Evening star., 1946-04-05
BY the Associoied Press

VATICAN CITY, AprH 5.-IHe
teTt OF Pope Plus broadcast yes
terday on the ,oorld food situa-
ton:
With our heart in the grip of deel
anguish, We speed cry of appea
today to the conscience of the world
to the sense of responsibility of th'
leaders in political and economic
life, TO the peoples spirit of human
sympathy and mutual charity; to al
who have eyes to see and ears Il
hear, TO all who are able to rist
above conflicting opinions, to impose
silence on the rancor begotten by tht
war and have left their minds ane
hearts open to the holy voice of hu'
man brotherhood.
And in particular we appeal to al
those, who united with us in tht
Christian faiths and fed on the doc
trine and the law of Christ, can SCI
in this appeal to their brotherl,
spirit the touchstone of a sincer'
and intense love of God. Poor hui
manity, just emerged from the rive
of blood through which it passed il
the years of war, is mounting il
search of peace path ever rougher
ever sleeper, ever more beset with
brambles.
At its every step arise new hin
drances and obstacles, the serious
ness of which very few suspected il
the first flush of hard-won victory
While statesmen, in their delibera
tions, often beset with difficulties
are trying to lay the first founda
tons of political and economic re-
construction, and to remove or a
least smooth out the inevitable dis
Crepancy Of opinions and interests
10, behind them rises the threaten
ing specter of famine, as the expert.
bend over their statistics and th'
columns of figures slowly lengther
out under their eyes. They Sc,
forged on them the insistent ant
bitter certainty that the sinistel
shadow of famine rests on at leas
quarter of the entire population O
the globe
Difficulties Aggravated.
Over immense territories il
threatens to reap whole multitude
unless timely remedies are brough
to bear, and their number make,
almost insignificant the undoubted
ly impressive host of combatant!
and noncombatants struck down OF
all the fronts of the last war.
Various unforeseen and unfore
seeable circumstances have ag
gravated the already formidable
difficulties of provisioning; in East
ern Europe insufficient cultivation
of the soil due to the wars onrusf
and the subsequent forcible driving
away of a great part of the loca
population; bad wheat harvests il
Southern Europe and the land!
which border on it-poor harvests
especially of rice in Eastern ane
Southeastern Asia and drought il
South Africa The consequence!
are becoming visibly clear. They
are an increased and indispensable
need of importations for Europe II
these months before the coming
harvest and an imperious necessity
of aid for the populations of The
other territories we have namee
which in normal times were self
sufficient.
Undoubtedly vast regions produce
much more than is needed by theil
own populations. But not to speal
of those which unhappily foune
themselves involved in the worle
conf1agration and experienced wal
and postwar devastation, notable
supplies. which had been accum'
ulated, were withdrawn from tn.
public market during the conflic
and used as fodder for animals o.
subjected to chemical-industria
processes.
In any case, even with the pro
visions still available, to tide thing
over till the next harvest will not b,
possible without grave difficulty ant
unless every available means is used
And even so, at the beginning of tn,
harvest practically nothing will re-
main in reserve.
The difficult food situation, il
consequence, will not be definitely
solved even then it may persist
which God forbid, until the fol
lowing harvest.
So there will be almost l6 months
during which the daily prayer which
we send up to Our Father in Heaven
even in times of prosperity, viii
have to become more earnest ano
more fervent: Give us this day oul
daily bread.
Question of Freeing Stocks.
We doubt not that the peoples
who in the prosecution of their wal
objectives showed such a great
power of organization and such ar
heroic spirit of sacrifice, will give
proof of the same qualities now tina,
there is need tRsnatch from death
millions of human beings. It is 6
question of setting free what stocks