The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-11-20
new BADGE OF COURAGE
IN MILLION OF WINDOWS
SHOWS ENLISTMENT OF HOMES
OF THEIR PEOPLE is ONE OF
VITAL THINGS OF WAR.
PROUDLY BEAR THE SERVICE
FLAG IN FOOD CONSERVATION

AhltOnS OF housewives who Signed |
The Pledge Cards Will Help Put
The Finishing Punch in Worlds |
Greatest War.
When the front windows of the ma
ton a few days ago blossomed forth |
of sudden with cards in the nation |
al colors, stating that the housewife !
within is "a member of the national
food administration, it became APP
parent all in day that the United |
States is bending every effort in an
intelligent move to win the war.
There are houses which proudly !
bear the service flag, with a star of |
white for every man from that house |
who is in the service. There are
houses which proudly have card an
nouncing "a man from this house"
is in the army or the navy. These are
privileges that not every house can
have; but there is not dwelling from
the white house to the humblest cot |
tage that cannot proudly display the
sign, 'We are a member of the food |
administration" That is the red
badge of courage of the housewife. |
1t Does Not Curtail Food.
1t isn't that the government de-
sires anybody to cut short his rations. |
Americans will not be asked to eat
less; they will merely be asked to
substitute for a portion of those
foods which must be sent to Europe
other foods which we have in album
dance, but which cannot be shipped
| abroad. America must supply to the
allies wheat, meat, fats and sugar.
Americans are urged to use more
corn, oats and other cereals for
part of the wheat, fish, poultry and
eggs for meat; syrups and other
sweets for sugar, and vegetable oils
for fats.
The wheatless, meatless day you in
stall supplies the punch our men must
| have ''to go over the top"
They are risking everything they
have-their very lives in freedoms
fight and all that is asked of you is
change your diet a little. That's the
meaning of the cards that suddenly
in a day blossomed out in the front
windows of the nation.
It's up to America to put the fin
ishing punch in the war; and it's up
to the people to arrange their diet
/ so our soldiers can deliver that
punch!
And so the thousands and millions
of housewives who signed the pledge |
cards few days ago enlisted for war |
Cut Out Waste.
The food pledge means that the
person who signs it will aid at the
other end-save what food there is
by cutting out all food wastes, and
! by using foods that are not readily
| transportable to our troops and our
allies. 1t will be the aim of the Amer
lean army of food savers to do with
out beef, pork and sugar, or at least
to reduce the consumption of these
important sources of energy which
are needed by fighting men,
| Now, the question comes: how far
will this voluntary enlistment of food
savers get us?
We learn from the experience of
other warning nations. Cyril Brown,
L
World, who lived in Berlin during the
early stages of the war and who lives
in London now, is frankly skeptical
of the effectiveness of voluntary food
saving. He believes that nothing
short of brusque, official restriction
is effective. In recent dispatch to
the World he said
"They do some things better in
| Germany, notably as regards food
control. Germany unhesitatingly in
troduced the imperial bread card as
safety-first measure at time when
there was no immediate, vital neces-
sity of bread card.
How Germany Does It,
"The German people have never
really worried about their daily
bread, whereas England, instead of
adopting rigid rationing to check
mate bread shortage, still relies on
| the common sense of patriotism of
Englishmen to diminish consumption,
and shrinks from introducing bread
cards, preferring a policy of procras-
tlnation and optimism regarding the
| submarine war.
"Germany's elaborate food card
barrabe has again kept the spectre
of famine from breaking through;
England, disdaining to learn from the
enemy, still sticks to the ostrichlike
food strategy of voluntary rationing
the argument being that Englshmen,
cherishing the tradition of personal
freedom, would not stand for being
told how much they could eat
1.-The correspondent is convinced by
experience that the only sure defense
against a food shortage is a high or
gained flexible card system"
Thus it appears that nothing but
rigid, self-denial can save us from
some compulsory regulation.