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Show Washington, O. C. l'oon and Tin: w a it Assistant President Jimmy Byrnes culled a meeting of the War Mobill-ration Mobill-ration committee the oUier day to discuss the vital unestion of food for 1944. In preparation for the meeting, meet-ing, War Food Administrator Marvin Mar-vin Jones had his stall' prepare a lengthy report on food prices, farm labor, machinery and other phases of the farm problem. This report was distributed before the meeting so that members of the War Mobilization committee would have time to study it, but it soon became be-came apparent that genial Judge Jones had not read carefully his I own report if at all. I When he began to talk about the drastic need of farm machinery and the restrictions on its production, WPB's Donald Nelson quickly picked him up. Obviously, Nelson had read Jones' report and had some facts of his own to refute it. He pointed out that the only thing getting a higher priority than farm machinery on the war production schedule was the landing craft program, and that the President had ordered landing barges placed ahead of everything else. "You wouldn't put farm machinery machin-ery ahead of landing barges, would you?" asked Nelson. "Well, it won't do 'em any good to land if they haven't got food," replied re-plied Jones. Undersecretary of War Patterson also tangled briskly with Jones over farm deferments. Patterson pointed point-ed out that there were 750,000 boys between 18 and 21 with permanent draft deferments because they were farmers. "This is greater than all the other oth-er deferments of the entire country," said the undersecretary of war, adding add-ing that, while agriculture should be in a preferred position, it should not be a "haven for draft dodgers." "Well, the army's got to have food, doesn't it?" replied Jones. HOG MERRY-GO-ROUND Hog farmers all over the country are dizzy over conflicting directives from Washington. A farmer turns on his radio one morning and learns that Washington wants him to feed hogs heavy. Next, he is asked to market them lean. Next, just as he is snatching the extra corn from the pigs, a hurry call comes from Washington Wash-ington to feed 'em fat again. Farmers are thinking of staging a little satire to express their feelings. Entitled "Make Up Your Mind, Washington," it has the following chorus: "How can a man know what you mean, Whether a hog shall be fat or lean? Make up your mind and stick to that. Whether a hog shall be lean or fat!" However, the situation is not entirely en-tirely the fault of the bureaucrats. In normal times, 225 pounds is a good average weight for hogs. The American market likes its bacon lean. But for lend-lease purposes, extra production was required, especially espe-cially to supply lard for the Soviets. So farmers were implored to feed to heavy weights. Came the corn shortage, and farmers farm-ers were implored to stop feeding, market their hogs, and release the corn for shipment to dairy and poultry poul-try areas. Each change was implemented im-plemented by shifts in the federal price supports. But the hog run became phenom-enaL phenom-enaL January's slaughter broke all I records. Hogs became a glut on the market. Farmers couldn't gel near the slaughter houses. They had to keep on feeding. Hogs automatically auto-matically got heavier, at the rate ol 15 pounds a week. But if they got over 300 pounds, they passed the support level, and the packers docked them. Fearing to lose money, farmers jammed their hogs into market channels, and the run became chaotic, So now Washington has swung back again, and is inviting farmers farm-ers to feed to heavier weights. The support price has been extended to 330 pounds. V, Note: Probably no decision of War Food administration was made with greater reluctance, and the support price will be reduced again as soon as the hog run tapers off. MERRY-GO-ROUND CWashington real estate agents are evading price ceilings by requiring new tenants to decorate apartments at their own expense ... To pack 'em in tighter, a Washington bus driver called out, "Push to the back, folks, and get together like you were in church." C. Ed Stettinius, undersecretary of state, discovered that ambassadors returning to Washington had no space in the state department building. build-ing. With one phone call, he fixed up a suite of six rooms. C Sen. Ralph Brewster of Maine, a dry, used to have a hard time refusing re-fusing drinks at capital cocktail parties. par-ties. "But now," he says, "with liquor liq-uor so scarce, I'm the most popular man at the party!" C. British embassy officials, mindful mind-ful of food and liquor shortages here, are avoiding the usual diplomatic entertainine. |