Evening star., 1943-07-02
End Of Sugar, Coffee
Rotioning Possibility
Soon, Roosevelt Says

Rotion'ng Possibility
Soon, Roosevelt Says
~ the Associated Press.
President Roosevelt foresaw
today the possibility Of lifting
the rAtioning restrictions on
sugar and coffee.
In his message to Congress
vetoing the Commodity Credit
Corp. bill, the President said:
With the improvement in
the war aginst the submarine
we may even be able soon to
remove sugar and possibly later
coffee from the ration list
will involve losses in excess Of $780,
900 COO. 1t apparently prohibits any
purchase and sale program involving
any loss for the 1914 crop. Com
modities purchased are not to be
sold for less than the maximum
price limitations provided In the
act OF October 2. 1942, or contrary
to section Z % of the Price Control
Act 1t Is far from clear that this
last restriction does not nullify the
exception in section permitting
wheat to be sold for feed at the
corn parity price.
Restrictions Not Clear.
It Is not clear whether the re-
strictions In sections 6 and 7 are
cumulative or whether the Congress
wished to draw q distinction be-
tween direct subsidies and trading
losses resulting from the purchase
and resale Of foods.
Reputable lawyers could. am
advised, argue that section s COM
pletely nullifies section 7. If l
agree. then the bill would be even
more inflationary. If should take
the contrary view. I may be sure
that I will be accused Of miscon-
STRUNG the law.
Many other serious complications
and difficulties in administering and
constituting the bill have been
brought to my attention. But II I
attempted to deal with all Of them
here my message would become as
complicated and confused as the
language OF the bill itself.
When farm prices were low, in
time OF peace. no one IN either
branch of Government ever sug-
eested that the Commodity Credit
Corp. should be forbidden to take
losses in its operations. Now. IN
the critical emergency OF war, 1t
is proposed to tie the corporation S
hands in ways undreamed OF In less
strenuous days.
No matter how this measure Is
interpreted, 1t will have q devastat-
Ing effect upon our economy and
our war effort about which be-
lieve the Congress and the American
people ought clearly to be warned.
/. This bill blacks out the program
to reduce the cost Of living. In
other words. it completely outlaws
the recent reductions In the price
of meat and butter which We nisti-
tuted in order to help get the cost
of living back down from the height
to which it has risen in recent
months.
Would Hit Housewives.
By this measure. the Congress
will compel every housewife to pay
5 cents a pound more for every piece
of butter that goes on her table. and
to pay higher prices for every pork
chop. every ounce of beef. every
slice OF ham or bacon which goes
to feed her family. -'r ~-r 4''...
2. This measure will MAKE 1t viz
tually impossible to institute any
additional measures to reduce the
cost. Of living or even % hold the
line ''-- = 49,
3. The bill denies to. the eExecu-
tive any power to purchase. farm
products for resale at loss or to
make incentive payment to obtain
increased production Of foodstuns
without the approval Of the Con-
gres. do not believe that the
Congress has had an opportunity to
know or to consider how seriously it
may cripple our entire food pro-
gram.
1t is proper for the Congress to
set the limits within which our food
programs must operate and the
principles to which they must con-
form. But there is not time to
submit each specific food program
for congressional approval. Crops
will not wait for congressional de-
bate. To require specific approval
of each specific program is in effect
prohibition.
In order to obtain a greater pro-
duction of important war foods it
may be necessary to establish special
incentives for our farmers. We are
asking our agricultural producers to
change their farming methods and
to grow new crops to which they are
unaccustomed and which We need
greatly in place of the old crops
to which they are accustomed and
which we may not need SO greatly.
1t may often be difficult for the War
Food Administrator to decide just
how great an incentive is required
for this purpose. This bill does not
prevent the continued use of gen.
erous incentive payments to obtain
strategic war materials other than
food. Yet food is as important as
any other strategic war material.
This measure. however. would
mean that every additional dollar
paid to the farmer to get the extra
war crops we need to feed our SOL
diers abroad would reduce the pur-
chasing power of the limited allow
ances of their wives and children
at home.
Such a restrictive measure would
chipped out of the rough to within
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