FOOD FOR WORLD

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 84, 6 October 1943, Page 7

FOOD FOR WORLD

POST-WAR PROBLEMS

SELF-SACRIFICE NEEDED

Self-sacrifice and high ideals would be necessary to achieve the adequate feeding of the stricken part of the world after the war, and short-term relief problems and' long -term agricultural and industrial reconstruction! were linked, said Mr. J. O. Shearer, lecturer, at Victoria College University, addressing • the.. League of Nations Union yesterday afternoon. The Rev. P. Gladstone Hughes presided. ! Economic expansion and social improvement must take first place, and the political aspect must be left to the last! said Mr. Shearer. Expansion of the Allied countries would have to be considered at the same time as the reconstruction of the conquered countries. Discussions following the Hot Springs conference in the \ U.S.A. would be held by representatives of Governments, and if agreement was reached the results would still have to be provided for by legislation. The implementation of the agreements could be solved only by political measures. Public opinion must be linked with a spirit of compromise between nations; national interest must not predominate. CHANGES IN THINKING. There-must be changes in our thinking if the mistakes of the last war were not to be repeated, because world conditions had changed more than most people realised. Amongst the Allies were varying degrees of democracy, while amongst the conquered nations were other political ideals. It was encouraging that the Soviet Union had collaborated wholeheartedly at the Hot Springs conference. Most of the problems were inter-related. Amongst motives that would actuate post-war action would be the desire to relieve suffefing, particularly that of children, which would be reflected in their later lives Food relief was linked with health, but giving food relief might be misrepresented as a means of gaining influence and power, of using assistance to rule and direct devastated countries economically and politically. Too much must not be left to voluntary effort, nor should too much reliance be placed on gifts of surpluses by Governments. Hardship could easily provide a good stalking horse for political propaganda of the worst kind. Problems would be greater in this war than the last, owing to the wide effect of German control, the tremendous amount of pillaging by the Germans, the enormous movement of workers from occupied countries into Germany, and the longer duration of the war. The global character of the war, and the reconstruction of the. Near East and Asia, must be kept in mind. RELIEF NEEDED AT ONCE. Mr. Shearer dealt with the tragic situation in some occupied countries which in normal times had not provided sufficient for themselves. Norway, Belgium, Greece, and other countries were now under famine conditions, Holland was almost as bad, while Poland's state was tragic. He thought that a measure of relief, such as had been provided for Greece, should oe extended to these other nations, bearing in mind that supplies to women and children must not benefit the remainder of the Axis forces. The tide was turning, some agreement might be secured with Germany, and the time Ito plan for the relief of the conquered nations was now. We should be bold enough to place the responsibility for some of the drained areas on Germany, but relief for them must be weighed against the possibility of prolongation of the war. Nevertheless relief of some of the most urgent cases should be given while the war still lasted. A serious food problem existed in Asia, and a tremendous one in China. However much international assistance China received, the problem would remain huge. Defeated, Japan, might present a food problem in itself, particularly if the Allies pursued drastic bombing. Germany was certainly-in a better food position than other countries in Europe. In regard to «her we would have to observe a kind of halfhearted chai-ity. Relief was tied up with the problems of political organisation, and this would present an acute problem in Germany. Civil revolution might • intervene either m Germany or on her borders, and relief was definitely allied in this case with political movements. Here there wou±d be internecine war following the main war which would need controlled propaganda and education, while keeping in mind the unequal needs of populations; in fact, relief rationing. TRANSPORT AND SUPPLIES. . Stressing the enormous transport problems which would occur . with damaged roads and reduced rolling stocks ■on disrupted railways, Mr. Shearer alluded to the ■ moving of people 'back to their countries, including prisoners. More than 3,000,000 people had been taken from their own countries to Germany, while war refugees also had to be repatriated. Medical men and civilian officers must be trained for this work. ' Where were the supplies of food to come from? Every country in the war was troubled with' insufficient labour. Canada, the .U.S.A., and ourselves were in the position to make a contribution. Argentina could not be relied upon in view of its Axis sympathies. Leaselend might become a matter of international operation. It was a method of accounting for provisions given by the-U.S.A., but to be used in the distribution of relief it would have to be revised and modulated to meet the relief aims selected. With relief were tied up finance and international currency. % iiim