Salt Lake Telegram | 1950-10-03 | Page 8 | Soap Hoarded While U. S. Has Fat Surplus

Soap SoaD Hoarded While U. U S. S Has Fat at Surplus When the Korean crisis developed and many Americans rushed to stock up upon upon upon on items which they thought would be bein bein bein in short supply in the event of war we warned of the danger of stocking stocking stocking stock stock- ing up on the wrong items There is al always always always al- al ways a tendency for hoarders to buy up those items which were short in the last war But conditions and times being different different different dif dif- dif dif- ferent there is no reason to believe the same shortages will in fact develop in a future war We Ve have now a case wf which ich proves this point Many lany of the Korea crisis hoarders bought up stocks of soap because they recalled the fat shortage in the last war which made soap a relatively scarce item But the other day there was a bit bitof bitof bitof of news to the effect that the United States Department of Agriculture was getting worried about its oversupply of both edible and inedible animal fats Because fats were so critically short during during during dur dur- ing and immediately after the last war production was encouraged Now output output output out out- put is so huge that the department reports reports reports re re- re- re ports an annual surplus of pounds of fat and it has hired a research research research re re- re- re search organization to try and find a anew anew anew new market to get rid of the surplus Much the same situation is true or would be true in other lines Best bet for anyone is not to try to gaze crystal-gaze the effects of a war crisis on domestic supplies As sure as he does hell he'll be hoarding a stack of soap when the stores are full of it or it-or or worse still a pile of moldy flour caked sugar or rotted tires with no shortages of these commodities