The midland journal., 1945-02-02
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REAL DANGER OF FOOD
SHORTAGE THIS YEAR
paul MALLON

WASHINGTON. - The govern
ment is sponsoring a food scare.
New York's Mayor LaGuardia has
been calling for meatless days. Lo-
cal rationing boards are putting out
to their newspapers around the coun-
try alarming predictions of search
ties. Some people are concluding it
is just the usual government fright
campaign to get desired popular re-
action, but this time it is real.
Hard as this may be for the aver
age maidless housewife in the
kitchen to believe, after all the stuff
she has been hearing about great
food stockpiles in government hoard
ing to feed the world, and large re-
serves bought up by the army and
navy, the truth is we could lose this
war on the food front if we do not
have good crop weather this spring.
Behind the tightening condition is
an explanation the government Is
not telling, namely that it misman-
aged its food supplies situation last
year and is now reaping the harvest
Of its mistakes.
Look at poultry. The government
last summer thought it was faced
with an over-supply, expected the
war to be won swiftly in France,
and discouraged poultry raisers
from Matching eggs. That now
proves to have been very bad judg-
ment, and there is a shortage Of
poultry.
In hogs, the farmers were SINH
larly scared Of an over-supply, and
reduced their feeder schedule upon
government advice. We are now
short on pork.
The sheep feeders ran into cold
weather at 1ambing time last year,
and we have shortage of lamb.
Beef Prices Too Low.
Beef has been handled so slop-
PLY as to discourage production.
Last summer both the OPA and
VIA (War Food administration
promised no ceiling price would be
put on cattle, but one Is now about
to be applied.
An investigator went out to the
midwest to hold hearings and re-
ported the farmers were for SITS
ceiling. This proved to be false.
Feeder stock had been bought for
around $18, to put on 200 to 400
additional pounds, and $17.50 cell
ing would have meant ruinatiOn Of
this production process. So now the
ceiling will be upped to SIS so as
not to discourage the production Of
this additional meat.
But in order that the price to the
consumer not be raised, the govern
ment is to pay the packers an addi-
tional 81 per 100 pounds subsidy out
of the treasury and the taxpay-
ers' pocketbooks Ia secret price in
crease under which those who pay
taxes actually pay a portion OF
the price on steaks bought by ev-
eryone).
All this retracing and self-repudi-
alton by the government officials ma
tura1ly tended to demoralize the
cattle industry and scare of pro-
duction.
Worse than this, the war man
power commission is threatening to
draft farm help and the War Pro-
duction board is cutting down or out
the ALLEGATIONS for production Of new
farm machinery. The local draft
boards in farm communities, how
ever, have shown some signs of re-
voting against drafting more farm
help, and frankly, I doubt that VINO
orders will be obeyed.
Yet 1t is clear that farm help.
new machinery, and parts for re-
pairs will be scarcer than last year.
II spring weather is bad, we will
be In trouble. As for large reserves,
we simply do not have them in any
line.
The department Of agriculture Is
now out holding meetings to get the
farmers to increase planting, and
extension directors are doing good
constructive work, but the OPA,
VIA, and the other government
bureaus are doing nothing to extend
production that can see.
Bureaucratic Wrangling.
Indeed, there Is constant quarrel
ing and pickering on policy between
OPA and VIA which is somewhat
demoralizing, and coordinator Vim
sons office is full of left-wing boys
who always have sociology upper
most in mind.
1t is evident then that this new
food scare has more validity behind
it than In former cases, although
the wrong reasons are being of
fered by the administration, natural
" enough, in order to cover its old
mistakes. "People are eating more"
they say, for instance. ] doubt that
this Is true.
The Germans seem to have cap
tured q large quantity Of our
canned goods In their Belgian
smash, and there Is some black
market seepage corruption from