The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-01-26
News "a
Behind,
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Rxr Dam MAT.ION 70
POLITICS ENTERS
INTO RATION NEWS
By Paul MALLON
Released by Western Newspaper Union.


cuses for restoring point values on
basic foods, and a widely assorted
choice of excuses Is available-some
with 10 point to them and little
value behind them. The facts are
these:
Last spring when OPA removed
food rationing restrictions, re-
ported to you the stocks of food sup
plies available did not warrant the
removal, that 1t was done for cleo
ton purposes, and was dangerous
even if we had bumper 1914 crops,
and restrictions would have to be
restored Immediately after election
In any event.
Now the government Is con-
cocting minor truths to cover
up the political motive be-
hind its mistake" last spring
lit is officially called mistake
now, and furnishing sound rea-
sons for its latest step which was
inevitable anyhow.
They say, for instance, pro-
set their calculations; that people
are eating more than they expected.
You can wrap all this kind up and
put them aside in any analysis Of
conditions.
They are publicity excuses and
pointless because the main one
would have required this return to
rationing anyway, and actually the
administration Jared better from un-
expected circumstances than they
had reason to expect because the
1914 crop was better than it antici-
pated last spring at planting time.
Excuses Given.
Another excuse is that too many
points had accumulated in the hands
of the people for the amount Of food
now available. People just would
not spend 80 points for pineapple
juice and 40 or so for a bottle Of
ketchup.
These unspent points in reserve
had to be killed or the new ration
ing restrictions would not have been
effective. So this excuse is true also,
though secondary to the main in-
evitable considerations.
There is a story going around
that the left wingers in OPA put
this new order over on the alert,
clear-eyed MIR. BOwles. There
are left-wingers i'm OPA and they
do want always to crack down
on everyone, and rub the pub
lie nose in the dirt. That is their
established way Of doing things
(Which will handle in a later
cOlumn.)
But not much is put over on Mr..
Bowles, except by Mrs. Roosevelt,
who was unprecedentedly quoted as
saying his speeches were 'dull' "a
criticism, the gratuitousness Of
which suggested Mr.. Bowles is be-
ing steered to play goat for the
mistake" of easing rationing and
thus having aided reelection of Mr..
Roosevelt).
AT any rate, if you accept OPA
figures on food, which have been
announced in very limited quanti-
ties, you must accept the soundness
of restored rationing.
Figures Lacking.
Of course there are no other fig
ures, and government officials have
taken so many conflicting positions
and changed them so often that, on
the face of the public record, you
would appear justified in reaching
the conclusion that either they did
not know what they were doing or
had something deep or disastrous
behind all this.
The War Food administration, for
example, just before election, an
nounced ample supplies of food
available, and it should know if any,
one does. However, a few days later
the chief of the bureau of agricul-
tural economics, Mr.. Tolley, who
also should know, said the opposite.
Some army officials have been
saying the armed services have I'M
believable quantities of food in stor-
age, but an officer of the quarter
DldSt6T SGIlGTdl OlllCc tOiu VIC
tory garden club in New York last
week that all the surplus of the
army would not keep the whole
country going for week.
This suggests rather plainly no
one even yet knows how much food
we have (the army does not let the
navy know and vice versa, and both
consider such information validity
enough as military secrets). By its
own conflicting acts, therefore, the
government has cast eternal sus-
picion ON it's own statistics and pro-
nouncements.
There is no ground for beefng
about it now.
Unquestionably, however, tight
situations exist in butter, meats,
sugar and processed foods and the
Bowles figures now at least have
shed the political necessities of Mr..
Roosevelt's reelection.
Therefore, would say to the
housewife the sparse sound evil