Food Shortage From Ending Of Lend-Lease

Northern Advocate, 23 August 1945, Page 2

Food Shortage From Ending Of Lend-Lease

NEW YORK, Aug. 21. High Government officials expressed the opinion that the cancellation of the lend-lease programme virtually means a return to a bare subsistence diet in the coming winter in Britain, France, Belgium and other countries dependent on large shipments of lend-lease food. It is pointed out. that the pipeline through which tons of pork and other fats, oils, wheat and cereals were moved from Chicago to Europe has been broken and that it would require months to establish complicated substitute machinery for feeding Europe. Regardless of what, relief and rehabilitation agencies do to feed and clothe European nations, it is added, the cessation of lend-lease means a return to potatoes and Brussels sprouts in Britain for more than a month and far worse conditions on the Continent. The suddenness with which President Truman acted has led to considerable speculation in some Government quarters that difficulties are deliberately being thrown in the road of the new British Labour Government,. The Lend-Lease Administrator (Mr Leo. T. Crowley) has thrown open the vast resources of the American ExportImport Bank to Britain and other Allied nations to help them buy food and vital supplies denied to them by the end of lend-lease. Mr Crowley said the bank would consider loans to allow countries to buy up lend-lease goods which had already been made or had actually left: the factories.

Arrangements were already in hand for a loan of 240,000,000 dollars (about £00,000,000) to enable France to buy nearly 30,000 railway waggbns. Mr Crowley recalled that he had recommended that 1,000.000,000 dollars should be set aside for Russia, as far as he knew no application for a loan had yet been received from Britain. The chairman of the War Investigating Commiitee of the Senate (Mr James Reid) said that his committee intended making a searching inspection of lendlease accounts. “It is a Well-known fact,” he said, “that these accounts are in a very confused state and they must be settled so as not to create any economic dislocations.” Another austerity cut has been announced by the British Food Minister (Sir Ben Smith), who said he had had to make substantial reductions in sugar supplied for luxuries such as sweets, ice cream and preserves. There would also be less sugar for beer. The sugar cuts would operate until the end of the year. Sir Ben Smith explained that the cuts had been made under an agreement between Britain, the United States and Canada. One reason for this was that 50,000 tons of refined sugar, as well as 10,000 tons of margarine, would be sent to France in the next few weeks. In return Franco would later send Britain supplies of raw sugar. The Minister said lie was looking into the prospects of getting more oils and fats from India. About lend-lease food from the United States, Sir Ben said this had not ceased and he had no official information that it was to cease.