The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-04-16
OUR DAILY BREAD

A New York news dispatch tells of
1000 angry retail butchers who
"milled around meat truck for sew
eral hours demanding "a fair share"
until mounted police dispersed them
Here Is a report from aBoston news
paper, which was put in the Congress
sional Record: "A near riot took
place at the Boston market terminal
today as hundreds of dealers fought
to buy single carload of spinach
that arrived, and for the second sue
cessive day no peas or green beans
arrived at the terminal through
which flows 95 percent of the New
England vegetable supply"
From various quarters Of the coun-
try have come stories of shortages of
food of one kind or another, of bare
shelves and Mother Hubbard cup
boards. Most complaints have CEN
tered about meat. Newspapers have
carried ads of horse meat.
The plain fact of the matter is that
the country has serious food prob
lem en- its hands. Right now 1t Is
probably the most pressing problem
facing the Nation. AS in the case of
neglected cold or touch of fever, the
condition got dangerous before 1t
was properly recognized. Tardily the
country realized that farms had
gradually been stripped of labor by
the armed forces and war plants;
that it's machinery was being worn
out and not replaced; that fertilizers,
insecticides and other needed Access
sories were wanting; that ratiOning,
price-fixing and multitude of regu-
lations were choking initiative and
cutting food production-until this
country of traditional food surpluses
was actually facing lack of food.
What is our present food situation?
And what are our food prospects?
Those are the two most vital ques-
tions confronting us today. For in a
war food is even more essential than
guns.
Practically all processed foods and
most meats are now strictly rationed
and controlled in price, but not plen-
tifully supplied, so that the present
prosperous consumer may jingle mon
ey in his pocket and count his stamps
and still not be able to get "three
squares" day.
There has been scarcity of fresh
vegetables because of unseasOnal
freezes in the deep South. Meatless
days are common, and some are not
voluntary. Whole regions have suffer
ed meat shortages. Yet the country
produced more meat than ever last
year. and is promising to do even
better in 1943. U. s. meat production
in 1912 was close to % billion
pounds-12 percent above 1941, and
35 percent above the average for
1859. The Agriculture Depart
ment has stated that prospects. are
good" for increasing the 1912 meat
output from Is to IL percent in 1943.
What goes with the meat? Has 1t
been sent abroad? Many have asked
those questions. Secretary Wickard
stated that Lend-Lease took only a
fraction of one percent of our beef
last year. Most Of the meat so shipped
was pork, amounting to about 10
percent of our total. But of all our
meat only about five percent went for
Lend-Lease. Only seven percent went
to our own armed forces. The 1943
goals, if attained, will provide about
l1SS pounds of meat per capita for
civilian consumption--an average of
about IN pounds per person a week.
which is greater than the average for
other years. That represents what is
to be left after from 80 to 35 per
cent of production goes to the armed
forces and Lend-Lease in 1943.
The Pathfinder