Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-11-15
How We Can Help America Win
the War

the War
A few days ago the sophomore Eng
Ilsh class of the BarabCO high school
wrote short articles under the direc-
ton of Miss Zura Fricke, one of the
best being as follows:
How We Can Help America Win the
War
All of us cannot take up arms and
go to the front. 1t is the man behind
the gun who does the fighting, but it
is the food behind the man that makes
him able to fight We at home have a
very important work to do, not only in
producing this food, but also in con-
serving it after it is produced.
This is as much our war as it is
that of our allies. They are fighting,
enduring many hardships, and losing
their lives, and we should, at least,
provide their food The allied nations,
before the war did not produce nearly
all the food they consumed. Now
that their men are in the trenches and
not on the farms, the amount they pro-
duce is much less. Since only a little
of the food they need can be obtained
from any other country than America,
it is the duty Of every American citi-
zen to help fill the deficit. With so
many of our men in the training
camps, labor is scarce, and food, when
produced, should be used carefully.
Our allies probably need wheat more
than anything else. In time Of peace
they imported forty per cent of their
breadstuffs. Now they need to import
sixty per cent. In order that they may
have this extra amount, we must in
crease our normal export by 132000,-
600 bushels. They cannot substitute
corn for, except in Italy, where it is
normally used, there are 10 corn mills,
and it could not be ground. We can
not ship cornmeal to them, for it is
not durable enough to be kept very
long. The allies do not make their
bread at home, but it is all made in
bakeries, and cornmeal could not be
distributed. Then, too, corn is not
so appetizing to them as wheat. The
French soldier must have his loaf Of
wheat bread in order to fight. That
he may have it, we of America must
economic and substitute. We can use
other cereals very conveniently in
place of wheat. Corn saved Amert-
cans year ago. 1t saved Bradford and
John Smith, and it can help to save the
cause in this war.
Our allies must also have meat, but
ter, dairy products, and sugar, and that
they may have what they need, we
must conserve our supply, and use
substitutes. Not an ounce of food
should be allowed to spoil or be
thrown away, for if this small amount
is wasted in every home in America,
it would amount to 100000 pounds
of material wasted each day. One
common way of wasting food is the
feeding of useless dogs and cats. I'm
less these animals are absolutely nee
essary they should not be kept. A
three-cent mouse trap will kill as
many mice as cat and will not re-
quire any food.
1t takes much labor and space to
raise, prepare and distribute 464,000,-
900 pounds of food year. We read
about food being destroyed or wheat
burned and then wonder why we
should save, but all the food wasted
deliberately is little in comparison
with all the food thrown away in the
American homes every day. We peo-
pie of Baraboo may think that the
small amount we could save would not
make any difference, but all of it helps,
and if only a little food is saved in
each home in the United States, we
shall have enough to send to our al
lies.
Then let us remem Der that we
should conserve food now, that we
may have food later on, and that it is
the food that makes possible the power
of the man behind the gun.
EDNA GETCHELL.
Sophomore English class.
BarabOO high school.