Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-02-23

tRsprintsd from the Ns0 YorL Times)
TO TIE EDITOR OF TIE
NEW YORK TIMES:
IT SEEMS to me that the time
has c o'm @ for some one TO
state a few plain facts about the
grimneSs of the food situation in
the United States. The follow
ing I hin 6 $ are perfectly APP
parent:
THAT the situation is far
Il more grave than the public
has been allowed to know.
O-That the secretary Of agri-
- culture. who was given
charge of the food problem, has
proved himself incompetent, that
he has taken no effective
measures whatever. although
the gravity of the situation
should have been apparent TO
one in his position long before
Pearl Iarloor He is Offering
no effective plan even at this
late date, but only abSurdities
such as $d00.000,000 subsidies
and dream armies of 100000
volunteer ignorant and I'M
trained women and children
workers.
o-That nothing whatever has
- been done To help the
farmer in solving the obstacles
which prevent him, despite all
the patriotism and goodwill in
the world, from achieving max
imum production. These are in
order; skilled labor, machinery.
fertilizer and semiskilled labor.
High wages in industry have
drained away the unskilled
labor.
The army continues TO draft
the precious and irreplaceable
skilled labor, needed if any food
at all is to be produced beyond
the farmers immediate needs.
Not only is there nothing done
10 help the acute labor prob
lem. the inroadS of the army
on skilled labor are making con-
dltlonS worse every day.
Machinery, regardless of de-
partment of agriculture figures,
is impossible to obtain. Even 10
get a spare nut or bolt it is
necessary for a farmer TO spend
long hours of his precious time
filling out forms, travelling miles
on precious rubber and then
waiting weeks before the nut or
bolt is obtainable.
No nitrogen fertilizer is
available, and other fertilizers
become more and more difficult
TO obtain.
MO FARMER wants any part
~ of Mr.. Wickard's absurd $780,
100000 subsidy. What he wants
is the labor. machinery and fer
tilizer TO get his job done and
produce honestly as much as
possible. Certainly no taxpayer
wants another S100,000,000 item
carefessiy tossed into the al
ready fantastic expenditures of
a hopelessly muddled campaign
along the whole of the home
front.
AS TO the dream army OF
100000 unskilled workers, they
can only be of any practical use
in areas where there are flash
crops of fruit and vegetables.
Even here such an army is not
too valuable and is certain to be
the cause Of 10 to 20 per cent
loss or damage to crops.
To the dairymen, the poultry
men, the livestock raisers, TO the
farm equipped with expensive
machinery. temporary volunteer
labor is of no value whatever.
What is needed and vitality
is skilled. experienced
labor "a hours a day, 365 days a
year. Without it, hatcheries
must curtail production or close.
poultrymen and dairymen must
cut production or 60 out of bust
ness. Many thousands all over
the country have already done
so. The talk of increased pro-
duction is nonsense, and it is
criminal TO 60 on deceiving the
people of the nation with the
idea that more food will be pro-
duced next year.
The only figures on the stu
alton come from the secretary
of agriculture. recently pro-
NOTED (Heaven knows WHY TO
the post of food car" or in
handouts by press agents from
his office, or in interviews TO
newspaper men who do not and
cannot understand the funda-
mentals of food production
problems.
There are. OF course. the
periodical speeches Of the SeCre-
tary Of agriculture telling the
people of the United States that
they must learn 10 do without,
and the farmer, already working
10 hours day under great
handicapS, that he must work
harder and put his women and
children into the fields.
No figures are given out con-