Milford chronicle., 1943-04-09
LETTER TO EDITOR

Inc lOOd situation and the foot
production outlook worsen day b.
day. In the face of urgent need fol
increased production we are Ger
tain to have this year an overall
production substantially below thal
of 1912. Quite conceivably it car
be 20 per cent or even more be,
low last year.
Our food production program is
in a state of chaos and confusion
Food Administrator Wickard has
the responsibility of food produc-
tiOn without having the necessary
authority. For example, he cannot
decide how much farm machinery
will be produced. He has no con-
troll over manpOwer as related tO
agriculture. He has little or no
control over the prices of farm
products.
The fact is that for many years
this nation has not been producing
a surplus of food over our domestic
needs as many people mistakenly
think. On the contrary, we have
imported more food than we have
exported.
Our government has sold us short
on food. In addition to the respon-
sibility for feeding those in our
armed services and our civilian
population, we are committed to
feed the Lord only knows how
many additional millions of mouths.
The blunt truth is we just haven't
got the food.
Our agricultural policy, if any,
is cOckeyed from any angle you
look at it. In the face of the fact
that we have not been producing
enough food for normal peacetime
domestic needs. and nOtwithstand-
ing our commitments to feed our
Allies and the peoples of recon-
quered countries, we have drained
three million workers off of Ameri-
can farms. We have reduced the
output of farm machinery to a
mere fraction of that normally
used Generally speaking we have
denied to farmers prices that af-
ford a real incentive to production.
On top Of all of this the present
policy is to try to feed ourselves
and much of the rest of the world
with luxury food.
Min meat. eggs and poultry are
luxury foods. II is the present
policy cf the government to hold
down the Price Of feed and grain
, - r.f r,.ent,,. ,,vn,l,rctsOp of y,,aa4
milk. eggs and poultry. To pro-
duce a pound Of dry matter in these
luxury foods it takes at least seven
pounds of dry matter in grain, in
addition to pasturage and rough
age. The luxury food production
program is already beginning to
break down because there just isn't
enough grain and feed stuffs in the
country 10 carry it out. There is
not enough Notwithstanding the
largest grain and feed production
in the nations history in 1912
which was preceded by several un-
usually good crop years.
The only possibility of making
any real approach to meeting our
food commitments
les in a reversal of the present
policy aimed at the production of
luxury foods requiring the use of
seven pounds of dry matter in
cereals to produce one pound of dry
natter in these luxury foods. Only
" far more extensively using the
.ereal grains for direct human con-
sumption can we conceivably avoid
.ctual hunger at home and at the
anne time continue the expectation
# considerable quantities of food.
This change in fundamental pol
cy must come as a matter of dire
.ecessity. Such a shift in policy (
viii by no means solve the food |
roblem. Along with it. if a food |
is to be avoided, agri- |
ulture must be regarded as a war |
and treated as such.
incidentally il is high time for |
he urban press to stop lambasting |
he farmer as a greedy profiteer
nd take a realistic view of the
arm production problem. If farm
lg is as profitable as urban press
ditors seem to think, how can they
xplain the fact that over two mil
on farmers and farm workers
ave left the farm for industrial
When ex-President Hoover stated
few days ago that we can lose the
ar on the home front, and that the
-eakest segment of the home front
the food situation, he uttered a
reat truth which the American
eople should take to heart.
Very truly yours,
w. G. WYSOR
General Manager. II
Southern States Cooperative