Hunger, Unabated

Out of two separate conclaves of international economists last week came major judgments about world hunger. Nothing: the economists said had the force of legislation. Their Governments might or might not act in keeping with their findings. Even if the Governments did take every recommended measure, the world would still not have enough to eat in 1947.

At Lake Success a United Nations technical committee--after fine-combing the evidence a month and a half--found that six European countries could not provide "the basic essentials" this year without UNRRA-type relief. The dollar value of these needs, after deducting those the claimants can hope to pay for: Austria, $143.5 million; Greece, $84.3 million; Hungary, $40.2 million, Italy, $106.9 milion; Poland, $139.9 million; Yugoslavia, $68.2 million. Total: $583 million.

In Washington, economists of the International Emergency Food Council (whose job is keeping tab on food production, recommending fair division of the scarcities) made a prognosis. Said Council Secretary General Dennis A. FitzGerald: ". . . The world is eating a little better this winter than last [but] the improvement is small. . . . In the Lower Danube Basin and the adjacent parts of the U.S.S.R. food conditions range from no better to much worse. In India and the Far East . . . the patient is by no means out of danger."

Amid these grim prospects, Soviet newspapers last week carried a brief item that, to Soviet readers, made the Amerikanskis look crazy as ever: the U.S. Government authorized farmers to destroy 20,000,000 bushels of low-grade potatoes, which Uncle Sam had paid for; the potatoes were deteriorating too fast to be collected, sold, or shipped to foreign folk.

Said Russia's man-in-the-street: "If they can't eat all the potatoes, why not make them into vodka?"

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