What's Happened To Sugar? (1946, sound)

foreign [Music] on August 14 1945 our president gave out the news we had been waiting for now it was official for all the world to hear unconditional surrender victory over our Last Enemy Japan from coast to coast the nation hailed the coming of peace and the return of happier days One By One The curbs of wartime were removed but not on sugar why for the answer we must go back several years to the days before the war pre-war sugar production for the whole world was some 30 million tons a year the world sugar came from lands far apart cane sugar from java and the Philippines eat sugar from nearly every country in Europe cane sugar from Hawaii Puerto Rico and Cuba and from our own Mainland Louisiana and Florida eat sugar from almost a score of States reaching from our Great Lakes to the Pacific coast our pre-war Mainland production of beet and Cane sugars represented more than one-fourth of the nation's Supply the rest we brought in from the cane fields of Tropical Islands almost a million tons a year from the Philippines about the same from Hawaii nearly a million tons from Puerto Rico and from our largest source Cuba over 2 million tons our domestic beet sugar production has normally averaged more than a million and a half tons a year the sugar beet needs the cool climate of temperate zones for proper growth the sugar stored in its long white root is identical in all respects with the cane sugar of tropical and semi-tropical climates we had plenty of sugar until December 7 1941 when Japanese treachery plunged us into worldwide war [Music] when the [ __ ] seized the Philippines they destroyed cane fields and Mills and the United States lost a yearly sugar supply of close to a million tons when Java fell the world lost another million and a half tons a year across the world with most of Europe including Russia's Rich Ukraine under the Nazi Hill wartime shortages of Manpower Machinery Fuel and fertilizer all but halted production of the sugar beet the global war cut off nearly half of the world's sugar we were not fighting the war alone our allies had to share with us the world's remaining sugar of this available Supply the United States was receiving the Lion's Share here is sugar from Cuba raw sugar ready for refining it looks like a lot yet although Cuba doubled her contribution to our supply during the war it's less than we hoped it would be for drought in Cuba and Puerto Rico in the last year of War cut deeply into the Harvest from a smaller total Supply our sugar industry has had to meet demands greater than ever before or in Wartime this worldwide commodity became a worldwide problem wartime demands brought a challenge to the scientists he proved that Sugar could be used in the manufacture of synthetic tires and other parts of this bomber swing coating radar equipment and the Plastics on the instrument panel sugar entered into the composition of this turret [Music] [Music] and Sugar's most important byproduct molasses went into the production of the industrial alcohol used in the manufacture of these bombs [Music] enormous amounts of sugar were consumed daily by our Armed Forces for Army dietitians knew that sugar meant Renewed Energy to these GIS sugar was far more than a mere sweetening substance that went into the rations they ate into the cigarettes they smoked and into their candy bars to these men sugar wasn't just something to put into a cup of coffee for them products derived from sugar often meant the difference between life and death the citric acid used in blood plasma to prevent coagulation is made from beet sugar molasses sugar is used too in making anesthetics antiseptics and the surgical dressings with which wounds are bound from the war's earliest days every available ship carried supplies for the fighting fronts the Nazi U-boats with the thinking of Untold tonnage in our Merchant Marine almost cut our Lifeline to war-ravaged Europe [Music] we licked the Nazi at Sea and we beat him on his home grounds but victory in Europe did not solve our sugar shortage for VE Day marked only half the job and liberation of Europe's hungry peoples actually increased the demand on world short supplies the nation now faced West the railroads carried the greatest load in their history never were our Pacific Coast ports so busy in peacetime this shipping would be available to bring the products of other countries to us not the least sugar but our sugar must wait for these ships now were speeding men machines arms of war and Food Supplies to our forces poised on island outposts for the final Onslaught on Japan our occupation of these islands and of the Japanese Homeland itself was preceded by terrific Naval bombardments it took as much as 900 pounds of sugar for one glass from one of these guns Salvo from five guns used up the yield of a whole acre that was just part of the price of Victory but even the total Victory which came with Japan's surrender failed to provide the answer to the world's sugar shortage for the liberation of the Far East added the needs of its hungry homeless peoples to those of Europe's undernourished millions and to the drain on world Supply the man for sugar is now actually larger than it was during the war but the world Supply is still far behind the demand sugar is an agricultural crop and it will take time to restore the Beet Fields of Europe and the cane fields and Mills of the Philippines and other sugar-growing areas to their former production Americans still are receiving the Lion's Share of the world's Supply but there just isn't enough to meet the demand as in war now in peace sugar must be distributed as equitably as possible for household and Industrial uses and rationing is still the answer this is the straight and simple fact we still haven't all the sugar we'd like for our home canning and preserving our coffee and breakfast cereal our commercial canned Meats fruits and vegetables our soft drinks our ice cream candy and baked goods because World sugar supplies are still far short of demand our government has fitted the ration to the supply so that each gets his own fair share when there is enough for all then and only then rationing will be lifted apart from its food uses sugar enters into our peacetime life in countless unimagined ways for example in our steel mills and foundries sugar preparations are used in certain kinds of molds to prevent the metals from sticking products from sugar are used in the compounding of paints in surgery in penicillin in x-ray plates and in the chemicals with which crops are sprayed [Applause] [Music] yes peace is here and the things of Peace are coming back in our own country where living standards are the highest in the world life will be more abundant than ever our government is giving all possible Aid to the war-shattered countries to lay the foundations for a better world government rationing at home helps us to share the world's sugar with the world's hungry people the pay in turn may help us to keep the peace we now enjoy [Music] then these are all who fought for that peace will not have sacrificed in vain sugar helped in war sugar now plays its part in peace keep sharing it