Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-12-09

II
M ~ N the wheat and flour center
N&SSN@SO of the world, and in our task
of feeding the armies and peoples of Europe
it stands first in Importance among the cen
tiers of food production today. 1t has been
said that there are but three factors in our
war with the Germans. These are funds,
munitions of war and food. That we can
supply the first two is being proved daily
by the success of the liberty loans and our
great shipments of guns, shells and explo-
sives across the ocean TO the battlefields OF
France and Italy.
The question of food is not SO easily dis
posed Of The demands OF our allies are
enormous, and the whole world is on the
edge of famine. Nearly forty million men
have been taken from the occupations OF
peace to make up and equip the great light
ing forces. The ranks OF the food producers
have been materially thinned and the wom-
Ell have been forced into the fields Every
nation in Europe is on war diet. and Eng
land is said to have food for only three weeks
ahead Now more than ever do the armies
VI
today it is not only the soldiers at the front
who make up the armies, but also the men
and women who work to supply their equip
ment. These armies must be fed, and the
United States is the store from which their
food must come. 1t is not question Of
generosity. We are not adopting the wheat
less day or the meatless day from unselfish
reasons. The conservation OF our food IS
a grim necessity, and upon it depends the
future of our country and that OF much OF
Europe besides.
Feeding the world That is the task that
has been set Uncle Sam The great wheat
and grain resources of Russia, the country
second to the United States. have been cut
off by the Germans. Russia is virtually I'M
able to get the wheat OF her south to her
arctic ports for shipment to the armies on
the western front. Archangel is as far from
the grain fields OF south Russia as is Alaska
from this flour city of the northwest, and
Germany has successfully cut off nearly
20O,OOO,O0O bushels from the western allies.
The wheat crop in Canada is officially es~
tmated at less than half the crop of 1915.
and reports from Argentina also show
material decrease. The only other wheat
countries OF Importance are Australia and
British India. Australia is three times as
far from Europe as the United States and
transportation from there as well as in Rus
STA is blocked by the Germans
| have before me an estimate made by
Food Commissioner Hoover He says that
the wheat crops OF Europe will this yea
fall 500,O0O,OOO bushels below their normal
production, and that as minimum we must
ship to them 225,OOO,O00 bushels OF wheat
And then there are the great armies. Uncle
Sam expects to have million men at the
front as soon as they can be trained and
transported. | despair of making YOU APP
preciate the enormous quantities of food
needed to supply million men. 1t would
take 5,771 barrels of flour every twenty
four hours, or the entire crop of a wheat
field almost four miles square. When baked
in the army ovens this flour would make
nearly two million loaves of bread, which,
placed two deep and four high would fill
bakeshop counter reaching all the way from
Washington to Baltimore.
But let us take look into our nationa,
flour barrel and see where these enormous
supplies are to be found Even with the
bumper crop of 1915 which left surplus
of 164,OOO,O0O bushels to be added to the
1916 crop, we had on hand last March less
than enough to supply our own yearly need
Of 100000 bushels. The great shipment,
abroad and the amount saved for seed left