Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1917-08-29

| Washington, Aug 20.-Food Adj
| ministrator Hoover tells the American
| people, in lengthy statement issued
today. lust what is the food situation
| of the world, what are to be the needs
| Of the nations allied against the cen
| trail powers, and what must be done
to supply those needs and to feed the
| population of our own land.
The normal imports of wheat and
| other cereals by France, Italy, the
| United Kingdom and Belgium, and the
estimates of the 1917 crop in those
countries compared to the normal pro-
| duction are given by Mr.. Hoover IN
| tabulated form, and the conclusion is
| drawn that in order to provide normal
! consumption it will be necessary
for them to import in the next II
months 5770OO,OOO bushels of wheat
| and 674,00O,000 bushels of other cere-
ais. If the crops of the United States
| and Canada all mature safely, North
| America will have an apparent sur
plus of 2OS,OOO,OO0 bushels of wheat
and 950,OOO,OOO bushels of other cere-
| ais. The allies, therefore, must use
| other cereals than wheat for mixing
in their war bread, and the people Of
| America must reduce their consump-
ton of wheat flour from five to four
pounds per week per person.
| Decrease in Food Animals.
A careful estimate of the worlds
food animal position shows total net
decrease of 115,005,000, and this will
| be greater as the war goes on. AS
| the increase of herds and flocks takes
! years, we must reduce the consump-
| ton, eliminate waste and carefully con-
troll meat exports.
Our home dairy products supplies
are decreasing while our population is
| increasing, and we must ship in
creasing amounts of such products to
| our allies. Consequently this indus
! try must be stimulated, and home
users must save the wastes In milk ana
butter. Much the same may be said in
the case of sugar.
Mr.. Hoover urges a greater con-
sumption of fish and sea foods, in
which our coasts and lakes are enor-
mously rich. The products of the land,
he reminds us, are conserved by the
eating of those of the sea.
Our Duty.
In conclusion the food administrator
says:
| I have endeavored to show in previ-
GUS articles that the world is short of
| Is fnnr fnH Wi
the grim specter of starvation unless
! from our abundance and our waste we
keep the wolf from the door. Not only
| must we have proper use Of our food
supply in order that we may furnish
| our allies with the SinewS with which
they may fight our battles, but it is
an act of humanity towards fellow
men, women and children.
| BY the diversion of millions Of men
from production to war, by the occu-
patton of land by armies, by the iso-
| lation of markets, by belligerent lines,
and by the destruction of shipping by
submarines, not only has the home pro-
duction of our allies fallen by over
5OO,OOO,OOO bushels of grain, but they
! are thrown upon us for much larger
proportion of their normal imports for
merly obtained from other markets.
They have reduced consumption at
every point, but men in the trenches,
men in the shops, and the millions OF
women placed at physical labor re-
! uuire more food than during peace
times, and the incidence of their saving
and any shortage which they may suf-
| fer, falls first upon women and chill
| dren. If this privation becomes too
great, their peoples cannot be main
| tanned constant in the war, and we will
be left alone to fight the battle of
democracy with Germany.
| The problem of food conservation is
| one of many compilations. We cannot,
| and we do not wish, with our free in
situations and our large resources of
| food, to initiate Europe In its policed
| rationing but we must voluntarily and
! intelligently assume the responsibility
! before us as one in which everyone
| has a direct and unacceptable interest.
| We must increase our export of foods
| to the allies, and in the circumstances
of our shipping situation, these exports
must be of the most concentrated
foods. These are wheat, -four beef,
pork and dairy products. We have 9TH
| er foods in great abundance which we
| can use instead of these commodities,
| and we can prevent wastes in thou
| sand directions. We must guard the
drainage of exports from the United
| States, that we retain proper supply
| for our own country, and we must
adopt such measures as will amelio-
rate, so far as may be, the price condi-
tons of our less fortunate. We might
so drain the supplies from the country
to Europe as by the high prices that
would follow to force our people to