No Shortage

Though thousands of panicky citizens were hoarding sugar, canned goods and coffee last week, there was absolutely no reason for it. The U.S. was better supplied with food than ever before in history. Not only would the wheat and corn harvests be good; mountains of hitherto unwanted farm surpluses were stored away in warehouses and caves throughout the nation. In the Government's larder at the end of June were:

P: About 450 million bu. of wheat, nearly 90% of what the whole U.S. will eat from current production this year. P: A whopping 176 million Ibs. of butter and 69 million Ibs. of cheese, P: More than 340 million Ibs. of dried milk, a huge potential food supply for troops or distressed allies. P: About 103 million Ibs. of dried eggs, approximately the equivalent of two dozen shell eggs for each U.S. citizen. (During the first three weeks of July another 75 million Ibs. were added. During July, too, the Agriculture Department stored away more than 10 million Ibs. of frozen turkey.)

Yet hoarding, and some profiteering, had already sent the price of food hopping. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that scare buying had driven the wholesale price of food up more than 7% between June 23 and July 18.

To shame the fearful, Secretary of Agriculture Charles Brannan got out a special report to prove how shortsighted and unnecessary hoarding was. In sugar, for example, the U.S. has on hand 1,200,000 tons, and could tap at any time another 1,000,000 tons of Cuban sugar. Moreover, the beet and cane crops to be harvested in the U.S. this year would reach nearly 2,500,000 tons.

There was no meat shortage, either. In the Iowa feed pens, farmers last week were fattening 37% more cattle than a year ago. In Nebraska and Illinois cattle feeding operations were also higher. By fall there would be such a tremendous flow of fattened beef and pork to the nation's markets that prices were expected to fall.

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