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portant as men and munitions. No one thinks that the United 

 States should be reimbursed for men lost in combat. Remu- 

 neration cannot be measured in dollars; it is measured in 

 victory. 



We may raise some questions as to the kinds and amounts 

 of food involved, and explanations offered to justify the 

 Lend-Lease program, but that food is a part of military 

 strategy there is no debate. 



The Nation Has Sold Itself Short on Food 



The nation has little comprehension of the number of peo- 

 ple that it has committed itself to feed. If the commitments 

 are kept, the death-rates in the United States may rise. If 

 they are not kept, the death-rates in Europe will rise. The 

 most probable result is that our death-rate will not rise, and 

 that the nation's food record will be strewn with broken 

 promises. 



Many Guests Invited to Our Table 



In addition to unlimited promises to feed people, we pre- 

 sumably plan to feed them highly prized foods. A program 

 to supply protective foods may appeal to the sentimentalist, 

 but not to the realist. 



For about two decades the nation has been eating about 

 two to four per cent more food than it has produced. There 

 have been surpluses of some foods and shortages of others, 

 but on balance the nation has been a net importer of food. 

 Although this experience would seem to make it difficult to 

 expand food exports, the nation has now embarked upon a 

 policy of supplying food not only to our military forces and 

 our civilian population, but also to our allies and for the re- 

 habilitation of depressed peoples throughout the world. Ac- 

 cording to the press, the Secretary of Agriculture estimates 

 that the requirements for our own military forces and for 



