Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-10-15
If LAVISH, Will
NOT HAVE FOOD.
TO GO AROUND.
Food Administrator Hoover
Issues Warning to Local
Organization - P eople
Must Economic.
Absolutely Necessary to In
crease Production and to
Curtail Consumption -
Cutting Out Spectator to
Encourage Producer.

What food control really means is
strikingly illustrated by an explana-
ton of what food will mean in the
winning of the war made by Herbert
Hoover at recent meeting of state
food commissioners and Mr.. Hoover's
personal staff. Copies of the address
have been received by Idaho state
headquarters Saturday. Mr.. Hoover
said:
whether we kile it or not, we must
deal with the food problem of war in
one of two ways. There is not enough
food to go around if we stick to the
lavish methods of peace times. Ris-
Ing prices, coupled with depreciation
of money due to the issues of war
bonds In every country, which make
rthe purchasing power of money shrink,
compel us to adjust the food supply
70 the worlds appetite, either by con-
trolling that supply in ways that lead
10 that economy and make it suffice,
or by letting wages rise, to keep pace
roughly with fluctuations.
Even an amateur economist can see
At q glance that food control is bet
ter than wage increase because wage
increase is a crude force operating
slowly, unevenly and with great injus-
tice and suffering to millions of work.
ers,
CORRECT PAST MISTAKES.
Following is in part Mr.. Hoover's
address:
European nations went into the war
giving little thought to the subject
of food. Even Germany with all it's
preparations had not foreseen the sig
nifiPapon of
Of men taken from production, and
thousands of square miles of fertile
fields laid waste by armies. the world S
cupboard quickly began developing a
baroness like that of Mother Hubbard.
Country after country went to the cup
board to get a bone, and found a di
minished supply.
This made ii necessary to organize !
food supply and distribution, and the
various countries tried various meth |
DDS They fixed maximum prices, and
minimum prices, regulated the pro
duction and distributing trades, and
put their people on rations. Those
countries which established the earliest
and best methods of food control Sc
cured the greatest efficiency in war.
me pest system, on the whole. Is still
that of Germany, and she has been able
to maintain efficiency with food sup
ply winch In some Of her enemy coun-
tries might be most embarrassing. Rus
sia, with perhaps the greatest possibili-
ties of food production in Europe, did
nothing at all, and out OF Russia's sit
nation grew her revolution.
THE wages Of many workers do, not
rlse-the professional men, clerical
workers. public employees. and so forth
Russia tried the experiment Of letting
wages adjust themselves to the dimin-
ishing food supply, and it did not work
Russia was brought to a state Dor
nerlng on anarchy by heintolera BILE
pressure of the food situation on the
ordinary peaceful citizen.
ALL ORGANIZED.
therefore, whether we like il or not
this is favorite phrase of the food ad-
ministrator and typifies the impersonaI
attitude he takes toward these great
economic problems-w whether We like If
or not we must meet the food situatIo,
In one way or the other. and food CON
tfol seems to be the lesser of two OWLS
rms viewpoint explains most of the
york thus far done by the ITnited
states Food Administration. From
august 10th, when President Wilson
signed the food law, until today, much
of the work of the food administration
has centered upon the organization of
food control machinery. The farmer.
the grain man, the miller, the bake r.
the packer, the grocer, the Wholesaler
and retailer. the travelling salesman.
and the canned goods broker, have
gone to Washington in bodies repre- ,
sentng the best men and the best ,
minds in their respective trades. and
have conferred there, not only with
the food administrator himself, but ,
Rlr7n nm I'm I'm In I'm