68 p o l i t i c s Thetragedycouldhavebeenavoidedhadcertainsteps beentakenlastsummer,insteadof inFebruary,1946.Price policiestodivertwheatfromanimaltohumanconsump- tion,avetoonuseofwheatforbeerandwhisky,requirementofadarkerloafofbreadtheseobvioussteps,nowbe- ingtaken,areahalfyearlate.Themostessentialstephas notevenyetbeentaken:atransportationpriorityforwheat onAmericanrailroadslikethatgiventomunitionsduring thewar.Lack ofboxcarsandhandlingfacilitiesatthe portsisonebigreasonthiscountrycanshipabroadonly miliontonsofwheatthishalf-year(andprobablynot eventhatmuch).But therailroadsandtheircustomers canmakemoremoneyonothergoods,andTrumanisnot onewhowouldthrottlefreeenterprise. Thetragedycouldevenhavebeenavoidedhadtwosteps not beentaken.Onewastheliftingof allcontrolsfrom wheatlastAugustbytheCombinedFoodBoard(USA, Britain,Canada),whichhadhandledwheatexportsall throughthewarunderinternationalalocation.Despitethe shortageofships,theCFBhadbeenabletogetenough wheatshippedtomaintainat leastminimumnutritional levelsthroughoutthewar. But lastAugust,perhapsinfectedbytheepidemicofheadlong"decontroling"then takingplaceinthiscountry,theCFBfreedwheatfromall controls,stating:"Suppliesofwheat inNorthAmerica andArgentina will beadequatetomeet all indicatedimport requirementforhumanfood. . . .Wheatandflourhave beenremovedfromformalinternationalallocationrecommendations."Theresultsof thisabdicationofplanning arenowbeingfelt. OnFebruary6,UNRRADirectorGeneralLehmancabledtheUNOaskingthat"thegovern- mentsconcerned.. . .reconsidermosturgentlythedecision takeninmid-1945toremovewheatandflourfrominter- nationalallocation."Todatethishasnotbeendone. Theotherstepwasmuchthemoreserious:theread- justmentof farmpriceswhichtheU.S.Departmentof Agriculturemadelastspring.Theefectof theDepart- ment'snewpricepolicy(whichSecretaryAndersonnow admitswas"anerror injudgment")wastomakeitmore profitableforfarmerstofeedtheirgraintolivestockthan tosell it forhumanconsumption.Accordingly,lastyear USfarmersfedover200millionbushelsofwheattotheir hogs,cattleandchickens.Thiswas fourtimes asmuch astheyhadsousedinprewaryears,andcomesalmost exactlytothe6miliontonsourGovernment hopes toship abroadduringthefirsthalfof thisyear. A tonofwheat consumeddirectlybyhumanbeingswill feeda lotmore peoplethanthesameamount if it is firstconvertedinto meat.Thusthediversionofwheatfromanimalfeedingto humanconsumptionhasbeenurgentforalongtime,and yetevennowtheoriginalmistakehasnotbeenremedied inanyvigorousfashion. A ceilinghasbeenputonthe weightofhogs,andonMarch2thepriceofwheatwas raisedbythetrivialsumof3cabushel.Thesemeasures, longoverdue,areinadequate.Trumanhasalsotakentwo othertimidstepstogetmorewheatforexport.Hehas orderedthemilerstoextractahigherpercentageof the wheatkernel ingrindingtheirflour;thiswillgainabout 25millionbushels.*Andhehasforbiddentheuseof *Theordercalls for80%extraction,insteadof theprevious 70%.This willmakeourbreadmorenutritious,tastierandslightly darker.Theorder,ofcourse,isbitterlyopposedbythemilersand bakers,becausethemoreof thewheatkernelthat isextracted,the lesschancethere is of theflourspoiling.Also, thewhiterbread is,thelonger it willkeepfresh.Theconcentrationof themilling industryinafewhugecorporationslocatedinMinneapolis,andthe similarhighdegreeofconcentration inbaking,sothat a fewbig corporationslikeWardsandBondsupplyvastareasfromcentral