Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-02-26
THE FOOD CRISIS

rNHE present food crisis arises from
L superficial and temporary conditions
Some difficulty is experienced in distrib-
uting the supply in sight. When dis.
trbution is effective the real food crisis
will continue. It has been increasing in
gravity for several years. The way has
made ii acute, partly because of the Euro.
pean demand for our food products and
partly because of the withdrawal from
agricultural labor of men attracted by
the higher wages paid by munition
makers
But before the war began there was a
food crisis The prices Of meat and flour
and vegetables have been steadily rising
for several years. This has been because
of the operation of the Oldfashloned law
of supply and demand Some halfbaked
thinkers however. have been saying that
il has been because Of the conscienceless
action of spectators. They forget that
the spectators are unable to force the
people to pay exorbitant prices. What
happened to the spectators in the turkey
market in the Thanksgiving season will
happen in every market whenever the
consumers are awake to their power.
Housewives simply refused TO buy tur-
KEYS a. the prevailing figures, and there
was such a slump in prices that those
who had never eaten turkey before had
an opportunity to get it at such a price
as they could afford to pay.
There are three ways by which the
situation can be met The first is to in
crease the production Of food. This is a
slow process. but 1t is sure. Families
living in the suburbs can assist by re-
turning TO the practice of their fathers
and grandfathers and planting a garden
where they now run the lawnmower. 1t
does not need much ground to raise all the
vegetables that a family can use. Pota-
toes. cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, lettuce,
and beans are easily raised. II the boys and
girls were put to work in the garden they
would he kept out OF much mischief and
would get considerable healthful exer-
else. There are hundreds, II not thou
sands, of acres of land held for develop
ment within the city limits on which
nothing but weeds grows. If crops were
raised on this land its produce would ease
the living problem for many families.
The second and third ways for meet.
ing the situation are mutually dependent
They are the boycotting of the higher
priced articles OF food and the resort TO
a cheaper diet. Lamb chops at forty
cents a pound are a luxury which must
be excluded from the tables of those fam
lilies of moderate income who would live
within their means. Beefsteak is another
luxury that must be abandoned save by
the rich or the imprudent There is just
as much nourishmenI in the cheaper cuts
of meat, and when properly cooked they
can be made just as savory. Rice Is
cheaper than potatoes or peas or string
beans. Its price has not risen appreciably
hut even at a considerable increase in
price II is a wiser article OF diet than
potatoes at 81, a bushel
We are the most extravagant and
wasteful users Of food In the world. Moth
ing but dire necessity is likely to compel
us TO conserve what we produce and "a
use IL with economy. But the households
In which there Is a modicum. of prudent
forethought will begin at once to change
their diet In the interests OF economy. II
enough Of them DO this the demand for
thoss srticiss for which an exorbitani
prlee h now charged win fan and the
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