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Show lUSDA Explains Apparent Waste Of Surplus Potatoes The people who are always interested in-terested in finding fault with the government have made much of the fact that thousands of! bushels of potatoes have spoiled. Editorials have been written and speeches made with the purpose pur-pose of questioning the waste while hungry people exist in the world. The answer comes from the Department of Agriculture, which points out that early in the war there was a scarcity of potatoes. The armies needed them and, under the Steagall Act, the Department was compelled com-pelled to support prices at ninety nine-ty per cent of parity. The pur pose of the Act was to protect farmers who expanded production produc-tion during the war from the consequences of over-production. When there seemed to be the promise of sufficient potatoes, the Department of Agriculture cut down potato acreage materially mater-ially but the growers, counting on the ninety per cent of parity, changed to richer acreage and used heavy fertilizer. The result was an inevitable glut upon the (market. Very few Americans criticized the government for offering to support agricultural prices in order to encourage farmers to produce food that was necessary to win the war. Having made! the promise, the government was committed to the growers j and when too many potatoes ' were produced, there was nothing noth-ing that could be done but to pay the growers and let the po-1 tatoes rot. I It is pointed out that about! 1,000,000 bushels were distribut-' ed to school lunch programs and charitable institutions. The Unit, ed Nations Relief and Rehabillta- ! tion Administration would not : take the potatoes because de-hydration de-hydration was too costly and, otherwise, they would spoil in overseas shipment, i - . - |
