THE ADMINISTRATION: The Chicken & the Egg

Just as Soapman Charles Luckman's high-powered voluntary save-food campaign was all fueled up and ready to go, Secretary of Agriculture Clint Anderson clomped a heavy foot on the brake. At a press conference in Chicago, tactless Clint Anderson casually dismissed meatless Tuesdays and eggless Thursdays as just "symbols of sacrifice." They were not intended "primarily to save food themselves," he said, but "to get the public in the frame of mind to conserve food." It was "like going to church on Sunday. . . . It's a reminder."

Next day, President Harry Truman did his best to undo the damage.* Breaking...

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