| Show Wrong Flour our Customer I f State Officers Reject Use of Telegraph vt t By Frederick C C. Othman WASHINGTON Our Our department depart depart- ment meet of state it is ls obvious does not believe in new inventions inventions in- in like the radio telegraph machine So it is that our old old- fashioned fashion d diplomats dispatched a a ft me message in April from LebAnon Lebanon Lebanon Leb- Leb anon Syria It didn't get here until August And that's why the government government government govern govern- ment still hasn't done anything about the sacks of flour flouri i i destined for tor Liberia but which 5 somehow turned into I sacks when they got to the Arabs Arab miles away How flour under exp export rt license 11 li- t cense could multiply 10 fold before beI before be be- I fore it got to the wrong customers distempers custom custom- pers ers was the embarrassing and pro pounded pronged double-pronged question propounded pro pro- pounded by Sen Homer Ferguson 5 son of Mich to the office of international international in- in II trade What had the government done about it i I For one thing said Mid 0 O I IT T TinI Tin Tin- in- in I Allen Moorfield he 1 still tiU was investigating with the cooperation of the state depart depart- ment Left in JanDa January f- f Yes but the flour had left New Orleans last January Insisted in insisted in- in l sted Sen Ferguson How long did these investigations take The lanky Moorfield was wu dead He said the U. U S. S embassy in Lebanon had investigated investigated gated as per request at its it's end sand and filed its answer by radiogram radiogram radiogram radio radio- gram in April This communication communication cation nation presumably rowed across the Atlantic by a diplomat in striped pants was five months to the commerce depart depart- ment meat The state departments department's ael- ael eldom el- el dom in a hurry observed Sen John W. W Bricker of Ohio Yes sir air said Moorfield while an assortment of government government government govern govern- ment bigwigs cringed in their big leather chairs The story they told with ith considerable prodding by the senators indicated indicated indicated indi indi- that flour lour is peculiar pecullar So are governmental decisions Heres Here's the tale condensed 4 Applied for License L. L N N. White bite and Co New NewYork NewYork NewYork York exporters applied for a license to ship some flour to the hungry natives of Liberia on the coast of ot Africa That seemed fair enough and the experts expert decided to give gi em cm sacks The young lady clerk in charge of ot issuing licenses must have h had d a big date the night before Her mind wasn't on her work She somehow added a couple of zeros and there was waa White and Co with a license t to send to Africa sacks sacka By the time ime Moorfield and fellow cops cops had discovered this t White errors and Co had bought sacks of flour lour assembled em in New Orleans ans and chartered charI chartered char- char I a ship to send same across the lea seas But why didn't you stop it 1 demanded Sen Ferguson We found ourselves in the impossible po position of ot putting a a. business man in an embarrassing embarrass embarrass- ing financial position through the mistake of one one of ot our clerIcs clerks replied chief chiet counsel N Nathan than The boat of flour Jour crossed the Atlantic all right but instead of heading down the coast of ot Africa it plowed through the Mediterranean and docked at Lebanon where a Syrian cartel bought the cargo sold old some locally and shipped the rest ret to the Arabs who were getting ready at the time to battle the Jews in the Holy Land Or so 59 said the message which took 20 weeks to get gel from Lebanon Lebanon Le u- banon to the commerce department department department depart depart- ment in m Washington ton So you tried to save this man White a loss and you al allowed allowed al- al lowed lowed him to perpetrate a fraud suggested Sen Ferguson Oh no sir insisted Not him but the consignee Next investigation I suppose will consider how the state department department department de de- de- de ever managed to ignore ignore ignore ig ig- nore the invention of Mr Mar Mar- I coni The diplomats may be in- in treated to learn that radio is a wonderous thing Carries messages messages messages mess mess- ages across across' the seas with the speed of light and could be useful useful useful use use- ful according to the senators in getting flour to the right mouths Copyright 1948 by United Feature Syndicate |
