MARCH,1946 67 casualnewspaperreaderknowsthattheworldfacesacrisis worsethananythinginthewar,thatfaminesonascale unknownforcenturiesareimminentinbothEuropeand AsTiah.efirstdangersignwasFrance'sreimpositionofbread rationing(liftedafewmonthsearlier)onDecember27;a fewweekslater,theDeGauleGovernmentfell, largelyon thefoodissue;todayFranceishungrierthaneverand judgingfromthedozensof lettersthatcometoPOLITICS everyweekfromourfriendstherethesituationisgeting woOrsneF. ebruary5, theBritishFoodMinisterstunnedthe countrywithanannouncementofsevererationcuts. Thefolowingbday,Trumanmadehis firstpublicadmissionofthewheatshortage,proposingcertainmildsteps andhintingatareimpositionofrationingoverhere. OnMarch1,theBritishcutrationsintheirzoneofGer- manyfrom1,500caloriesadayto1,040;similarcutswill almostcertainlyfolowintheotherzones,andTrumanhas madeitclearthat"wearecertainlynotgoingtogivemore foodtoourenemiesthantoourfriends",whichmeansthe alreadydesperatepositionof theGermansisbecoming muchworse.(The2,000tonsof reliefpermonthwhich TrumanhasnowpermittedprivateagenciestobeginshippingintoGermanyis justatokenUNRRAshipsabout 500timesasmuchgoodsamonth.) Italy isevenhungrierthanGermany:rationsnoware oficialysetat650caloriesaday;UNRRAwillspend $375millionstherethisyear,but thiswill atbestonly keeprationsatthisfaminelevel. IntheEast,MacArthurhasjust tripledhisoriginalre- questforAmericangrainstofeedtheJapanese,whileIndia facesafarworsefaminethanthatinBengalin1943,when some1,500,000personsdied. TheAmerican I n "Starvation" I describedtheshocking Failure(Conticl.) failure of over-fedAmerica to help Europe:thethree-monthdelay inCon- gressoverUNRRAappropriations,therefusaltouseour hugemilitarysurplusesabroadfor relief,thetimidityand incompetenceof theTrumanadministration,thesabotage bythefoodinterests.Thepaternstillremainsaboutthe same.Somerecentitems: ÇAsofMarch2, of the$3billionsworth of usable civilian suppliesinU.S.ArmystockpilesinEurope,only slightlyover$100millionsworthhadbeensoldand almostall ofthattoUNRRA. I havebeenunabletofind anyonewhocangiveasensibleexplanationofwhythis enormouscacheofdesperatelyneededgoodsisallowedto rotmonthaftermonth,guardedbythousandsofhome- sickGI's. ÇLastfallTrumanpromised8milliontonsof coal to Europethiswinter.OnJanuary4,ReconversionDirector Snyderrevealedwewerethen2miliontonsbehindschedule ondeliveries. ÇTheUSquotaofmeatforUNRRAwas300million poundsforthefirstquarterof1946;deliveriesinthefirst halfof thisperiodwere91/2millionpounds.Onereason: TheDepartmentofAgriculturerefusedtostartdeliveries until ithadtheactualcashinhand;althoughUNRRAhad beenvotedfundsbyCongressinDecember,it takesweeks ofredtapetogetthem‘through,andmeanwhilenot a poundofmeat.Note:onFebruary6,Trumangranny announcedthattheUSwillshipabroadinthefirsthalfof 1946oneBILLIONpoundsofmeatbut forgottomention thatuptothenlessthan1percentofthattotalhadbeen shipped.Alsonote:bymid-February,CanadahadshippedoveronethirdofthemeatshehadpromisedUNRRA fortheentireyear. BibliotecaGinoBianco ÇCongresshasyettoshowanysignofpassingthefinal $600millionappropriationforUNRRA. I f this isnot passedbytheendofMarch,therewillbeanotherbreakin UNRRA'spipeline. ÇTheDepartmentofAgricultureestimatesthatAmericans nowwasteone-fifthasmuchfoodastheyeat orenough tofeed25milionpeople. ÇTheliftingofrationinghasbeenaheadachetotheNew YorkCityDepartmentofSanitation.CommissionerPowel complainsofincreasedgarbagecolections:"Noonesaves anything,nowthatrationingisover.Twoweeksinearly Februaryshowedanincreaseof124,115cubicyardsof materialpickedupbyourtrucksascomparedwiththe sameperiodin1945. I t wasn'tjustthosetwoweekseither. Youcouldpickanytwoweeksthiswinteranditwouldbe thesame."(N.Y.Times,March10) ÇAnotherkindofwasteiscausedbythesuccessfuleforts bythefoodindustrytokeepthingswithincommercial channels.TheVictoryColectionofCannedFoodsdrive isanexample.Formonthsanationwidecampaignwas putontogetpeopletodonatecannedfoodstoUNRRAfor overseasshipment.Millionsofcanswerecolected,which isfineandatributetotheAmericanpeople'sgenerousim- pulses.Buthowmuchmorefoodcouldhavebeengiven toUNRRAhadthesamemoneybeenusedinbulkpun chasesinsteadofspentat retailprices,whichincludeadvertisinganddistribution.Alsothetransportationeffortin colectingthecanswouldhavebeengreatlyreduced. ÇItwon'tdotoblameit all juston"theinterests."Gov- ernmentallackofforesightisequalyimportant.Thusthe foodindustrywashavingitsannualconventionwhenTru- manmadehisFebruary6speech. Its leadersinsistedthey weretakenbysurprise."Theysaidtheyhadbeenopera- tingontheassumptionthatconditionsweremovingtoward normal,andtheirmajorconcern,fosteredbyGovernment speakersontheirprograms,hadbeenwithmaintaininghigh salesvolumeanddisposingofpossiblesurpluses." (N.Y. Times, Feb.8.) Itseemslikelythatthisisasincereprotest. Truman'smethodofdealingwithunpleasantissuesis to donothingaslongaspossible; itbecomescatastrophic whenfaminethreatenstheworld. TheWheat Of all basicfoods,wheatisthemostimport- Shortage a n t because i t is cheap,plentiful,easily storedandtransported,andverynutritious. Thedeficitintheworld'swheatsupplyisthemostserious elementinthepresentcrisis.Althoughgraintradersand Governmentoficialshaveknownsincelastsummerthata wheatshortagewasimpending,thefirstthegeneralpublic knewabout itwaswhenthepapersofJanuary4carried aninside-pagestoryestimatingthatthefourwheat-export- ingcountries(USA,Canada,Australia,Argentina)could notpossiblysupplymorethan12milliontonsof the17 milliontonsEuropeandAsiawouldneedforthefirsthalf of1946. A monthlater, theshortagewassobadthat TrumanwasforcedtodevotehisFebruary6speechto it. ByearlyMarch,estimatesofworldneedhadrisento21 milliontons,largelybecauseofupwardrevisionsinthe needsof IndiaandJapan.And aWashingtondispatch datedMarch9suggeststhattheUSA,asusual,will fall behindonthe6milliontons it issupposedtocontribute forthishalf-year,perhapsbyasmuchasathird. I f this happens,thedeficitassumingnofurtherincreases in estimatesofneedwill be11milliontonsbytheendof June. Becausewheatis the cheapbasicfood(fats,meats, eggs,milk,areinevenshortersupply,sothereisnothing totakewheat'splace)adeficitofanythinglikethisfigure canonlymeanthedeathinthenextfewmonthsofmilions ofpeopleinEuropeandAsia.
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