The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-16


| foreseen that financing would be
| necessary to help feed the Allies,
SO in the spring of 1871, CCC ad
vanced money to buy lend-lease
supplies. CCC eventually gets paic
back for these purchases, but being
| in the business, it can buy supplies
during the fish market seasons and
| hold till OLA wants them. AS of
July l, CCC oWneo about 300 mil
! lion dollars worth of supplies ear
marked for lendlease. All told,
CCC has bought over SIS billion
worth of stuff for lend-lease.
Second, CCC is the sole govern
ment agency importing agricultural
products, conducting these foreign
purchases of strategic materials and
| civilian fod supplies on order of the
Board of Economic Warfare, and
also through agreement reached at
the Rio Pan American conference
whereby the United States pledged
itself to support-not subsidize,
mind you, but support the economic
well. DClllE Va JQUlll hlilCl lCGll Soul4-
tries whose normal export markets
in Europe were lost on account of
the war.
HUGE FOREIGN PURCHASES
CCC has made foreign purchases
to the tune of $3.50 million to date,
dealing in over 100 items from al
cohol to wool and including honey,
onions. castor oil, shark oil, coffee,
tea, sugar, cocoa and what have
they.
CCC deals through established
importing houses on all these for
eign purchases, using them as
agents to make use OF their expe-
rience and also to keep them in
business during the war. AS sole
importer of fats and oils, CCC spon-
sored trade association knwon as
the Emergency Group for Foreign
Vegetables Oils, Fats and Oil
Bearing Materials was formed to do
the job for the government. To
date, it has been a $75 million OPP
Grafton.
Third, and here is where it really
goes to town, CCC has gradually
become the sole or controlling pur-
chaser of a number of domestic
agricultural products, ostensibly to
stabilize war markets and support
prices paid to farmers to insure
greater production, but in effect
dealing in subsidies as we'll as COM
modities by the carload.
CCC says to the soybean produc-
ers, we'll support the price at sl.80
a bushel. But the ceiling price is
$1.68. So CCC buys EN- at $l.S0 and
sells EN- back for $168, to stabilize
the price, but this is not a subsidy
Last year it cost $12 million.
CEILINGS PRICES CUT
On all the oilseeds, like flaxseed
and cottonseed, CCC had offered
the farmers minimum support
prices. Then OPA came along and
cut the ceiling prices below the sup
port prices, after the farmers had
planted their crops in expectation
of higher prices. CCC therefore had
to make contracts with the process
sors to sell oilmeal and cake at
prices favorable to livestock fat
teners. This meant CCC had to
make up a professors loss of half
cent a pound. This cost $28 mil
lion last year, but it was not a sub
sidy.
CCC is the sole buyer of U. S.
grown peanuts. 1t pays growers
from $3.50 to $40 ton for them.
1t can sell the edible peanuts to
the trade for around SITS ton, but
those going into the oil trade will
bring only $50 ton. CCC will
have to stand the loss, but this is
not a subsidy.
Last December CCC announced it
would buy all cheddar cheese at q
cents a pound. Plymouth, Wis, base
base price. CCC resells this cheese
to the factories at 23h cents a
pound the factories being required
to pass on the difference to farmers.
This has cost $40 million up to July
/, but is not a subsidy.
Space doesn't permit going into
other &C Operations, even in the
rough outline of the examples given
above. But there are similar pro-
grams on dry beans and peas, can
ming crops, hard flbers like hemp,
some milk, some corn, some wool,
hogs, eggs, chickens over three
pounds, potatoes. and SO on. But
remember, they're all price supports,
not subsidies.