Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-10-26

cry of Pargny. -3-Italians hoisting
and industry of the United States,
President Wilson started off the week
by setting In motion machinery to stop
trade with the enemy and transmission
of information valuable to him, TO con-
troll enemy aliens and enemy property
and to check the activities in America
of German sympathizers. BY execu-
tive decree the president created q war
trade board, with Vance Mccormick as
chairman, supplanting the exports ad-
ministrative board, and a war trade
council TO advise the board on ques-
tons of policy; gave the secretary of
the treasury power to regulate the ex-
port of gold, silver and currency, trans
fers of credit, transactions In foreign
exchange, and enemy insurance COM
panies. and authority to prevent the
transmission of written or Photographic
information from this country except
through the mails; created a censor
ship board to prevent the transmission
of intelligence to the enemy by any
means; gave the trade commission full
authority over enemy patents; gave
the postmaster general power to regi-
late the publication Of war matter by
foreign language papers, and In other
ways took control of enemy interests
In the United States.
The provisions of this sweeping de-
cree when put into full force should
help a lot in the process of bottling up
the German empire. The United States,
and Its allies show no disposition to
yield to the pleas of the so called lneu-
trail nations that have been supplying
Germany with food and other mate
rails. According to reports received in
Washington, the food situation In Ger
many Is growing acute. The weekly
ration there amounts approximately
to four and a half pounds Of bread,
a half peck of potatoes, a cupful of
beans, peas, or oatmeal; a half pound
of meat, twelve cubes OF sugar, six
individual patties OF butter and IN
equal amount of other fats. The caloric
value of these foods in the aggregate,
Is less than half the amount estimated
by the American food administration
as sufficient-for a person In a sedentary
occupation.
Coal Strike Makes Trouble.
The coal situation, especially In ILL.,
nois, caused the administration q great
deal of trouble. Strikes, unauthorized
by the union, stopped production and
the operators declared they could not
pay the wages demanded unless they
were allowed to charge h general
public 80 cents more a ton. Coal Adj
ministrator Garfield was sv9amped with
appeals and protests. and sent out a
message to the effect that unless min
ing was resumed the federal govern
ment would seize the mines. The whole
affair has the appearance Of greed fos-
tered by underhanded pro-German In
fiuences.
Food Administrator Hoover has
been brought to q realization Of the
fact that the retail grocers Of the coun-
try are robbing the ultimate consum-
ers, and he proposes to GO as fur as his
powers permit In stopping the extor-
ton. In a statement issued Thursday
Mr.. Hoover said that though neither
the food administration nor the gov
eminent has authority to regulate the
retailer as 1t does the wholesaler, he
would, beginning November l, expose
the former each week by publishing
the wholesale prices of all commodities
In every section. Thus the purchaser
will know how much the retailer Is
paying and how much undue profit he
is exacting. Mr.. Hoover cites particu-
larly the retail price of flour, which is
out of all proportion to the wholesale
price fixed by the government, and Ill
so the recent unwarranted advances
In the retail price of sugar.
Unless the retailer grocer behaves,
the food administrator hints, congress
may be asked for legislation giving the
government power to regulate him. Mr..
Hoover asserts that the corner has
been turned in high prices and that If
the farmer and retailer cooperate with
him, the essential commodities n af-
ter another should continue to show re-
auctions between now and the end OF
the year.
The war department issued orders
Thursday for the entrainment of the
final quotas of the first draft from, the
northwest states and the entire mobill-
cation Of the 6S7 900 men of the first
army is expected to be complete BY
the middle of November.
The Liberty bond campaign went
with q rush last week, despite the dis
loyal opposition displayed in some To-
calities. The government has taken
steps to punish the pro-German work
ers who have fostered this hostile SEN
timent, and Secretary McAdoo has ask
ed banks to report the names of those
- 11..-lA - 9Dkf-nt1ofA hnRH.