New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-24
War bookstores
Neededfor Poor,
Says Vrooman
Best Way to Prevent Riots
and Starvation This
Winter, He Asserts
Urges Corn Products
Advises Centres Where Sta
pie Can Be Bought Slight
ly Above Cost

WASHINGTON. Sept. %. "'War
restaurants and war food stores will
prove the most effective possible means
Of keeping down the bread lines in our
cities and preventing food riots and tho
slow starvation OF millions Of our
poorer citizens during the coming
winter" said Carl Vrooman, Assistant
Secretary of Agriculture. here tonight.
"'War restaurants and war food
stores are as necessary parts of our
war machine at hone as are the
Kitchens and supply depots behind the
trenches on the battle fronts abroad.
I'VE have modified our inventive
genius. our scientific genius, our bust
ness genius. for the solution of vital
war problems. The time has now come
TO mobilize the best cooking ability in
this country, not for the preparation of
costly foods as in the past, but for the
preparation OF the cheapest known
foods that are both palatable and nour-
ishing. These foods should be put on
sale. approximately al cost, in war
kitchens ard war food stores in every
community in the United States.
Many Undernourished
Millions of Americans have been
badly nourished, and many have been
seriously undernourished during the
last few months owing TO the high cost
of food. The average wage Garner or
other citizen with a small income has
had 70 cut out of his diet most of the
meat, butter, milk and cream, and he
has not made up for it by adding other
foodstuffs containing protein and fat
in equivalent quantities. The result is
that multitude is being undernour-
ished and their efficiency is being stead
lily lowered.
THE Department Of Agriculture has
been helping 10 solve this problem by
the most successful campaign for the
increased production OF fooostuffs ever
carried on by any nation and by ma
tion-wide effort TO teach people TO
adopt balanced ration that is not
only cheap but nourishing and palat-
able.
The Hoover administration and Mr..
Garfelds Wheat Commission also are
helping this work by endeavoring 20
hold down 20 reasonable level the
price OF staple food products. Nevcrthe-
less the price Of food in this country Ia
still high and during the continuation
Of the war may be expected TO remain
considerably higher than normal.
During the coming winter the aver
age day laborer. clerk or other person
with a small income will find it utterly
impossible 10 feed his family on nour-
ishing and palatable food unless he
learns Just what fodstutYs combine 20
the greatest possible degree the three
qualities of cheapness. palat.bility and
nourishment and he 10 aided by some
kind of organized effort to secure these
foodstuffs approximately at cost.
Advises Use OF Corn Products
Corn products, for example, ought
10 be among the cheapest of foods, but
owing to a bad system of marketing
they almost uniformly cost the con-
sumner too much. Moreover. it rs diff
fcu!t. and in some places impossible,
to get the most palatable and nourish-
ING kind OF cornmeal what ~ known
in the South as water ground meal
comparatively coarse meal with the
oil and sweetness of the germ retained.
This difficulty arose out of the fact
that meal containing the oil in the
germ cannot be kept as long or as
easily as the standard commercial
meals. and the average merchant is un-
willing to 90 10 the trouble of secur-
ing his cornmeal in small enough guam
titles and often enough to prevent the
water ground meal from spoiling'
Very few mills, especially those IN
the North. care to bother about grind
ing this kind OF meal. II is safe to say,
however, that if we ever expect 70
stimulate the consumption of corn
products in this country TO anything
near the maximum, we shall have to
make it possible for the American peo-
pie to get the most palatable and nour-
ishing kind of corn products at reason
able prices, and with the minimum OF
difficulty.
"The supply Of excellent and intrin-
sically cheap substitutes for meat -
adequate, but the machinery for dis
tribution of them TO the people is wo-
fully inadequate.
"The only solution 7 can see for this
problem is the establishment Of war
restaurants and supply stores in every
community in tho United States. where
people can obtain these varieties OF
war foods at prices only slightly above
cost. In these war restaurants every
meal would be a liberal education,
demonstrating TO the customer the de-
lightful possibility in the way of cheap
foods properly cooked and properly
combined TO make a balanced ration