Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-11-28

America. in Keeping Allies in Fight
ing Efficiency, Must Do It
Out of Conservation
GREAT DUTY RESTS ON PUBLIC
Food Administrator HARNESS Says
Every Ounce of Wheat Saved is
an Ounce Released to Allies


ner, federal food administrator for
Vermont, just returned from Wash
1ngton where he attended a conference
between Federal Food Administrator
Herbert Hoover and the food admin
1stratOrs of the several states, de-
clared today that the country is far
from being awakened to the serious
ness of the food situation in the AL
lied world and consequently is not in
position to realize the responsible
ty that is placed upon every individ
ual to help in solving the great prob
lem Of keeping our fighting allies sup
piled with food
THE problem Of feeding the Allies
is more serious than the food admin
istration thought last summer it
would become Mr.. Hartner said.
THE continuance of the war, from
the Allied side, depends on the daily
and monthly arrival over there of
given ships which leave our shores
laden with the food supplies for
which there is such an imperative de-
mand if our allies are to maintain
their fighting efficiency.
doubly complex by the shortage of
ships, and it is not too much to say
that If defeat comes to the Allies it
will be because the problem of food
and ships was not solved. The great
handicap imposed by the shipping
| shortage is shown by the fact that
| while there it not left in the United
States a single eXportable bushel Of
wheat Chat is, not a bushel now re-
mains over our normal requirements),
the Australian crop Of 1915 has only
! half been moved, the 1916 export crop
| has not been touched at all, and now
Australia is coming in with it's 1917
yield, none Of which can not yet be
tapped because We can not detach
! ships for such long voyage.
''The Argentine has a big wheat
crop, but carrying that to Europe au-
tomatically lessons the tonnage as a
| consequence Of lengthening the voy-
| age, and, moreover, Argentine wheat
can not become a factor before the
middle of January. This means that
supplying the Allies with wheat be-
comes purely a question of conserva-
| ton. The United States and Canada
| must carry the load until the middle
of January, and the United States
must do it out of conservation en-
| tirely. This means than when an in
, dividua1 refrains from eating piece
Of bread or any other food contain
| ing wheat, he is releasing just so
much for war purposes.
1.-THE Individual may be certain that
this means exactly what it says:
| every ounce Of wheat saved Is an
ounce more for our fighting allies
To this narrow margin has the worlds
available wheat supply come. This
situation places great responsibility
on the individual American. Can there
be normal consumption Of wheat
foods when it is realized that the
| fighting nations stand in such need
Of that commodity? Shall insist up
on bread and cake and pie when I
know that by so doing 1 am depriving
a fighting agency of 1mperatively
needed food?' That Is the question
the American people must ask them
selves continually now.
"Our Allies are not asking us for
anything they do not actually need.
and we must remember that they are
asking 1t with a right and an in
sistence that must be needed Amer1-
ca must follow in the same path. Con-
servation is now on a voluntary basis,
but how long 1t can remain there de-
ponds upon the extent Of the volun-
tary saving and whether the general
situation improves or becomes worse.
But the American people should real
i1e that they have come to the part
ing OF the ways. Waste and unnsces-
saxy consumption of certain foods
mast come to an end either volun-
tarily or by some measure of repres
sion.
ITO obtain picture Of what q food
shortage means, let it be said that the
recent Russian revolution was moth
ing but monster food riot. which
will be followed by others because
the transport situation is such In that
unhappy country that supplies can not
be distributed. There will be more
suffering and revolt in the centers of
population the coming winter. In Italy
the food situation brought about riots
and weakened the morale Of the army,
because men at the front lose their
war enthusiasm when they learn that
dear ones at home are going hungry.
IT hope the sixty-f1ve thousand odd
patriotic Vermont families who signed
the food conservation pledge card will
realize that their call to the colors
has been sounded and that they will
| rodo,7hIo THAR efforts along i0ac of
substitution and conservation suggest
ed in the kitchen card. also hope
that those who did not sign the card
for any reason will reconsider their
action in view Of the increased seri-
BUSINESS of the situation. There is a
definite war service Of unreasonable
value in this conservation work. Sure
| h Ma at bona will not fail to maka