bakeries—thesefactsmakeit of primeimportanceto themillers wheatin theproductionofbeveragealcoholandbeer. (Brotherhoodofnationsnote: in1945,Americanwhisky distilersincreasedproduction25%over1944.) Imayconcludewithanewsitemfromthe Times financialpageofFebruary10:"Thepicturepaintedbythe ChicagograintradeforEuropeis farblackerthanadmitedofficially,butthescarcityofgrainabroadhasbeen knownto theDepartmentofAgriculture,thecombined wheatboardandhighGovernmentandreliefoficialsfor atleastsixmonths,brokerssaid."Thegraintradersalso predictedthatthe1946-7cropyearwouldalsobeoneof "acutefoodshortage"abroad. Stalin'sElectionStalin'sspeechofFebruary9wasanim- Broadcast po r t an t statement of policy. To the foreignministries of Britainandthe USA,itwasaformal"resignation"fromthewartimealliance.To theRussianpeople,atwhomitwasprimarily aimed,it justifiedsocialism(or rather"theSovietsocial system"asStalintermedit throughoutperhapsasignific- antverbalshift)asagoodthingbecauseit winswars, whichareassumedtobeman'schronicfatebecauseofthe wickednessof allnationsexcepttheSovietUnion. WhatStalinsaidmaybebrieflysummarized,sincehe alwayssayseverythingat leastthreetimesas: "Moreover,afterthiswarnoonedaredanymoretodenythe vitalityoftheSovietstatesystem.Now it isnolongera questionofthevitalityoftheSovietstatesystem,sincethere canbenodoubtof itsvitalityanymore."(Ontheevidence ofStalin'sbarbarousoratoricalstylealone,onecould deducethebureaucraticinhumanityandtheprimitivenessof modernSovietsociety.)Hismainpoints,then,were: (1)Thewarwas"noaccident"butrather"theinevitable resultof thedevelopmentof . . .monopolycapitalism." ("OurMarxistsdeclarethatthecapitalistsystemofworld economyconcealselementsofcrisisandwar.") (2) We wonthewar;notawordaboutLend-Leaseor anyhelpfromtheAnglo-Americanmilitaryoperations. ("Ourvictoryimpliesthat itwastheSovietarmedforces thatwon.OurRedArmyhaswon.") (3)Ourvictoryproveswehaveagoodsocialsystem, thebestinfact.("Thewarhasrefutedalltheassertionsof theforeignpressaswithoutfoundation.Thewarhas shownthattheSovietsocialsystemisatrulypopularsys- tem,issuedfromthedepthsofthepeopleandenjoyingits mightysupport. . . .TheSovietsocialsystemis . . . fully viableandstable.") (4)Themilitaryvictorywaspossiblebecauseofthein- dustrialbasecreatedbythefirstthreeFiveYearPlans, whicharepresentedasahistoricalyuniqueachievement oftheviableandstableSovietsystem. ("In 1913our countryproduced4,220,000tonsofpigiron . . . in1940, 15,000,000tonsofpigiron. . . .Asyousee,thedifference is colossal . . . anunprecedenteddevelopment in pro- du ( c5 ti ) o Tn h .") isachievementwaspossiblebecausewhile "in capitalistcountriesindustrializationusualystartswithlight industry","inourcountrytheCommunistPartyreversed theusualpathandbegan. ..withthedevelopmentofheavy ind (6u ) s T tryh ." epastFiveYearPlanswerejustifiedby thevicandbakersthat theirproductbe,aboveallelse,durable. I t is just ourbadluckthat their flourcomessoclosetobeingachemically "inert"substance, likeplaster, that ratsandcockroachesaresaid tofleefrom it (whichdoesnotdispleasethemillers,whodon't getanysalesfromcockroaches),whiletheirwhitebread in taste andtexturecloselyresemblesmoistflannel. (On thismatter of bread,seeJamesRorty'sarticles inTheNewLeader andelsewhere.) BibliotecaGinoBianco
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