The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-03-03

cal thinking or action" says Secre-
tary OF Agriculture II. +. Houston, in
81 statement issued today. This is not
a time for hystoria. Nor is this
! fine for the thought Of the Ameri-
can people to be directed or dominated
4 ny those who have the interests of
another country primarily at heart or
any selfish interest to further.
| Tho prices OF foodstuffs are high,
a full and satisfactory explanation OF
! prevailing prices is not possible on
the basis of existing knowledge, It
is only recently that agencies have
been created in the country to study
food distribution and we have not
all tho necessary facts 10 enable us 10
arrive at the truth Where the food
supply IS located. who owns It, what
may be the difficulties Of securing ii.
whether the local market conditions
/ are due to car shortage whether there
Is artificial manipulation or control,
10 one can state with certainty II ts
essential that wc have the facts not
only because Of the light they might
throw on present conditions. but also
because they are prerequisite for the
working out Of permanent, Just, and
economical system OF marketing.
Therefore the investigation directed
h.. the president ought to be made
promptly We must have the facts
ana the sooner the investigation is I'M
dertaken the better. 1t is highly prob
able that as a result OF Il large perma-
nont improvements may be made.
Annual Food Waste large.
For partial immediate relief. every
individual and community should con-
slider earnestly the matter OF food CON
sorvatiun and the limitation OF waste.
As nation We seem to have a diSiain
of oConomiznE. In many homes there
is a strong feeling shat II is only de-
cent 10 provide more food than will
bo eaten and that It Is dcmeening to
reckon closely. The experts Of the de-
r2r;ment Of agriculture report TO me
shat the dietary studies made by them
point to an annual food waste OF about
500. 100000 OF course. the waste In
families Of very limited means is slight,
but in the families of moderate AMI
ample means the waste Ia consider
able Even If the estimate were re-
duCed 10y half, the waste would still
bc enormous.
The food waste in the household,
the experts assert. results IN large
measure from bad preparation and
bad cooking. from improper care and
handling, and, in weli-to-1o families,
from serving an undue number Of
courses and an overabundant supply
and failing TO save and utilize the food
not consumed as an instance Of Inn
proper handling, it Ia discovered that
IN tho preparation Of potatoes 20 per
cent of tho edible portion in many
cases is discarded
The Farmers Position.
II am informed that the beliigorents
lg Europe. in dealing with their food
situation. nave, up 10 this time &C
complished their purposes more large
" through conservation OF foods, reg
| ulation Of the diet, Limitation Of
courses and quantities. and proven
ton of waste rather than through d.
rect control Of production or regula-
ton OF distribution under any sort OF
dictatorship only recently has Eng
land indicated her intention to deal
dlrtCtlH with production, and In doing
50 has recognized II as essential that
she guarantee to farmers a reason
able minimum price over n period Of
years Obviously, If farmers are 10
be induced 10 increase acreage a
guarantee OF n reasonable price by the
nation or the community seenns neceR-
saTy.
farmers are governed nv the same
thinking and motives as other people.
+ They arc patriotic. but it is unlikely
; fh7f they Will undertake greatly 10
. increase their output unless thew are
reasonably sure that II will be pro
htahlc for them to do so. One could
{ no moro expect a farmer greatly TO
! increase his product without knowi-
edge OF the outcome than he could
sTpcct a manufacturer to double the
production OF shoes unless ne knew
That he could dispose of them profit
ably Those who arc urging that
! farmers be induced greatly to increase
/ their acreage beyond that which their
own Judgment dictates know vers lit
tie about the psychology Of farmers.
or OF other people for that matter, or
about the funda mental necessities of
the situation. AS a matter OF fact
farmers arc going to DO their own
thinking in this matter and will not
/ follow anybodTs 3ictation They are
quite abort to the interplay Of supply
and demand. and respond quite as
quickly as other people to the stimu-
lus OF high prices Before touching
upon this particular point further, a
word should be said about the esti-
mated food supply Of the country for
the current year
Estimated Food Supply
The weather conditions during the
growing season OF 1916 were unfa-
vorahle in this country. Although
there was 4 large wheat acreage. the