Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-02-06
Sitting
The News
BY Paul Sifton
LPA ColumniSt

''The wheat loss caused by
consignment selling of bread
has not ended, the Secretary
of Agriculture, Clinton P. An
derson, said today"
The day before he had rec
commended to the Senate Ap-
propriations Committee aboli-
ton of consignment selling in
order to carry out the interim
relief program. That sounded
a little odd because some time
ago the baking industry had
notified the Luckman Citizens
Food Committee of voluntary
agreement on consignment sell
ing as one of the principal
ways the bakers were to save
5000, 900 bushels Of wheat a
month for three months.
Putting together Anderson's
recommendation and his state
ment to the Times it appears
that the bakers have run out
on their agreement. Seldom
has a story of waste, mon
opoly, sabotage and murder at
tracted less attention.
Consignment selling of
bread, so long as it is permit
ted to continue, means that
wheat that could keep millions
of men, women and children
In Europe and elsewhere alive
and free is being fed as stale
bread to hogs and chickens
or dumped in the river. That
makes it homicide.
COULD BE STOPPED
The industry knows it could
be stopped, as it was stopped
during the war, with savings
of more than 100000 bushels
of wheat year. But the in
dustry, according to Ander-
son, has not stopped consign-
ment selling, despite its volun-
tary agreement. Nor has the
industry appealed to Congress
to do what, because of COM
petition, 1t cannot or will not
do by voluntary agreement.
That, In terms of right and
wrong, of premeditation and
of motive, makes continued
consignment selling of bread
amount to murder for profit.
The crime indicated by An
derson's recommendation and
statement calls for quick Con.
gressional investigation and
action. Sen. George Aiken,
ranking Republican member
OF the Senate Agriculture Com
mittee, is the man to head the
investigation and to press for
action.
The baking industry knows
all about the wastes of con-
signment selling, how 1t sabot-
ages no only the food conser-
vatlon program but also free
enterprise among independent
local bakers and veterans seek
ing to enter the business and
survive. The industry knows
how II increases costs and pro-
notes monopoly. 1t knows how
costs dropped and profits in.
creased when consignment sell
ing was outlawed by OPA dur.
ing the war, and this in spite
of higher costs of materials
and labor.
All this Is spelled out in the
Federal Trade Commission re-
port, dated April %, 1916, en-
titled Waste in the Distribu-
tion of Bread"
EXAMPLE
For example, the report
stated that War Food Order
No. /, outlawing consignment,
selling and the return of un.
sold bread, cut returns by
465, $4,000 lbs. In 1945, or
over 200,000,00 lbs. more than
the previously estimated saw
ing. Allowing for disposal Of
bread unfit for human con-
sumption, the FIG act ESQ.,
100000 lbs. as a minimum es-
innate of saving In recon.
mending continuance of the
prohibition against consign-
ment selling, Read the ETC
breakdown of his bread saying
against the figures and the
faces of the hungry millions
we are leading Friendship
Trains to feed:
2,500,O00 lbs. (S29,00O bar.
rels) of flour
6,634,875 lbs. (3,317 tons)
of milk solids
3,191,500 lbs. (1,596 tons)
of shortening
1922, l25 lbs. (3,761 tons)
of sugar
Who wins? Monopoly. The
FTC ties consignment selling
10 the development of the Big
Four-General Baking Co.,