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Show PINTO BEANS AND PATRIOTISM. nAST season the farmers of the Southwest, responding to the call to raise foodstuffs, planted acres and acres to pinto beans. It so happens that this particular bean is the only one that will prosper on the dry-land farms of that region. The crop was a great success and when the harvest was reaped the planters had on hand some 3,000 carloads of pinto beans, all ready for the market. Imagine their surprise, sur-prise, then, when it developed that there was no market for their product pro-duct ; that nobody wanted to buy the pinto beans. To be specific, there was some slight demand lpcally for the beans, and thus the growers were enabled to dispose of a small percentage of their crop at approximately approxi-mately 6 cents a pound, not enough to cover the cost of production. We hold no brief for those planters, although it is a shame that they should stand to suffer such a heavy loss. They were urged to do their duty and they did it; they produced a banner crop of pinto beans, but all they have reaped, aside from the harvest itself, is genuine discouragement dis-couragement and depleted bank accounts. In the meantime, while these beans are going to waste, we are paying 20 cents a pound for navy beans, the assumption being that a shortage has forced the price upwards. Why don't wc eat the pinto bean? It tastes exactly like the navy bean and is every bit as nutritious. The only actual difference differ-ence between the two beans lies in the coloring; the navy bean is white while the pinto bean is a mottled brown. Oh, yes ; there's another an-other difference worth mentioning. Pinto beans may be purchased at retail at the rate of two pounds for a quarter, as against 20 cents for the white bean. What has the Food Administration been doing all this time? Why weren't we encouraged to eat the spotted bean, just as the farmers farm-ers were encouraged to plant it? If it is patriotic to plant the pinto bean, it should be patriotic to cat it. It looks like a rank injustice all around. This food question is becoming more perplexing every day. The wholesale wasting of the corn, potato and bean crops of last sea- 5 son is serious to contemplate. Also, it doesn't set well with good citizens who are honestly endeavoring to conserve foodstuffs. Some- thing is wrong somewhere. The farmer is trying to grow all he can ; the ultimate consumer is trying to save all he can; and yet, because of 1 some breakdown in the machinery of distribution, these two classes i most concerned with the food shortage are not making proper connec- j tions. j Which reminds us, : It is reported that many farmers are feeding wheat to their hogs wheat being cheaper than corn nowadays, and j finding a less ready sale. But at the same time, the citizens are being urged to eat corn and pay double price for it so that the wheat may be spared for our Allies and the boys at the front. This question j arises : Are we, by eating corn, saving wheat for the fighters or for I the hogs? If the latter, then why are we forced to pay an outrageous j price for the pleasure of doing this patriotic act? Even so, we might j be able to reconcile ourselves to the silly situation, could we but for- j get that much of last year's corn and potatoes and pinto beans and I heaven only knows what else are rotting on the spot where grown. I This food problem passeth all understanding. j sb sk sk sk ': |