Evening star., 1947-08-17
Europe's Crop Outlook kBelowAverage;
China Expects Better Yield This Year

II is C.lV. JOUL
Geneva Conference to
4 Try. to Keep World
Larder Full
By Sisrid Arne
|. Forty-seven nations will convene
August Is at Geneva to do battle
with the monster of want which
helped to wreck the peace of the '30s
They will strive 70 get world
agreements to a system which they
hope will prevent the periodic wild
swings In food prices which have
been both cause and symptom Of
world depressions. ''>
The plans are complicated. Econ
omists think that If the Geneva
meeting is successful. the system set
up will be the most far-reaching
organization the world has ever
known. - ~.D ...
The conferees at Geneva will be
delegates from the Al nations which
are members of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization
Here is the heart of the Geneva
proposals: -.....
l. Each nation would build up Its
own stockpile of basic food, buying
when world prices drop too low. The
hope is that government buying at
such a time would bolster prices anc
prevent flood of farm foreclosures
such as hit the American Midwest
in the sos, when wheat dropped to
around 80 cents bushel.
Steering Committee
2. Each nation would sell from Its
stockpiles when prices began to sail
through the ceiling, just as American
corn has been doing at s2.17 bushel
This Is not an untested government
action. Twice in the '3os the United
State Government sold corn to bring
down prices. 49,
8. To tie together this world buy
ing and selling, the FAC would set
up a sort of steering committee to
work almost continuously. It would
Keep an eye on crop reports, the
food needs Of nations and the prices
Of such basic foods as wheat, corn
rice, sugar and coffee.
This steering committee would be
called the Food Council of the
FAO." The United States suggests
that 1t include 18 nations. repre-
senting both those that sell food
and those that buy it.
This food council would have the
power to warn nations both when
surpluses were piling up (when
prices might crack badly and to
warn when it thinks prices are
climbing too high land governments
could begin to sell their stockpiles
to ease on prices). 81
To meet such duties the FAC
plans to set up world commodity
committees, one each for the basic
products. These committees would
decide the top and bottom prices
at which commodities should be
Sold. They would be responsible for
giving the go-ahead to governments
to either sell when prices are too
high or to buy when prices are
too low. .-
Economists Confident
There is no proof that govern
ments would comply with such a
plan, since there never has been
such a plan. and there could be the
temptation for some nations to make
4 national profit as against a world
good. .-.} g.
But FAC economists are confident
OF the plan. They say that world
publicity today quickly points out
the dog in the manger" and that
few nations have the nerve to wear
the label. ,.>..,-> ...-..
4. FAC also plans to agree on
the time for the sale-of surpluses so
that no nation can dump" large
supplies OF food on the world market
and break the world price.
S. There Is a; companion plan, in
which the United States is inter-
ested, to aid the famine-area ma
tions such as India and China. This
plan would permit the periodically
surplus nations such as the United
States and Canada to sell surplus
foods to famine areas at a price
below the world price.
From there on out, FAC thinking
spreads in all directions. 1t over
laps the four other agencies of the
United Nations which were set up to
drive, toward the pledge of Free
dom From, Want: The Interna-
tional Bank, the international Fund,
the International Labor ONCE and
the International Trade Organiza-
ton which Is now being set up in
Geneva.
New Pattern for Some
FAC economists think food pro-
duction should never again be cut
back just to "up" the prices OF
farmers, as 1t was during the sos ir
the United States. Insetad they
think the u. N. member nations
must both raise more food and make
1t possible for the underfed nations
to buy the increasing supplies.
They think some nations, to gain
freedom from want, will have to
change their agriculture industrial
pattern. They point out nations
where millions of paupers struggle
along on Observation-Disclosures farms
where 1t might be better If some
farm ho y1flu yx,ora yI.oved into foxuy, r.