Evening star., 1917-09-30

-HIs Is a food conservation de-
tectfve story. It IL an effort
to ferret out the processes by
q which the long arm Of Uncle
Sam has extended to the kitchen of
Mrs. Lumberman's wife in Michigan.
who Is using meat but once q day; or
to Mrs. Rockerbilt's cook on Riverside
drive, in New York. who is being
painstakingly careful of leftovers. or
to Mrs. Cotton Growers family. In the
southland. who is experimenting with
bread substitutes In soy beans and
peanuts.
And the problem has It's complexf-
ties, DIR. Watson: II affords some as
founding phenomena to the trained OBJ
server" If you asked Mrs. Smith. in
Pineville. Wis. why she and group
of women are learning to can vege-
tables she might inform you that Mrs.
Brown got US together to do this" !"
And Mrs Brown would tell you that
she received some booklets telling
about canning from Mrs. Jones up at
the county seat And Mrs Jones might
display a letter from the head of the
federated clubs in her state urging the
patriotic duty of all women to con-
serve food by canning, drying and pre-
serving.
Yet the answer Is not difficult 1t
lies in one phrase-"community effort"
The surprising thing is that these
groups of women, all working at food
conservation, seem to be springing up
spontaneously in each community. yet
they are to be found already by the
thousands in cities. towns and ham
let's and the big drive to organize them
10 yet scarcely under way. 1t is war
measure in which the country's leaders
place great faith. and 1t is a social
phenomenon already cited by those who
defend the efficiency of democracy.
This propaganda. which has set hun
dreds of thousands of women to help
America win the war by conserving
the food supply, is hitering down 10
through three channels-the food ad-
ministration. the offices of extension
work in north and west and in the
south of the Department of Agricui-
Tense There are other pipe lines. but
these are now the three main feeders
for community food saving effort.
The food administration is of such
recent origin that it's machinery has
not all been planned and installed. But the
parts put in place already form the
basis of a working organization IN the
forty-eight states. Most of the federal
food administrators one to each state,
have been appointed, through recon-
mendation of Herbert c Hoover to
President Wilson The task of naming
home economics director In each state
has begun. And it is through the lat
ter that the community groups operate
principally. All the heavy munitions
Tor this enterprise have been prepared
In Washington by the home economics
committee of the food administration.
which until recently was headed by
DR.. Abby l. Marlatt, now returned to
her post at the University of Wiscon-
sin
sence. the work of this committee is
contained in two documents. one the
new home card of the administration.
and the other the card for use in hotels.
restaurants. clubs. dining cars and pas
senger vessels. These form the heavy
artillery Of the campaign. But the nu-
merous smaller pieces are contained
in the expert advice. voluminous and
tail of the program. This material will
be modified to fit each state by the
state home economics director. through
her promulgated to smaller directors in
the counties, and then passed along
to experts in cities. towns and villages.
This system forms a network OF ex-
pert advisers. The federal admins
traitors for the states will exercise reg
them by national and state legislation.
and the women's committees of the
state councils of defense do organiza
ton work and pave the way for the
prOPasanOa TO De disseminated Dy the
experts. This is the tentative plan. Be
fore many weeks it may be changed.
Administrators in some states may
modify it. The test of any plan with
the Hoover food administration is.
''Will 1t work." and the pragmatic test
may at any time cause the entire or
local revision of prearranged campaign
plans which do not work out.
For one thing. whatever the food
administration does must dovetail with
the operations Of the two big Offices of
extension north and west and south of
the states relations service, Depart
ment of Agriculture. For these offices
already have been at work for some
years through their hundreds of county