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Drought is here NOW!

America tries to feed the world.
Millions of bushels of wheat are being shipped to starving India.
Reserves dwindle, while crops fall off.
Yet the massive shipments overseas are based upon the belief our peoples will continue to have good crops!
Read what your Bible says about the DANGER of that belief!

 

ARE YOU hungry today? Nearly two thirds of the world's population is. MILLIONS may starve in the next few years!

In the last issue of The PLAIN TRUTH, the horrifying facts were given about the terrible famine stalking the earth; of the big populations growing larger; of the prolonged drought beginning to seriously affect many of the big food raisers.

 

The Specter of Famine

Perhaps the specter of famine in the future may seem far away — unreal. But to farmers walking through their own fields in MANY parts of South Africa, the United States, Australia and Canada — DROUGHT is a day-by-day reality.

Late in 1965, a leading U.S. news magazine ran a terse account of upset weather conditions in India, Northern Europe, Cuba, Canada, Communist China, Korea, Australia, the Soviet Union, and in ALL parts of the United States. Conditions ranged from "Worst drought in recorded history" in the Northeastern U.S. to "Famine-producing drought, no relief in sight" for India.

1965 went out in a hail of bad weather reports.

Britain reported one of the "coldest and wettest summers on record" in 1965, with farmers harvesting soggy crops. Conditions were so bad that the National Farmers Union estimated only about 50 percent of the corn was in, and of the rest, 20 percent had been flattened by storms.

France reported wheat and other grain harvests badly delayed because of torrential rains. Vineyards were hit worst. Western Germany reported "freak" summer weather, while Italy said violent summer storms had claimed 65 lives, and cost millions of dollars in damage.

The Soviet Union reported Moscow's summer as "one of the coldest and rainiest" in recent times, while Eastern European Russia was hit by heavy rains and typhoons, causing extensive flooding.

Weathermen in Sweden said their summer was "one of the coldest of this century" — and harvests were badly in need of dry, sunny weather.

1965 came to an end.

But 1966 weather reports have been no better.

Huge blizzards stung the United States with bone-chilling cold in January and February. Northern Minnesota reported temperatures plummeting down to 45 below zero — while freezing rains, sleet and snow struck deep into the South — into Louisiana and Florida.

 

Experts Are Baffled

Accustomed to charting weather predictions based on known meteorological patterns, weathermen are at a loss to explain the strange, prolonged shifts of currents in the upper sky — referred to as "jet streams" by airlines' pilots.

Since 1961, the Northeast has endured accumulating drought. The weathermen refer to the "puzzling" deviations of the jet stream.

Amazingly enough, the drought continues despite heavy snows.

In fact, even after the devastating blizzards early this year, an article by George W. Cornell, received on Ambassador College campus via our Associated Press wire service, was written for the express purpose of explaining how the snows did nothing to alleviate drought conditions.

Said Mr. Cornell, "Already the drought has dried up wells, depleted reservoirs, pushed water tables slowly down, lowered rivers, stunted annual crops and, in towns and cities, stirred a gathering anxiety." He pointed out how even the snowfall was inadequate.

Normally, snow begins to spread into the Northeast in late November and early December. But this year, New York City got its first measurable snowfall on January 23rd.

Weather Bureau officials in Pennsylvania said, "It will take a lot more snow or we won't have any moisture to fall back on this spring."

Said Malcom Graf, director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission, "It's very grim." "It's critical," says Carl Gerken, who is assistant county agent in the northern part of Virginia, "It looks as if it will continue critical."

Take a look at New York, already under long siege by drought. Reservoirs supplying metropolitan New York were around 40 percent of capacity in February, or about 190 billion gallons, compared to a normal 75 percent of capacity, or about 359 billion gallons.

Precipitation has remained below normal. New York City's acting water chief is Herman Forster. He said it is "almost unbelievable how little snow has fallen over the upstate watershed this season" and warned New Yorkers may face even greater water restrictions in coming months than last year.

Sum it all up.

The United States is trying to sustain a massive "feed the hungry world" program, shipping millions of tons of foodstuffs to India and Latin America.

America is pictured as the "wonderland" of the world on travel posters — the glorious land of opportunity — the island of plenty in the midst of a hungry sea of humanity.

