Evening star., 1943-03-10
Extra Food al Plants
To Sustain Heavy-Duty
Workers Considered
Problem Being Studied
To Prevent Log in Output
Of War Factories
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES


Beef, pork and other food, soon tC
be rationed to the country at large
may be piled high in serving dishes
/ of cafeterias at war plants and
served without stint, if a Govern
ment dispensation under discussion
today is placed in effect,
This is one remedy favored for a
difficulty causing serious concern tc
the Food Distribution Administra-
ton of the Agriculture Department
How to assure workers in the
heavy war industries, who fabricate
the sineWS of battle-whoSe toll Is
as essential to victory as the hazard
Gus missions of the armed forces
enough meat to keep their own
muscles taut.
Complaints have come from a
number Of war-industry centers that
these craftsmen are not getting the
nourishment that hard physical la
Dor requires, and plans are under
way to solve the situation.
Problem of Distribution.
officials would like to see that
factory cafeterias and restaurants
have, regardless of rationing and
ordinary civilian supply. ample meat
and other food which hard workers
crave and need.
This, they explained, presents no
particular difficulty, except, perhaps,
problems of supply and distribution
in certain war-bOom communities,
where transportation facilities have
not kept pace with the swift growth
in population.
Restaurants and hotels generally
are being limited to percentages Of
their former purchases of food now
rationed.
The Food Distribution Admins
tration, assigned the responsibility
of administering a set of food prior
ity regulations recently issued by
Secretary of Agriculture Wickard
has authority to give the green
light to shipments of food for gov
ernmental agencies and essential
civilian users But Roy F. Hendrick-
son, food distribution administrator
warns:
'Priorities for essential civilian
users of food will be used only as a
last resort IN an emergency and only
after all other means to procure
food have been exhausted"
OPA Must Concur.
Mr.. Hendrickson also said prior
tiles for civilians would not be is
sued without concurrence of the
Once Of Price Administration,
which carries out all food rationing
programs decreed by Mr.. Wickard.
The armed forces, the Maritime
Commission, the War Shipping Ad-
mlnistration and the Lease-Lend
Administration get automatic prior
ity ratings. Failure to extend this
to employees of war industries was
said by a Government spokesman
to be motivated by reluctance to
upset civilian rights and habits any
more than is absolutely necessary
in other words, not to treat all
civilians alike.
Our people," he added, resent
by tradition regimentation and in
reference with their normal ways.
The war has made a certain amount
Of alis invasion of private rights
necessary, But the Agriculture De-
partment and the OPA don't want
to go any further than seems essen
tlal, People naturally would resent
seeing certain classes Of civilian re-
ceive preferences, especially if it
were done by force"
Waiver Plan Considered.
With meat rationing rapidly ap-
preaching, officials are inclined to
believe it will be enough to waive
rationing requirements for eating
places in heavy war industries, al
lowing them to buy what they can
on the open market.
Whether war workers who do
muscular and exhaustive tasks
those employed in steel mills, mu-
nitions plants, shipyards and mines
also will get preferential treat
ment in their homes is another
matter This, it was said, involves
complications of rationing which
might be insuperable There would
be the procedure of deciding which
families were entitled to more meat
than others, which had bread
winners doing work classed as hard
physical labor. For it is recognized
that those doing somewhat lighter
tasks get just as hungry and need
nourishing food as much.
If the war worker got at least one
meal day with plenty of meat-his
meal at the plant, which might be
at midday, at pm. or at midnight.
depending on his shift-perhaps he