Show Round Merry Merry By DREW PEARSON AND ROBERT S. S ALLEN WASHINGTON WASHINGTON-It It will not be announced but defense authorities plan to permit a gradual gradual gradual grad grad- ual rise in retail food prices up to 10 per cent by the end of this year This increase is considered necessary to cover coverS higher prices which the farmer will receive when the government buys vast quantities of food for aid to Britain But defense price controllers controllers controllers con con- will not tolerate more than 10 per cent figuring that any greater increase would merely mean more profits for the middleman A firm check will be held on speculation and profiteering under lend-lease lend food plans now being formulated The authorities want to make sure that the moderate rise in food prices will go to the farmer also they want to prevent any skyrocketing of the ost cost of living Government experts cite tomatoes as an illus illus- Because of their high vitamin content the British want cases of canned to to- to matoes To obtain this huge quantity and at the same time not curtail the domestic supply the agriculture departments department's county agents are advising advising advising ad ad- farmers to go in heavily for tomatoes As an inducement they are being assured of 11 to 12 a ton for their crop about 3 more than last years year's price This higher farm price will add about one cent a can to the retail cost This is considered a legitimate up mark-up but price control chiefs say that no more will be allowed Streamlined Foods Because of the acute acue shipping shortage food food- items for shipment to Britain are being selected for high vitamin and calorie content also for minimum bulk and weight In general preference will be given to concentrated concentrated concentrated con con- and dried foods rather than bulky canned goods such as fruits which contain a considerable considerable considerable con con- amount of ot water Tomatoes are an exception because the juice they are packed in inis inis inis is high in vitamins One item urgently desired by the British is dehydrated vegetable soup 12 tons of which will make bowls A plan is under consideration to transport some of this concentrated food in the big bombers bomb bomb- ers being ferried across the Atlantic which can easily carry a ton 12 load The that has been allocated ed for allocated for forthe forthe the food aid program will be used to buy 15 cases of canned tomatoes cases of evaporated milk pounds of lard pounds of or cheese several million pounds of Wilshire cured ham millions of powdered powdered powdered pow pow- dered eggs and tho thousands wands of tons of dehydrated vegetable soup dried raisins and prunes While gigantic in itself the program is only about 3 per cent of the Hie U. U S. S food bill which in 1940 was However unless the buying is done adroitly serious dislocation of domestic food supplies with resultant run-away run prices could easily develop Mediation l Reform When Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia re recently recently recently re- re told the senate that the defense mediation mediation media media- tion tim board should have the power to take jurisdiction jurisdiction jurisdiction juris juris- diction ov over r labor disputes without waiting for Secretary Perkins to certify them he was saying saying saying say say- ing out loud wh what t members of the board have been discussing privately among themselves Ij It was on Miss Perkins Perkins' insistence that her cert certifying auth authority rity was included in the presidents president's presidents president's presidents president's dents dent's order setting up up the mediation board chiefs opposed it for fear that the labor dep department would use it to hold on to cases in inthe inthe inthe the hope of getting credit for settling them This is exactly what happened in the coal strike Round Merry Artist James Montgomery Flagg has just done a series of minute 15 pencil sketches of Washington notables notables Hull Hull Welles Hopkins General Marshall Lord Halifax Chinese Ambassador Ambassador Ambassador Am Am- Hu Shih and Australian Minister Cas Casey y When Director General Knudsen Knudsen Knudsen Knud- Knud sen goes home to Detroit by train he loves to stage a nickel ante pok poker r game with cronies in hi his Pullman drawing room With increasing s ng business to handle for his seized nazi homeland the Norwegian minister is building a new annex anne to the legation in Washington Distributed by United Feature Syndicate |