Present food shipments overseas are predicated upon the notion that the United States can, at any time government controls are lifted from farmers, increase her food supplies enormously.

But what if farmers find they simply can't make their crops grow? What if ripened wheat, just ready to harvest, is beaten to the ground by hail — to lie rotting in the fields? What if citrus crops are frozen in early spring? What if fungus, disease, insects, and weather all combined seem bent on a prolonged SIEGE of our national staff of bread?

Is it conceivable the United States may find itself UNABLE TO FEED ITS OWN PEOPLE?

Britain is unable to do so, right now!

Australia has been mightily stricken by drought, dust storms, animal and insect plague.

South Africa and Bechuanaland, as reported in the last issue, have been seriously afflicted in record-breaking drought.

How LONG do you suppose these present trends can continue?

So far, the average housewife has noticed the trends only in slightly higher prices on some fruits and vegetables. To many a fruit rancher and farmer — it has been an entirely different story!

But what of the years ahead?

Is it safe to assume these fantastic changes in weather, these ghastly changes in the jet stream, these unexpected storms, prolonged drought, and drying wells will suddenly become a thing of the past; that overnight all will be safe and sane and sound again?

Believe it or not, your Bible predicts drought will strike OUR OWN PEOPLES in increasing fury until NATIONAL EMERGENCIES are declared in our lands!

But simple name-calling by government agencies will not SOLVE the problem. In the U.S., it takes an official statement by the federal government that a given area is a "disaster" area in order to make federal funds available for rehabilitation. For rebuilding after a flood — that's fine. Businesses, home owners, state highway engineers can use the money.

But when DROUGHT has caused a disaster?

You can't eat money!

And our SURPLUSES are being rapidly depleted! Operators of huge grain storage warehouses in Kansas are becoming alarmed. By the time you read this, many a huge government surplus bin will be dangerously near the empty mark, when only a number of months ago it was three-quarters or more full!

 

Record-breaking Winter Storms Didn't Relieve Drought!

Newspapers around the world headlined the paralyzing blizzards howling through New England and Eastern seaboard states in January.

Articles showed how the nation's capitol was virtually shut down by the silent white stuff, while Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia declared states of emergency.

Babies were born in marooned automobiles. Exposure, fire, heart attack took 200 and more lives — and economic costs soared.

Oswego, New York, had 102 inches of snow!

Immediately the question was raised, "Did the blizzards relieve the drought conditions?" "No!" answered weathermen. The U.S. Weather Bureau's weekly crop and weather bulletin said, "In terms of the total amount of water contained in the snow, the recent storms along the East Coast have hardly made a dent in the 4-year water deficit."

They added, "From a hydrologic standpoint the water shortage is far from over . . . before . . . water tables are brought back to normal . . . (it) will require many months of abnormally wet weather."

"The drought problem is still with us" said the bulletin.

And it's going to get MUCH WORSE!

Believe it or not — accept it or not; your Creator has warned our peoples of impending national emergencies because of "natural" disasters!

Unless multiple MILLIONS of our citizens will truly REPENT of their manifold sins against God, and turn to Him with their whole beings, you will see food rationing in near future years!

Our peoples — of Great Britain, the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada, the democracies of Northwest Europe — are identified in the Bible! They are singled out as the peoples who inherited the birthright promises given to Isaac and Jacob.

We have been given the choicest farmlands, grazing lands; given the fantastic abundance that has led us to believe we can feed the whole hungry world!

But God will allow our abundance to disappear.

Literally DOZENS of prophecies in your Bible predict impending DROUGHT, FAMINE, and ultimate STARVATION for our peoples unless we REPENT and turn to God with our whole heart. But can you imagine MILLIONS of our peoples, including our leaders, sincerely turning to the Bible; trembling before it as the living Word of God; eagerly searching through God's Word to find what our national and personal course should be?

Can you envision government leaders dropping to their knees in real heartfelt REPENTANCE before God, crying out to HIM to deliver us from our awesome problems?

"Ridiculous!" some would say.

And because such a picture of national repentance is so "ridiculous" to even imagine — OUR PEOPLE SHALL SUFFER PLAGUES until we think it ridiculous that a leader would NOT repent — until we CRY OUT to our God, and really SEEK Him for the first time in our lives!