DEATH FACES MILLIONS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24867, 6 May 1946, Page 5

DEATH FACES MILLIONS

India's Plight If No Food Comes NEED BEFORE END OF JUNE (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, May 4. “Unless India receives 1,700,090 tons of cereals by the end of June, between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 Indians will perish frorq starvation,” said Sir Manilala Nanivarty, a representative of the Indian Government’s food mission to America, who arrived in London a few days ago.

He accused the United States of not distributing a single grain of wheat to India, though he saia she was feeding Japan. “The United States does not consider India of much importance, and thinks more of Japan and countries under her patronage like the Philippines,” he said. He added that this view was not held by the American people, who were sympathetic, but by the American Government. The United States Solid Fuels Administrator (Mr J. A. Krug) announced that the relief programme for Europe was on the verge of collapse because of the shortage of coal for transport. There was a grave possibility that large) quantities of food would not reach the starving people in time to avert an international catastrophe. Protesting that he could not “feed people on statistics and paper wheat.” the Director-General of UNRRA (Mr F. H. La Guardia) disgustedly stalked out of a meeting of the Combined Food Board when he found “pencil-pushing statisticians” attending the meeting instead of officials with authority. Mr La Guardia called for another session on Tuesday. He served notice that he expected the head representative of each country to attend. The meeting of the board, which is composed of representatives of Britain, America, and Canada, was called to receive the May wheat allotments. “I am willing to stand abuse, but I refuse to be trifled with on a matter where human lives are concerned,” declared Mr La Guardia.

A spokesman for the board attributed the flare-up to a misunderstanding. He said that a routine meeting of experts had been called, not a full-dress session. Hence the British, American, and Canadian representatives were not aware that the meeting was scheduled.