Evening star., 1946-07-09

~ SNN1 ~I0 7SSNlIS
'6rudging Help 10
Needy Countries |
With warning that world wide
food shortages will not end this
year, UNRRA Director General Flo
relic H. La Guardia today lashed
out at any tendency to extend
"grudging help" to the needy and
the hungry everywhere.
Mr.. La Guardia, speaking at
food conservation rally before rep
resentative workers of all Govern
ment departments, expressed the
fear that the new International
Bank for Reconstruction and De-
velopment may degenerate into an
international pawnShop'
He criticized the House of Rep
resentatives for its recent action at
taching free press" rider to
UNRRA appropriations, declaring
that utterances during debate on
the issue did not reflect the gen.
erosity of the American people"
I'VE should not put bile into this
bread" MI. La Guardia said, 1T
is bitter enough already
Needy Nations Must Borrow.
The former Mayor of New York
asserted that when UNRRA ends its
activities December 81, the needy
nations of the world will be COM
PEELED to borrow on long terms for
current desperate needs" adding
they won't get on their feet" that
way.
Il believe that the new World
Bank was designed to serve an in
ternational purpose of reconStruc-
ton, and not just be an interna-
tional pawnshop," he said. Il think
most Americans believed and wanted
that" Mr.. La Guardia said that if |
the International Bank now is going
to charge high interest rates. I'VE
have lots Of nice little pawn shops !
right on lower Manhattan where |
they can get that kind of money
AS an American, Mr.. La Guardia
declared, he was ashamed" of the |
House debate on UNRRA. which he
hoped would not be repeated in the |
Senate. The American people do
not want to give grudgingly, but in
the spirit of Christ" he said
Nations Refuse to Go Hungry.
I'VE have arrived at time when
individuals all over the world re-
fuse to go hungry, and that applies
to nations, too," Mr.. La Guardia
said, adding that an international
organization for assuring proper dis
tribution of the world food supply
would continue essential after the
present famine crisis is past.
The UNRRA director was sup
ported in his assertion that the food |
shortage would continue at least
another year by D. A. Fitzgerald,
making his first address as secre-
tary general of the new Interna-
tional Food Emergency Council, who
said:
The acute phase will continue
until this years crops in the North
ern Hemisphere are generally avail
able, while what We hope will be
less acute phase will extend until
1947 crops are harvested"
Stresses Danger of Initiation.
Mr.. Fitzgerald stressed the dam
gers of imitation facing the United
States in its fight to avert mass
starvation abroad.
The way will be much harder
if we find out commodity prices get
completely out of hand he said.
Il don't know whether hungry peo-
pie abroad will be able to compete
with our hogs, cattle and chickens
for the cereals essential to their |
very lives"
Mr.. Fitzgerald predicted that food |
shipments from exporting countries |.
in the next year will not equal those
in the last year. Much will de-
pend" he said, "on the effectiveness
of measures to minimize both ami |
NAL and human use of grains, fats
and oils in these countries-and
much will depend upon prices in
exporting countries, for the infla-
ton spiral is not kind to the poor
and needy"
Cannot Afford Waste.
Mr.. La Guardia. who seemed un-
aware that the announced topic of
his address was The Eleventh Com
mandment-Thou Shalt Not Be
Wasteful,' touched only briefly on
the conservation subject, declaring:
1--WE are the most wasteful coun-
try in the world and have been for
a long time" He said Americans
hao traditionally been a frugal peo-
pie, but had changed. And now" u
he added, we've learned that We
can't afford it any more.
Other speakers at the rally, called
at the request of President Truman
and presided over by Clifton E.
Mack, chairman of the Interdepart-
mental Famine Relief Committee,
V'eIe Raymond F. Garrity, chairman
OF he Washington Food Conserva-
ton and Collection Committee, and
Maj. F. x. A. Eble, general con-
Servation liaison officer. The Navy
BanG played.