The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1947-07-24

| IOOl ROeS dlOIlcT one VI IIlOSe
dreams about what a fine world we
| will have now that the war is over
This is the one about how food
prices would come down, and take
the squeeze off the housewives
pocket book. The food packers saw
that vision too, and are now NOV
ing in to see that it doesn't turn
into something real.
1t was more than vision that
scared the food packers, however.
1t was the fact that your dream
was starting to come true. The
prices on canned citrus fruits, have
come down. Canned peas, beans,
and sweet potatoes have become so
plentiful that their prices are
threatened, too. The same thing is
true of some canned fruits and of
raisins and prunes. d. iiAs 9<l
The packers are not going to let
those prices come down if they can
help it. The price cuts would
spread to other canned foods, too,
and what kind of America would
this be if food prices should tumble
from their wartime perches? What
kind Of business would that be, let
ting some food prices come down,
and then letting those prices COM
pete with the prices of other foods
that packers like to make a for
tune selling? ~.
|. Can you wonder that the pack
ers practically had their dollars
signs scared off
But the packers are resourceful
people. Not only do they have lots
of dollars to spend around Wash
ington, and around your home
town when election time comes
around. They also have ideas. And
they have developed an idea to
take care of this horrible price sit
uation before it gets too far.
The idea is a simple one. The
packers will keep their prices in
this country right at the nice, COM
Portable levels where they are now.
Anything that you can't afford to
buy at these nice, comfortable or
high prices will be shipped to
countries where food is scarce.
There, the food will be sold for
whatever it will bring, and the u.
S. government will give back to
the packers any money they lose
on the food they sell abroad.
This packers lobby is a very
potent one. Like all the other big
lobbies in Washington, it has lot
of friends in Congress. What these
friends will do for the industry
was shown during the war, when
OPA ordered the packers to put
the grade on the can of food, so
that you would know what you
were getting for your money. OPA,
with the help of labor, argued that
price control didn't mean anything
if you didn't know what you were
getting for the price that you were
paying. But Congress said that you
couldn't do that to the packers
or the stocking manufacturers, or
the other people who sell you a
and slapped the
ears off OPA for even trying.
In pushing their plan, the pack
ers will have a lot of help from
other lobbies that are just as pot
ent. Most of the farm lobbies will
be for the plan, because it will also
help to keep their prices from COM
ing down. The War Dept and the |
State Dept will be for it, because
it will save them money on the
food they buy to feed Europeans.
OF course, you will be the one
who is stuck with the bill for the |
whole plan. Every time you buy
some canned or packed foods you
will pay part of the bill, because
the prices will be higher than they |
would otherwise be. Any time that |
you buy some fresh fruits or veget-
ables, you will pay some more of
the bill, because these prices, too,
will be higher than they would be |
if the plan didn't go through.
But that won't be the end of it.
After the Agriculture Dept has
been paying the bill on the stuff |
sold in Europe for while, it will |
turn the bill over to the u. S.
Treasury. And guess who will pay |
that part of the bill, too!
Unfortunately, the plan will look |
good to a lot of people. They will |
argue that, after all, it's for the