Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-06

WASHINGTON, Oct 3O-An athlete entering
w an important contest is careful to work
himself into the pink of condition. The
nations of the world today engaged in gigan-
tic field meet, with the issue in doubt and the
prizes the highest for which man strove. What
can be said of an athlete who enters such contest
without screwing his physical mechanism TO the
last notch of efficiency? Yet that, according to
many authorities here, is exactly what the United
States is in danger of doing. The nation is not
giving sufficient thought to the Importance of in
dividual health in wartime. The national health is
nothing but the of the healths of 1O0OOO,OOO
individuals.
One of the slogans Of Mr. Hoover's Office, the
federal food administrator is go back to the sim
pie life" The food administration enlarges on
this text somewhat in this fashion: BE contented
with simple food, simple pleasure, simple clothes
Work hard, pray hard play hard. Work. eat,
recreate and sleep. Do it all courageously. We
have a victory to win
In certain features, this sounds like the
gospel of the strenuous than the simple life, but
it is practical war creed none the less. Some OF
the admonitions primarily designed to piece
out the food supply but If the whole were fol-
lowed religiously from the most selfish motives it
would result in a considerable Improvement in
the national health and a corresponding increase
in the national efficiency.
The fact of the matter is, we have hardly gotten
down to a war basis il our daily lives yet. We
part of the war; but not in the war. Our
training camps, our military preparations are still
of lives thing apart, instead of being, with
the nations of Europe, whole existence. As
the goes on, this will change. more Spartan
ideal will permeate the land, and it will improve
the national health War will meet us half way
But will have to go the other half, and in order
to wage with a maximum efficiency we will
have to put our lives on hygienic basis.
Take the matter of food for example good
deal of surprise occasioned by the manner in
which the people of Europe throve short ra-
tions. Germany today is in sorry straits, accord
ing to both official and unofficial advices, but she
is facing not rationing system, but certain forms
of actual starvation. For the first year OF the
war, the overfed German burgher actually
benefited by being fed under government super
vision. Government ratoning In France and Eng
land has had many beneficial effects on the pub
lie health
people will ever be put on rations. We have plenty
largely an effort induce the public to substitute
certain kinds of food certain other kinds which
are needed for export-corn for wheat, honey and
syrup for sugar. chicken and fish for beef. Though
we may never be put rations, there is no rea
son why should not study the rationing ques-
tion with a view to finding out where its good eff
fects originate.
The benefits of the system seem to spring
largely from the fact that any government super
vision of food puts the matter in the hands OF
experts, who understand the proper combinations
OF food elements and the needs of the body. The
human body may be Hkened in some ways to the
vessel of the chemist in the laboratory. The chem
list puts certain chemicals into his vessel to pro-
duce a certain reaction. Man puts certain foods
into his body with view to producing the COM
pick series of reactions that constitute healthy
tivity The chemist does not expect to get the
reaction in his test tube unless he puts in the right
combination of chemicals, but the average man