New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-12
pleads with the Nation to
Eliminate Waste
Immediately
Urges Americans
To Eat Corn Bread
Plans to Fix Prices and Pre-
vent Speculation; Allies
Need Help

London. April IL Herbert c. Hoover,
,..5 of the American Commission for
p,li,f IN Belgium. has, after consulta-
.:,r with his colleagues on the commits
.;on accepted the Craftsmanship of the
.,~ food board in the United States,
os,red him by the National Defence
Council
NJ Hoover expects to leave shortly
u, America. Meanwhile he has initial
a. wide inquiry in France, England
I'D italy regarding the existing food
.;.ua,ion. having the cooperation Of
.be various governments in this work.
The inquiry includes examination Of
tho prospects Of the coming harvests,
;mport necessities, methods of food
r.eulation and control now in operation
4, the Allied countries and the results
achieved through these methods.
Hoover Outlines Plans
After having accepted the position
M. Hoover made the following state
men,, outlining his plans:
Twill at present continue as chair
man Of the Belgian Relief Commission,
hr, will return to the United States
sbortly. The Dutch have taken over
,ontrol Of relief inside Belgium and
yortbern France and opened relations
with the German government, the ac-
,iv;ties Of the Belgian Relief Commis-
sion now being confined to financing
the purchase and delivery of supplies
9. the Belgian frontier. My very
,ge and long experienced colleagues,
v,ssrs. Honnold. Poland. Brown, Grey
and Kellogg. are entirely able, any one
n them. 10 carry on the direction OF
N, relic work. shall, however. give
them such assistance on the financial
side as may be necessary
Beginning to-day, | am initiating
vide inouiry IN France, England and
ralv I'm cooporatiou with government
6spsrtments. into the existing food
situation, the prospects of the coming
harvest. import necessities and the
methods Of regulating food control as
At present iu operation and their work
jng results IN Allied countries. One
important feature Of this inquiry Will
be the methods used to control prices
and for the elimination of speculation
for Europe has been vast expert
mental laboratory IN this particular.
Prompt Results Expected
"The staff OF the Relief Commission
vhice recently evacuated Belgium. have
volunteered 10 undertake the details
Of this investigation. They already
have arrived i'm England and France ior
the work. which starts Immediately, ana
By virtue Of the complete data in the
= hands Of the various governments II
should require but d short time for the
correlation Of all essential matters.
"The foremost duty Of America
toward her Allies in this war IS to see
that they arc supplied with 1000.
France. England and Italy IN ordinary
times denended largely on Russia, ku-
nanis and Bulgaria for a large porton
Of their breadstuTs. With the lsola-
ton Of these areas they were thrown
MOLLY upon the Western Hemisphere.
The bumper Western harvest Ct 1910
vas able 10 carry the load without
strain. but the more normal, or IN
places short, harvest Of 1916, coupled
With the fact that our Allies are To-Day
giving whole and able-bodied MANHOOD
10 arms and the manufacture OF mum,
lions, has brought the whole aihe9i
world face to face with a shortage OF
bTesdstufs.
America Must Feed Fighters
Their women arc in the fields, but
Production ir their territories IS bouhd
% be much below normal. If they. are
10 continue 20 tight. a much larger Dur
den Of the food supply must rest upon
America. From the necessities OF the
ease we can put but few soldiers IN the
field, but every spadeful OF earth
turned By our farmers, every seed we
plant, every ounce Of waste We ehmi-
nate, is Just as much contribution 10
NE joint cause as that OF man IN lhe
Trenches
We must increase our production ny
every device of our able farming com
munity. with the stimulating advice
and guidance our agricultural instltu-
Ions can invent, but beyond this we
must stop waste in every scrap of food
stuff. We must even be prepared 10
cepTlye ourselves. If necessary, IN
oider that our Allies may be supported
ihey have eliminated waste and are
aeprylng themselves to-day, and 1t is
10y less our duty than theirs.
II America will only eliminate waste
ana extravaganza in food IL will go far
% help the whole problem. Now that
We are IN the serious and terrible con-
met the every existence of cur na-
uonal ideas of waste and extravaganza
~ public places and among certain
Sniasses IN America is public scandal.
s,eyond public places 50 per ceni Of the
american food is consumed in the
uousehold The women of America
mus really control Americas food con-
sumption.
Relies on L. S. Women
Among our allies the women are
"oIklng as hard as the men. There is
10 body Of women in the world so ca
taole Of rising to an emergency as
Nnefican women, nor is there any prob
.em SO peculiarly capable of solution by
,nem as the elimination Of waste and
eAtTayagance.
Much can be done by the substitu-
.oh Of the more abundant commodi-
es Tor those that our allies need