food problems arise. With the outbreak of the war, the only 

 food strategy we knew was to do more of the same thing we 

 had been doing before. It would have been difficult to devise 

 a food policy less in the public interest. 



The food program has been subservient to the inflation 

 program whereas the inflation program should be subservient 

 to the food program. The keynote of our food strategy has 

 been the maintenance of low prices for food. Low prices have 

 long been associated with abundance, and the nation has not 

 troubled itself to find which was cause and which was effect. 

 It was naively thought that by creating low prices abundant 

 food supplies could be assured. Thus armed with salt, the 

 government set out to catch its bird. Low ceiling prices were 

 established. The public has always instinctively interpreted 

 a low price as an encouragement to increased consumption. 

 The nation cleaned out the butcher shops and gorged itself 

 on the highly prized foods, meat, eggs, and milk. Likewise for 

 centuries farmers have interpreted low prices for a product 

 as a warning to decrease its production. 



With consumption increasing and production inhibited, 

 further controls were resorted to. The venture in regimenta- 

 tion which began with the seemingly mild fixing of prices 

 led first to rationing, then to subsidies, and always to more 

 and more controls. The nation has a bear by the tail and 

 dares not let go so long as the administrators distrust the 

 individual economic judgment of its citizens. 



The people of the United States are poorly trained, either 

 in leadership or in followership, for strict administrative 

 control of their habits of eating, spending, and earning. They 

 recall having been told and having agreed that it was for 

 freedom in such things that they were fighting. Administra- 

 tive rulings have been hastily drafted, and widely ignored. 

 Many are not convinced that the controls generally are 

 wise or that they should be obeyed. Americans traditionally 



