always has been between re-
tail stores.
In fact, retailers may even cut
prices though not point values
on canned goods and processed
foods to move stocks Of "extenders,
the items eor which there may be
lower demands.