Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-05-29
An Appeal to Women.
SECRETARY OF AaRIcULrURE POINTS
OUT THAT IN THEIR OWN HOMES THEY
CAN AID THE NATIONS ARMIES.

The Secretary of Agriculture, In re-
spouse to requests from many editors
for statement % 10 service women can
render the Nation In the direction OF
producing and conserving agricultural
products, has Issued the following:
To the Women Of the United States:
"Every woman can render important
service to the Nation In ito present emer-
gency. She need not leave her home or
abandon her home duties to help the
armed forces. She can help to feed and
clothe our armies and help to supply
food to those beyond tho seas BY prac-
ticing effective thrift In her own house
hold.
EVERY ounce of food the housewife
saves from being wasted In her home
all food which she or her children pro-
duoe In the garden and can or preserve
every garment which care and skillful
repair make 1t unnecessary to replace
ali lessen that households draft on the
already insufficient world supplies.
ITO save food the housewife must
learn to plan economical and properly
balanced meals, which, while nourishing
each member Of the family properly, do
not encourage overeating or offer excess
i've and wasteful variety. Il Is her
duty to use all effective methods to pro-
tect food from spoilsge by heat, dirt,
mice or insects. She must acquire the
culinary ability to utilize every bit of
edible food that comes into her homo.
She must learn to use such foods as
vegetables, beans, peas and milk prod.
ucts as partial substitutes for meat.
She must make 1t her business to see
that nothing nutritious is thrown away
or allowed to be wasted.
"Waste In any individual household
may seem to be Insignificant, but II only
single ounce of edible food, on the
average, is allowed to spoil or be thrown
away in each of our 10000, 900 homes,
over 1900, 900 pounds of material would
be wasted each day. It takes the fruit
of many acres and the work OF many
people to raise, prepare and distribute
484, 900, 900 pounds of food year. Every
ounce of food thrown away, therefore,
tends also to waste the labor OF an army
of busy citizens.
"Clothing 10 largely an agricultural
product and represents the eesults Of
labor on the sheep ranges, in cotton
fields, and In mills and factories. When
ever a useful garment Ia needlessly dis
carded material needed to keep some
one warm or dry may bee consumed
merely to crafty passing fancy. Won.
en- would do we'll to look upon clothing
at this time more particularly from the
unitarian point of view.
"Lesther, too, is scarce and the proper
shoeing of armies calls for great supplies
of this material. There are only so
many pairs of shoes In each hide, and
there is shortage of animals for leather
as we'll as for meat. Anything that can
be done to encourage adults or children
to take care of their shoes and make
them last longer means that so much
more leather is made available for other
purposes.
"Em ployed women, especially those
engaged in the manufacture of food or
clot hing, also directly serve their coun-
try and should put into their tasks the
enthusiasm and energy the Importance
of their product warrants.
"While all honor is due to the women
who leave their homes to nurse and care
for those wounded In battle, no woman
should feel that, because she does not
wear nurses uniform, abe Is absolved
from patriotic service. The homo wom-
en- of the country, II they will give their
minds fully to this vital subject of food
conservation and train themselves 10
household thrift, can make OF the house
wife's apron uniform of national signif-
canoe.
demonstrate thrift in your homes
and encourage thrift among your neigh.
bors.
snake saving rather than spending
your social standard.
snake economy fashionable lest It
become obligatory"