Food and Labor Are Nations Topics Passage of Housing Bill Spurs Building Program; Hoover Asks World to Join in Famine Fight (EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these eolnmns, they are those of (Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily of this newspaper.) FAMINE: Hoover Reports Back from his globe-girdling fam ine survey, former Pres. Herbert Hoover called for additional volun tary food conservation on the part of Americans and also declared that the co-operation of Russia and South American states would great ly assist in tiding hungry areas over the critical pre-harvest period. Though stating that he saw no in stances of actual starvation on his global whirl. Hoover was quick to add that available food supplies were at a dangerous low in many countries and famine would result if supplies were not replenished. Even after trimming re quests of some countries. Hoover declared that over 14 million tons of food were needed until the next harvest, with the United Kingdom requiring 2, 000,000 tons; France, 1,750,000 tons; Germany, 1,370,000 tons; Italy, 775,000 tons; Foland, 340, 000 tons; Czechoslovakia, 290, 000 tons; Belgium, 300,000 tons; Greece, 275,000 tons; Yugo slavia, 250,000 tons; Spain, 240, 000 tons; Austria, 225,000 tons; the Indian ocean area, 2,886, 000 tons and China and Japan, iwv.uvu ions eacn. In asking Russia to share some of Its surplus grain and calling upon South American countries to step up deliveries. Hoover said the U. S. shipment of 450 million bushels of wheat during this crop year is an unparalleled achievement. In all, the U. S. is expected to provide 4,220,000 tons of cereals; Canada, 2,300,000; Australia, 992,000; Argen tina, 2,375,000; Russia, 300,000, plus lesser amounts from the United Kingdom, Brazil, Burma and Siam. Hoover's announcement of world food needs followed close upon the department of agricul ture’s prediction that continu ing drouth in the Great Plains states would cut winter wheat production by 88 million bushels under the April 1 estimate. The crop now is set at 742,887,000 bushels. INDIA: Seek Compromise As a result of the collapse in negotiations for Indian independ ence because of Moslem demands for a separate state, the British delegation's statement on further steps to be taken for resolving the deadlock was expected to provide a basis for continuing discussions. In originally making its offer for Indian Independence, the Brit ish government had declared that Moslem demands for a separate state should not blocl. plans for free M. A. Jlnnah and Nehru dom. However, the insistence of the Moslems under M. A. Jinnah for their own state portended an out break of violence if refused and led the British mission into formulat ing a compromise acceptable to both parties. Against the Moslem demand for a separate state called Pakistan, the Hindus led by Jawaharlal Nehru, faithful Ghandi disciple, had held out for a strong central author ity for the whole country in foreign affairs, defense, communications and finance. LABOR: Busy President Coal strikes, rail strikes and, demands of labor and industry are heavy burdens on President Tru man these days. If one threaten ing 6trike is settled, another one is threatened, or breaks out. La bor and industry are in an all out battle, and the President is caught in between them with the great mass of American people clamoring for action. Congress, too, is finding the seats on Capitol Hill steadily growing warmer. The OPA and the British loan were no small worries either. The pressure of the United Mine Workers, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of In dustrial Organization, on the Pres ident was matched by the manu facturers, mine operators, railroad owners and big business and in dustry in general. Lights burn late in the White House, and daily vis itor* to the President are greater than ever before! The people of the United States have a busy President. And when all the pres ent strikes are settled, negotia tions for new contracts will begin •gain next fall. HOUSING: Get Going Welcoming final passage of the veterans’ housing measure de signed to push construction of 2, 700,000 new homes by 1947, Housing Expediter Wilson Wyatt cheerfully exclaimed: “The . . , program now can be thrown into full gear.” Worked out by house and senate conferees, who labored to draw up a common bill from two different pieces of legislation, the measure represented a victory for the ad ministration forces in that it pro vides subsidies of 400 million dol lars to Increase the production of building materials. Earlier opposed by the house, the subsidies later were approved on the strength of administration arguments that such payments would boost the flow of construction supplies without in creasing the cost of new homes. In addition to the subsidy provis ion, the new housing bill authorizes the government to increase home mortgage lending by one billion dol lars; extends priorities and alloca tion power to channel materials into low-cost and medium-priced resi dences to December 31, 1947; estab lishes preference for vets in pur chasing or renting new structures; gives the housing expediter broad authority to order changes in mate rial pricing regulations, and em powers him to limit the export of lumber as long as scarcities exist in this country. DRAFT: O. K. Extension Allowed only hours In which to act to prevent the extinction of the selective service act, the senate ac cepted stiff house amendments to the draft calling for cessation of inductions of fathers and teen agers. Passage of the measure extend ing selective service until July 1 resulted from rapid-fire congres sional action in the midst of senate deliberations over approval of the multi-billion dollar British loan and restrictive labor legislation. With the senate pausing in its discussion of these issues to o k. existing draft legislation until July 1 to beat the expiration deadline, the house took advantage of the time element to dilute the draft and force its re mittance to the upper chamber for reconsideration. WORLD FOOD NEEDS AND SUPPLIES 1945-46 EXPORTABLE SUPPLIES NEEDED TO MEET WORLD FOOD SHORTAGES FOOD IMPORTS NEEDED_ " AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT DEFICIT WHEAT UUUUULi’-it-tmmmm , EACH SYMBOL -1 MILLION SHORT TONS ' DIPLOMACY: On Dollar Basis Having used its great material re sources to balance the scales for al lied military victory over the axis, the U. S. now is acting to employ its tremendous wealth for