( 23 ) 



40 per cent of the inspected beef, 4 45 per cent of the pork, 

 35 per cent of the lamb, 4 to 60 per cent of various canned 

 goods, and a goodly proportion of the salmon. The bulk of 

 these supplies are for current needs, including the army and 

 Lend- Lease. A part, however, are bought in anticipation of 

 possible future needs, which is merely another expression for 

 hoarding. 



No one questions whether the government should main- 

 tain adequate stocks of the highly prized foods for its sol- 

 diers, sailors, and marines. Through errors in judgment or 

 through the enthusiasm for adequate supplies, government 

 hoarding occasionally is carried to extremes. Since the gov- 

 ernment is not normally a hoarder of food, it aggravates the 

 present food shortage. 5 



Few if any of these many drains on our present food sup- 

 ply in themselves could have been held responsible for the 

 acute food situation. Their combined effect was enormous. 



The consumer asks who ate the little, pig that went to 

 market, and therefore who was responsible for the shortage. 

 Figuratively, the foreigner got the ham and most of the ba- 

 con. The soldier got a good share of the pork chops and a 

 few good roasts. The civilian got a shoulder and some sau- 

 sage. Part of the meat was hoarded by the government, and 

 part of it is at the bottom of the Atlantic. 



Many Mouths to Feed at Our National Barbecue 



It is impossible to estimate accurately the amount of the 

 highly prized foods that will be allocated to our own fighting 



* Increased to 45 per cent, effective June 14, 1943. 



3 The tendency of governments occasionally to hoard needlessly large 

 supplies of certain foods was well illustrated in World War I. England did 

 not dispose of her hoards of bacon and butter until the summer of 1921, 

 and Italy was still struggling to get rid of her hoards of high-priced sugar 

 until the winter of 1921. When the United States government finished dump- 

 ing its wool after World War I, the farm price was about fifteen cents and 

 the sheep industry was prostrated. 



