PRESIDENT TRUMAN LAUNCHES GREAT FOOD CONSERVATION PROGRAMME

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 October 1947, Page 5

PRESIDENT TRUMAN LAUNCHES GREAT FOOD CONSERVATION PROGRAMME

Americans Urged to Help Hungry People in Europe (N. Z.P. A.—Reuter—Copyright.) Received 7 p.m. WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 To save food for hungry Europe, President Truman, in a national broadcast from the White House tonight, called on all Americans to pledge themselves not to eat meat on Tuesdays and to abstain from poultry and eggs on Thursdays. The President, who was launching the food conservation programme. said it was intended to channel 100.000,000 bushels of grain to hafd-pressed Western Europe, declared that all Americans should "save a slice of bread a day.’’ He also announced that all public eating places would be asked to serve bread and butter only at the request of customers.

Mr. Truman spoke over all the major radio networks to a potential listening audience of eighty million Americans. In addition, television cameras, which for the first time were set up 'in the White House, relayed the programme visually to thousands more in the Washington, Philadelphia and New York area. The programme included broadcasts by the Secretary of State, Mr. Marshall, the Secretary of Agriculture. Mr. Clinton Anderson, the Secretary of Commerce. Mr. Averill Harriman, and the chairman of the Citizens’ Food Committee, Mr. Charles Luekman. backing up Mr. Truman’s appeali

Mr. Truman said White House was going on the new austerity programme immediately and that the same sacrifices asked of the general public were being imposed on all branches of the Government, including the Army, Navy and Air Forces. He lashed out bitterly at grain market speculators, whom he blamed largely for the skyrocketing wheat and com prices. He announced that if the margin requirements were not doubled on the major exchanges the Government might intervene to curb those “gamblers in grain.” He said he was instructing the Commodity Exchange Commission to demand of the Grain Exchange that they increase their margin requirements to at least 33 1-3 per cent. If the grain exchanges refuse the Government may find it necessary to limit the amount of trading a day. “This is because the cost of living in this country must not be a football to be kicked about by gamblers in grain." GRLM AND FORBIDDING. Mr. Truman said the European situation was grim and forbidding as winter approached and the tragedy of Hunger was a stark reality. The nations of Western Europe could not get through the coming winter and spring without generous help from the United States and other countries which had food to spare. “We have dedicated, ourselves to the task of securing a just and lasting peace in the world,” he said. “An essential requirement of lasting peace is restoration of countries of Western Europe as free self-supporting democracies. There is reason to believe that those countries will accomplish that task if we aid them through this critical winter and help them get back on their feet during the next 10 years. They must do most of the job themselves. They cannot do it if thousands of their people starve. W e believe they can and will do the job if we extend to them that measure of friendly aid which marks the difference between success and failure. If the peace should be lost because Americans failed to share their food with the hungry people, there would be po more tragic example in all history of a peace needlessly lost. INFLATIONARY SPIRALS. "Another reason for conserving food is to aid in controling inflationary spirals and in preventmg undue price burdens for our own . people. Already many American families with moderate or low incomes are being forced by high prices to lower thenstandard of living. Exports have some effect upon the domestic prices of grain, but they do not exercise a controlling influence on food prices. | Most of the upward pressure on prices is the result of competition among Americans for scarce foods. The success of our foodsaving programme will help reduce these inflationary pressures. FARMERS TO CO-OPERATE ' "All segments of our population must make their cpntribution toward saving grain,” added Mr. Truman. “Farmers must co-operate by reducing the amount of grain now used to feed their livestock, and the poultry industry must reduce the volume of used so as to make the greatest possible saving. Distillers in this country have on hand huge stocks of distilled spirits and it will be no hardship on them to shut down for a 60day period. This fiction alone will feed millions of hungry people. "The battle to save food in the United States is the battle to save our own prosperity and to save the free countries of Western Europe. Our

i self-denial will serve us in good stead ,in the years to come. The voluntary 1 programme is the best way for us to do the job. We believe self-control is .the best control. From now on we shall be testing at every meal the de- [ gree to which each of us is willing to exercise self-control for the good of all. The programme .which has been I presented to you tonight, faithfully ; carried out, will save the grain that iwe need. Hungry n’eople in other countries look to the United States for .help. We must not fail them.” Mr. Luckman, in his speech, described the food conservation plan in 'detail and said that meetings of all I grain-using industries would be called. | Referring to the distilleries, he said i that a substantial number had already pledged a 50 per cent, cut in the [grains they used. "Nevertheless, when the distilling industry meets here on Wednesday we will call on them to go (even further and to declare a 60-day i shut-down at the earliest possible moment.” U.S. FOREIGN POLICY Mr. George Marshall said that during this critical period food was a vital factor in American foreign policy and the attitude of Americans toward food could make or break efforts to achieve peace and security throughout the world. American foreign policy had entered the home and taken a seat at the family table. European economy might break down under the intolerable strain of another winter of hunger, cold and want. The reconstruction programme worked out in Paris could not get under way —in fact, gains already made would be lost—if the nagging elemental problem of how to feed a hungry iamily, how to warm a desolate room, dominated the thought and actions of European peoples. The evil consequences of a European collapse would spread in ever-widening circles until Americans, too, would oe seriously affected. Food from America could prevent this chain of events. Americans could meet the shortage by an all-out united effort to avoid i wasting food and to economise in food consumption. TIGHTEN BELTS "We can tighten our belts, clean our plates and push ourselves away from the table,” said Mr. Marshall. "We have been called on many times to give, and lately the motives for our generosity have sometimes been criticised, even violently assailed. Yet Americans are great enough in spirit to meet the present crisis in the typical American manner, which will go far promote peace on earth and goodwill among men. Let history record that in the coming winter a vital contribution to world peace was made m the American home.”