The Mississippi enterprise. (Jackson, Miss.) 1938-current, 1945-02-24
Food Shortages


Food Shortages
Civilians may continue to expect
food shortages from time to time"
as result of multiplying military
and lend lease needs, but these
shortages will not be serious if
farmers repeat their record pro-
ductivity and if Americans plant
victory gardens and do as much
home canning as possible, Marvin
Jones, War Food Administrator de-
clares. ''There is need for all Of
the meat and milk and vegetables
and grains and dozens of other
foods that the nations farmers can
produce" Jones said. Farmers are
being asked to plant more acres
to crops this year. Farmers and
their wives as we'll as older peo-
pie and children on farms are
working to the limit of their abil-
ity., and the help of city and towns
people will be needed in addition
to meet this years needs" He said
the surest was to assure a full sup
ply of fruits and vegetables for
home use is to grow garden and
do as much home canning as pos
sible.
Pocket Knives
The mystery of where that pock-
ct knife you wanted to buy has
gone is cleared up by an announce
ment this week of WPB. To meet
the urgent need of bomber crews,
ski troopers, sailors, and other
members of the armed forces for
pocket knives, employment in the
pocket knife industry must be ex-
banded to point that will permit
production in the first half of 1945
Of approximately 100000 pocket
knives per- quarter, WPA states.
Each pocket knife is a miniature
engineering project. Making the
simplest type of knife requires
about 40 separate operations, while
a more complicated four bladed
knife, containing some 20 pieces,
requires about 100 operations.
Black Market Report
Organized black markets in meat
and sugar are reappearing in dan
gerous proportions in the United
States, and their existence is de-
pendent largely on counterfeiting
of ration coupons, the Office Of
War Information said on the basis
of information provided by the Of
flee of Price Administration, u. S.
Secret Service and the Alcohol Tax
Unit of the Treasury Department.
Fresh mushrooming of counter
felt activities constitutes the prin-
cipal problem now confronting
government enforcement agencies.
Printing of bogus coupons has be-
come widespread in the meat and
sugar fields whereas it was for
merly fragrant in the gasoline bus
mess, officials said.
OPA executives said that the IL
legal diversion of gasoline through
counterfeit and stolen coupons has
been almost stopped while organ
lied black market activities in Ii
quor have been virtually elimin-
ated. They denied the existence of
any organized black market in Gig
arettes, claiming the petty chisel-
ers" are the chief supporters of
this illicit market
Although cited the harm done by
the individual consumer who basil
cally creates and perpetuates the
demand for illegal or stolen cou-
pons by his willingness to pay ex-
ira sums for more than his ration
ed share. They emphasized that
the citizens willingness to "chiseI'
induces the racketeer to take adj
vantage Of the resultant high pro-
fits, thus enabling the criminal to
thrive and expand his activities.
Authorities emphatically said
that counterfeiting, theft and lille
gal distribution of all types of ra-
ton coupons constitutes one of the
greatest menaces today.
More than a 1000 persons were
arrested by special Treasury and
OPA agents during 1914 for coun-
terfeit activities. OPA also has i'm
posed thousands of sanctions for
violations of rationing regulations
besides obtaining more than 5000
convictions under criminal statutes.