Evening star., 1948-11-25
FAC Visitors Guests
OF so Farm Families
In Nearby Areas
By Malcolm Lomborne, Jr.


Delegates of the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization
who have been working on plans
for increasing world food supplies
today took time out to partake of
traditional Thanksgiving dinners
prepared by so farm families in
nearby Maryland and Virginia.
President Truman. addressing
plenary session of FAO's 4th annual
conference in the Shoreham Hotel
yesterday summed up the sharing
Of Americas bountiful harvest in
these words:
This is the kind of simple. hu-
man experience which makes for
lasting international goodwill"
Says Hosts Will Benefit.
The President expressed the hope
that the delegates will carry back
to your homes our Thanksgiving
spirit of thanks to God and goodwill
to men and I know that your Ameri-
can hosts will be the richer for hav-
ing had you as their guests"
Some 100 delegates and their
families from several score nations
were transported by bus to assembly
points in Fairfax, Loudoun and
Prince William Counties in Virginia
and Montgomery County in Mary
land.
There they were met by their hosts
and taken to various farms In pri-
vate cars.
Turkey and the trimmings were
then the order of the day.
MIR. Truman voiced hope in his
talk that Russia and Argentina will
join the FAC. They are the only
major agricultural nations not
members of the food-planning or
ganization. Argentina has sent OBJ
servers to some FAC conferences
but Russia has remained aloof.
Sees Mutual Interest.
The President declared:
"I think that If we could discuss
with the Russians our mutual in
terest in agriculture, it would not
be 50 difficult to discuss our differ
ences in some other fields. 1t is
most heartening that several East
ern European nations are members
of FAC. I hope this will continue
10 be true
Delegates awaited, meanwhile,
comment from Moscow and BuenoS
Aires on the Presidents proposal.
Norris E. Dodd, director general of
FAC. has said in the past that the
agency would welcome both coun-
tries to it's council table. !
The President, accompanied by
Mrs. Truman, was escorted to the
speakers platform in the hotels
main ballroom by Secretary of Ag-
riculture Brannan, chairman of the
FAC conference, and Mr.. Dodd.
They were f1anked by military and
naval aides. /
Ambassador Wellington Koo. of
China. first vice chairman OF the
conference, introduced the President.
Applauded Five Times.
Five times during his address,
the President was greeted with ap-
plause The first came when he
pledged that this country would
send it's agricultural experts where
ever FAC believes they are needed"
1t was repeated when the Presi-
dent declared:
"One of the ways to restore sta
bfiity to the world Is to produce
plenty of food and see that it is
distributed fairly.
Hunger has no nationality.
Abundance should have no nation
aity either"
Mr.. and Mrs Truman were hosts
to the delegates at a reception after
the Presidents speech.
Meanwhile, machinery was in mo-
tion today leading to the calling of
an international conference, prob
sbly around January Is, on a new
international wheat agreement.
With assurances from President
Truman that he would speedily pre-
sent such a pact to the next Con-
gress, a State Department official
disclosed at an earlier FAC session
yesterday that the United States
stood ready to open talks in Janu-
ary. +
Edward Gale, department offctal,
urged that arrangements for the
eonvening of the conference either
m the United States or abroad be
worked out as soon as possible"