the stabiliza tion of political conditions abroad to promote free exchange between na tions. Popularly known as "dollar diplo macy," the administration’s first open application of the policy in the postwar period was to Poland and China, where Communist influence has been strong and shaped to serve Russia’s political and eco nomic Interests. In the case of Poland, the U. S. suspended a 90 million dollar credit to the Soviet-sponsored Warsaw government on charges that it had violated its pledge to increase free dom of movement within the coun try. First, the U. S. said that the government had censored an Amer ican reporter's dispatch regarding a critical speech made by a Peasant party leader, and second, it had failed to publish terms of the U. S. credit providing for political free dom in Poland. Taken back by the U. S. action, the Polish embassy in Washington declared that it could categorically deny that any censorship existed in Poland, and explained that the terms of the loan had not arrived in Warsaw in time to permit their publication up to the time of the U. S. credit cancellation. Meanwhile, Gen. George C. Mar shall was given full control over a proposed half billion dollar loan to China in his efforts to weld the Na tionalist and Communist forces to gether into a central government and create a unified colintry. FOOD MISSION . . . Herbert Morrison, Lord President of the British Council, who visited Washington on a food mission, is shown with Acting Secretary of State Dean Acheson. UNRRA: Seeking to prevent death-dealing riderpest among surviving cattle and water buffalo herds of China, one million doses of a new type vaccine were flown by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation administration to Shanghai as a gift of the U. S. and Canada. Emphasizing the significance of the gift, UNRRA Director LaGuar* dia declared every water buffalo or bullock saved for the plow means the assurance of that much more food for the needy. WASHINGTON DIGEST Taft Looms as 1948 GOP Hope By BAUKHAGE « Neu>s Analyst and Commentator. •WNU Service, 1616 Eye Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. Along about June of any election year, when a lot of simple souls are thinking about moonlight and roses, electric fans, and where to go for a sum mer vacation, a lot of longer range planners are wondering about next win ter’s coal supply, harvest time, and many other things a lot fur ther away than tnr ny on your nose. Among these are the poli ticians. It's a great time to lean back in a chair in the Senate office building or thereabouts, open another bottle of White Rock, light another see gar. and burble on about what's go ing to happen come November, and, still more intriguing, to prognosti cate on presidential possibilities. It’s fun for the newcomers be cause it's so easy for them to pre dict, in the light of what's happen ing right now, Just what will happen then. It’s still more fun for the old timers because they know that the voters who may not love you in the autumn often seem very palsy in the spring—and vice versa. Since there isn’t much use in spec ulating on who the Democratic pres idential nominee will be, it’s more interesting to talk about Republican possibilities. Perhaps that is why, along about the middle of May, the heavy back ers of Bob Taft began to be heard from. Up until then, most of the talk in the couloirs was how Bricker was the No. 1 boy, and how Stassen mustn’t even be mentioned above a whisper. F.ven Stassen's own men decided it was better for the young man from Minnesota to keep his head down so he wouldn't attract any lightning until he had found out whether his forums were more po tent than the against-em’s. Now it’s getting to be more serious tun to talk about Taft. Taft wants to be President. He has wanted to be President be fore. He is pretty much mas ter of the Republican organiza tion, but even if he weren’t, Bricker, his present friend and i rival, is more “beatable,” de HOOVER AND TRUMAN . . . President Truman devoted attention to the report of Herbert Hoover, on his findings in a globe-circling in vestigation of famine conditions. Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson is shown witb them. spite the good impression he made on his speaking tour be fore the last convention . . . what with the leftist look In so many veterans’ eyes. Bricker has a staunch and solid conservative following. But it is a little too solidly conservative. Taft could hardly be called a radical. In fact, his political garden has never produced even a pale and lonely pink. On the other hand, his sup porters prudently can point to many a constructively liberal measure which has had his blessing. Only the other day, I was talking with an ardent administration of ficial who has been battling for a measure badly battered by conserv atives of both political stripes. I asked him if he could expect to re trieve in the senate a certain pro vision in his legislation, lost in the house. ‘‘Oh, yes,” he answered. “Bob Taft will go along on that.’’ And Taft has a good liberal rec ord on such mass-appeal measures as housing The Republicans don’t have to deal with the old-line bosses to the extent that the Demo crats do and in two of the larger cities where the Republican machine is vital—Philadelphia and Cincinnati — everything would be Jake so far as Taft is concerned. He, himself, is kingpin in his home state organ ization . , , and Mr. Pew, who makes the Republican wheels go round in Pennsylvania, want ed Taft in '40 and ’44. It is to be presumed he’ll feel the same in '48. This doesn’t eliminate other bril liant possibilities, including Messrs. Stassen and vandenberg. Mr. Vandenberg has done a lot of the molding himself. This could work both ways. On the one hand the energy and devotion with whicn Mi. Vandenberg has applied him self to foreign affairs, and the pow erful influence he has exerted, have greatly increased his silhouette on the international horizon. On the other hand, these activities, both in quantity and quality, have taken him far afield from the usual polit ical approach to a Republican presi dential nomination. It may be there is a niche in the making that would need a man of his proportion to fill but one Demo crat said to me the other day: “Sometimes it looks as if Van would rather be right than President." When Weather Is Sizzling, Try Mint Ade (See Recipes Below) Refreshing Drinks For a simple meal at home, for that brief stop in the afternoon when i you want to re