Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-11-21
The Feast of Home BOuntieS.


ble Its bounties were piled high and spread wide.
Georgia appetites found full satisfaction in Georgia
food II was indeed a home feast of home food
for home folks.
But for all that, it also surprise party
as was intended from the irst-surprise that Geor-
gia of itself can furnish wide variety and such
a high quality of that which is good to the palate
The surprise, too was the means of enforcing upon
the minds of Georgans the fact that though Geor-
gia can do much, it and ought to do much more.
The state now raises many things that are good to
eat raise these things in still greater guam
tity. In addition it must raise other things which
now IL heeds hardly at all.
Hundreds of dinners were served yesterday
throughout the state celebrating Georgia Products
day. The celebrations held under the auspices
of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, an organ
ization that Is doing valiant work in bringing the
agricultural interests of Georgia to devote more
OF their energies to raising meat animals and food
crops. Lets feed ourselves and not send our
good money away to other ctates to buy that which
we can raise in such abundance here" is the slogan
under which this organizations endeavors are be-
ing exerted This state has the soil and the climate
for the production of every edible known to man
except such as belong strictly tropical regions
The reason why Georgia does not raise enough
food products to feed itself is because it follows
the all-cotton fetish Its cotton money goes
TO buy what il condition that has long stood
a barrier stretched the path of the states
progress toward the full realization of the pros
perity which its resources warrant
Every day ought to be a Georgia Products day.
Every dinner ought to be a Georgia Products din
ner. But as it is care must be exercised and
BILE taken to secure articles for the for such
occasions for the reason that food of strictly Geor
gia origin is not plentiful enough to be right at
hand for every one. The greater part of Georgia s
produce and provisions is shipped here from other
states This is, of course, the situation that the
Georgia Chamber is trying to remedy.
In addition to the general desirabiIity OF this
result there exists just special and pressing
reason why this state should raise food prod
ucts next season than it has done before, and
this reason lies in the fact that articles OF food
have now reached the highest price levels they
have known in years, with likelihood of any de-
cline for some time to come The fighting armies of
Europe must be fed but can not raise their food
This country is called upon to do this in part, and
hence supply for home consumption is cut down
and accordingly prices go soaring.
There has been talk of placing an embargo on
wheat and other food crops to prevent them from
going to the European markets but there seems
little likelihood of this being put into effect The
western grain farmers would no more stand for an
embargo on wheat than the farmers of
on cotton. Even if there are large yields
from the grain and food crops year prices will
still remain high, due to the war demand, and
should there be short crop of the products prices
must inevitably be higher still.
There is, therefore, plain duty before the ag-
rcultural interests of Georgia. in fact of all the
south, and that is to devote acreage more la
Dor and more capital to food production next year
Discussing this duty the Manufacturers Record
says:
'It is needless TO say that the South espe-
cially should give increased attention to the
production OF foOdstuffs If this section should
be tempted by the high price of cotton to neg
lect putting in a large acreage in wheat this
fall and an acreage taxing cultivating capacity
next spring in other grains, or if it should
neglect to produce at home the live stock
needed for home consumption, this years
high price Of cotton would prove a curse in
stead of a blessing The South like the rest
of the country, will have to face from now on
for the next year two at least prices for
foodstufs which have not seen since Civil
War days. The danger is so serious that every
banker and every business man ought to CO.
operate with the farmers not only in encourage
ing them to produce foodstuffs but in aiding
them financially wherever it may be needed N
make II possible for them to cultivate grains
and produce live stock"
The lesson, therefore, of Georgia Products dav
is of pride and promse-pride that we are
able TO produce much food of such paIatabIe
quality and promise that will bring ourselves
up to much greater accomplishment in this respect
Georgians, let us bestir ourselves and fill our lard
ers with home eatables and keep Georgia money in
Georgia pockets and Georgia banks.