The Wilmington morning star., 1943-11-20
By WESTBROOK PEGLER

NEW YORK.-Perhaps I shouldn't mention
the matter above faint and bashful whisper
for l am only very modest operator and
this, therefore, will be just a low muffled
moan not howl.
Last winter, I interviewed several midwest.
ern sedentary or downtown pig farmers who
reported that they were raising numerous
swine on farms out in the country They had
two motives, to contribute food to the general
supply and to make a few dollars, not neces-
sarlly, IN the order named, and they were
quite happy about their venture because as
they said, when a sow pigs she doesn't PLAY
acey-deucy with you-she paWns. Then, after
you have hurled reasonable amount of feed
into the little pigs fellow comes along and
takes them away and gives you Il check and
by that time, or Whereabouts, the sows are at
1t again, and forth.
lhls was CHEEKY Information to one who had
put a couple of rather handsome boars and
an appropriate harem of soWs over in the
Woodlot but unforeseen conditions have arisen
now, which were we'll if mournfully put
few days ago by Mr. Van Riper of Wilton
Conn, in a letter to the New York Times. Mr.
Van Ripper had done likewise and he now
complained that with 90 hungry guests on his
hands ne couldn't buy feed for the same or
sell the little ones at any price and was Of
tered only 10 cents pound for his boar and
the soWs which he aptiy described produc-
ing equipment
1 suppose l should have known better for
it was that way when 1 bought A. T. and T.
and few other little trifles The minute the
word got around Wall Street that Pegler was
buying something, the big interests knocked
II lopSlded. Now. here l am with not 30 pigs
thank goodness but So no less making per-
1ect hogs of themselves for, unlike Mr.. Van
Rlper's man, my feed-monger still contrives
| to get me some.
|
1eed the1n they starve and the human So
clety will burn me down. the more do feed
them, the more l lose And, although they
would yield even now a little meat, though
much less than by all that is right they pres
entity should, can't butcher and peddle them
because that, I am told, would be black
market operation.
Meanwhile, however there is no such album
dance OF pork and ham in the stores and res
taurants as would justify this Indifference to
Nlf' van Rlper's pigs and mine. and, un-
| derstand, many thousands of Others. The New
| YORK restaurants today serving the most
miserable make-shifts of dough and gravy in
the gulse OF spaghetti and patty and hash and
waiter in one of Childs places let out
howl the other night when l made bashful
request for ham sandwich. He said they
had not sold ham sandwich in months and
months
| Yet pork on the hoof is all the place
and perhaps we will have to lure it down
into the swamp and shoot it, if we can get
| the ammunition.
But everybody is going to be smarter next
year. Everybody is going to give up pigs
and raise feed instead and sell it to-
1 can't exactly figure out VINO IS gong to
buy all that feed that all the smart people
are going to raise next year instead OF pigs
because there will be no pigs to eat it; and
as for cattle, didn't you read the other day
where Henry Morgenthau is selling OFT his
great herd of registered Jerseys and Holsteins
because, as Mrs Morgentlau SAID, dairying
didn't pay them, and going INTO apples, in
stead? The rural New Yorker mac an editorial
on this Gliding Mr.. Morgenthau because, it
said, this means that he will be out OF food
production for 10 years but ne IS practically
obliged to make some change because under
his own regulations a farm is not farm but
a clever little scheme having tne color OF
legality if the farmer doesn't sincerely try
to make money He can't tell h'1nseh ne IS
really trying if he continues a venture in
which what with the price OF LABOR ana feed
he knows he can't win. x,
Those n1idwestern downtown iai LES Ger
tainly are right-worse luck aooot u u1oSe sows
giving jackpots. But so do MICE why oldnt
I think of mice? -