Evening star., 1943-11-01
Equal importance War and Rehabilitation President Soys

'NNtS1sy I>SsNSs
food they want AS I have said.
this is the result, to great extent.
o. the fact that so many civilians
have so much more money to spend
than there are civilian supplies of
all kinds, including food to go
around.
There are some who advocate
taking off all restrictions on food
because of the vast food production
which the American farmers have
raised But with the great excess
Of purchasing power now in the
pockets OF the American people, the
supply would never last We might
have a feast for a few months, but
then there would be real short
age-not only for civilians at home.
but for our own fighting men and
those of our allies.
I am confident that the civilian
population of the United States is
ready TO give up certain eating
habits and accept certain shortages.
They know that they must, If the
war is to be won. A sharp line will
have to be drawn between the lux
urles of life and the necessities of
life. A shortage in Slrloin steaks or
in choice fruits does not mean that
the war food program has failed
In view of the fact that more
food is wanted than actually exists
il is necessary TO have regulations
and ratlonlng which are sometimes
very burdensome But they are the
only way TO insure that everybody
gets a fair share irrespective of his
economic or social or political
standing.
Some of them are needed to hold
back from commercial channels a
portion Of the supply which was
production so that the civilian sup
ply can be kept on fairly even
keel month in and MONTH out This
is particularly true of perisha BILE
foods and vegetables where the
supply conditions change sharply
from season to season. For example.
last year there was a good crop
of potatoes but the American people
ate up the entire years supply in
10 months so that in the last two
months there were few potatoes
available III many parts of the coun-
try. This kind of situation must
be avoided We cannot afford to
eat up a years supply in 10 months.
and do without for the balance of
the year We must find a way to
husband all of these supplies. spac-
ing consumption evenly through the
wear. Fortunately We have an abun-
dant supply Of potatoes this year.
Distribution Is Problem.
One Of the difficulties has been
the uneven geographical distribution
Of food supplies. Certain parts of
the country have had abundance.
while others have gone without
Part Of this is caused by transporta-
ton difficulties; part is caused by
the fact that excessive demand has
made it profitable to sell within
the area in which the crops are
grown rather than to ship to other
markets. This makes it necessary
for the Government to develop pro-
grams to insure orderly geographic
distribution of all important foods.
National interest requires that every
part of the country obtain a fair
share
More equal geographic distribu-
tion and more even distribution
through the year could be accom-
plished by the extension of rationing
to some of the important foods
which are not today rationed. How
ever. for the perishable items. this
would entail especially serious ad-
ministrative difficulties Therefore
1t is planned that the Government
itself either purchase or otherwise
control certain foods. or absorb the
/ transportation costs - in order to
stretch consumption through the
year. and to insure distribution that
is fair to all parts of the country.
Such operations would also go a long
way toward stamping out black mar
kets. These devices will be used
selectively and only to the extent
necessary to achieve the objective
Of year-round. orderly distribution.
Control and distribution by ra-
tioning has involved many difficult
administrative problems, most of
which have been solved by expert
ence. No one would contend that
mistakes were not made Neverthe-
less there has been steady improve
ment. A recent survey has shown
that SO per cent of American house
wives agree that good job-a job
fair to all-has been done.
Unfortunately the 7 per cent who
are not satisfied are more vocal than
the SO per cent who are. Many
reasons explain this.
Although civilians with their
greatly increased purchasing power
will not be able to purchase all the
food for which they have the money.
there will be A sufficient amount
Of good wholesome food for the
people OF the United States.