Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-08-20
Washington Digest
Geography Is Factor in
Determining Wars End
Road to Tokyo Both Long and Rough; Pacific
Remains Studded With WeII-Fortified
Japanese Stronghods.
By BAUKHAGE
Ne,ps analyst and Commentator.

I'd Commentator.
the little spring cat which has joined
its maltese mother and its tiger (per-
haps) father. Is it going limp with
boredom? 1t is not. 1t prepares its
toilet with the same tongue-weary-
ing energy that it did when con-
greSs was in session.
That is just an example The
buses are just as crowded. Tele-
phone numbers as hard to get.
Laundry fingers as long among the
launderers. Pants pant for press
ing.
Recently I tried four leading ho-
tells before I could reserve places
for lunch. One of them was not
air cooled. II am ordinarily two
suit guy" said a newspaper man
to me the other day when Donald
Nelson was complaining about the
heavy buying of clothes, "but if I
didn't have four suits now, I'd go to
work impressed and uncleaned or in
a barrel"
ne Little FTInce'
You recall I reviewed 1.-THE Little
Prince" by Antoine de Saint
Exupery in this column some time
ago. I have had many letters con-
corning the author whom said was
at the front.
Recently Leonard Lyons, New
York columnist, reported that the
aviator-author, who is back on the
fighting line again although he is 43
years old, wrote to his American
translator:
AFTER seeing the fighting men and
the mighty ornaments, I realize
that I must come to Africa to ap-
preciate America"
He was spared, after the fall OF
France, ito fight again."
Let us hope he will be spared, when
she rises, to write again.
Food Program
1t was cooler and more peaceful
day than many which had preceded
it in Washington. The President
was in a genial mood when he met
the press and radio representatives.
The administration, he said, is
working on new food program.
A few days before, talked with
member of the administration who
said to me: ''Frankly, if we have
food program, can't find it." And
he was very anxious to locate it be-
cause a lot of his friends had been
asking
The President, at the conference
referred to, explained that he'd be
tickled to death if anyone would ex-
plain to him how he could reduce
prices in accordance with the sta
Utilization under the present limita-
tons set by congress.
A little bit later, I heard it said
fatty: We've got to increase prices
if we expect the farmers to raise
enough food to meet the present
goals"
Now, Howard Tolley, chief of the
Bureau Of Agricultural Economics,
(whose business it is to figure out
what is needed, not how we'll get
i9 says this:
Increased Consumption
eff the United States carries out
its proposed international pledge to
do all that is needed to provide
better diets for its own people, the
consumption of dairy products here
would have to be increased 40 per
cent"
That is just one product-repre-
senting, of course, milk, butter,
cheese.
In order to bring the national diet
up to the standard set, truck crops
would also have to be increased
about 80 per cent, eggs more than
20 per cent, fruit about 20 per cent,
according to Mr.. Tolley, and to raise
crops for such market would take
about 40 million additional acres of
cropland or about one-eighth more
than is now cultivated.
With the present full employment,
Tolley says that this extra output of
the farmers product could be abb
sorbed. And this leaves out what
would be sold abroad.
Right now, industry is working on
plans to maintain this "full employ
ment' by converting war plants to
peace plants. Industry is trying to
compete with the government in
postwar planning in this field.
How many farmers are interested
enough to get up and say their say"
in favor of a plan that will keep
enough people at work so that they
can buy this extra 40 million acres
worth of food they need to be
| healthy?
. by Baukhage