The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1917-05-25
ELIMINATE The WASTE
PREPARE FOR SHORTAGE
Boys and Girls, Men and We
men, Do Not Yet Appreciate
Crisis, Says Professor

Eliminate waste and prepare for
the future, is the keynote of an in
terview given out by Professor M. j.
Abbey of the State college at Boze-
man, who has been exerting himself
to the utmost for the past few weeks
in organizing the boys and girls of
the state for food production through
garden clubs.
1.-THE fact" said Prof. Abbey, shat
Montana is removed from the scene of
actual conflict, that our soils pro-
duce bountifully, that wages r high,
that We as yet have not felt the
pangs of want, does not relieve us
from performing a duty whose ulti-
mate goal is the liberation of the
world. The call of our young men to
arms, is not more imperative than
the call to produce and conserve u
food supplies. He who produces ten
acres of wheat, corn, potatoes, flax,
where formerly he produced only one
acre; he who grows a garden that
supplies not only his own needs, but
those of his neighbor, is rendering
a service as essential as those do who
will soon be in the trenches of Europe.
No acre Of tillable land should lie idle,
and no man, woman or child capable
of tilling it, should be found idle.
"The spring is we'll advanced, and
yet it is a lamentable fact that hum
dreds of acres of land in our towns
and villages remain unbroken. We
little think that before another six
months passes, this uncultivated land
will stand as a reminder of our lost
opportunities.
within three weeks an army of
future citizens will be turned from
school doors with nothing to do for
several months. What are we doing
to teach these boys and girls thrift,
economy, and the part that they
should play in the conflict that has
embraced the globe? The secretary
of agriculture estimates that already
100000 boys and girls have enrolled
in productive clubs. Montana is con-
tributing only about 5000. Estimat-
ing that a boy or girl is able to pro-
duce SIS worth of corn, potatoes, or
vegetables, we are contributing only
$3.50 when we should be c%ontribut-
ing twice this sum.
"The time is here to conserve every
atom of food and of human energy.
Will not the waste from the kitchen
fed to the hens be a better invest
ment than fed to a dog or thrown in
the garbage can? Can we not elm
mate meat from one day each week?
Cannot cheaper cuts of meat, and
cheese, and bean dishes be substituted
for the c~ostlier meats? Are bones of
steak, chops and smaller cuts of meat
being used for soup stock purposes?
Are vegetables being cooked in stock
and their foodvalue conserved? When
we purchase potatoes, do we select
those that are smooth and with small
eyes? Are we saving the eyes, and
planting them in the back yard. Are
we using high grade flours that do
not furnish as much nutriment as the
lower grades? Have we learned to
use corr meal with white flour? Are
we using rice and macaroni as a SUBJ
stitute for potatoes? Is the milkman
delivering milk at our back doors
when condensed milk can be purchas-
ed at less cost? Are We buying spin
ach at the market when vacant lots
are growing dandelions? Are we pur-
chasing Strawberries at 25c a box
when rhubarb can be obtained at five
cents a bunch? Do we know that rhu-
barb can be canned without sugar?
Do we still use the telephone in Or
dering groceries and meats when the
stores and markets are only two
blocks away? If so, we know moth
ing about the prices and are not
able to select the most economical
goods; and incidentally we are paying
the wages of a delivery boy, the gas
oline cost and upkeep of an auto, or
the cost of feed for a team.
Economy must not stop with food.
Our people must be taught to reno
vate and remodel clothing, hats and
articles used in the homes. In every
community there are persons capa-
BILE of giving instruction in these
things. Here is a big work for the
women's clubs. Making bandages for
the soldiers is not more important
than making and remaking clothes
for those who remain at home"