The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-11-03
THEF00D SITUATION IN FRANCE
that only dire necessity will counte-
nance reducing the food allowance Of
soldiers at the front.

that only dire necessity will counte-
nance reducing the food allowance of
soldiers at the 'front.'
Meat Shortage Serious.
Civilians. naturally, were the first
to suffer, when meat became scarce.
The price went soaring. Retail prices
to consumers doubled and trebled. The
poor cut down in quantity, one un-
derstands, and the very poor went
without entirely. But those who
could pay could have meat, If they
were willing to give the price.
The time came, however, when
there had to be an attempt to control
the consumption. The army requires
$4,000 tons of meat a month, or 49,
900 tons year. Frances herds suf-
fered enormously at the very begin
ming Of the war. A total OF approx
mately 100000 cattle. sheep and
hogs from the French herds were
seized by Germal.y in the invaded
provinces. Coming Immediately on
top of this loss France found herself
! compelled to find food for some mill
ions of Belgian and French refugees.
This had to be done at once and the
herds remaining had to be slaught-
cred without stopping to ask questions
| about the future. One does not say
! to a starving man, What will I do
! tomorrow, if I give you this crust of
bread today?"
England, therefore, undertook to
supply France with 100000 tons of
; meat year, and this supply was kept
up at the rate of about 10000 tons
! month until February Of this year. At
! that time the English supply stopped.
England was having then all she
could do to feed her own people on
reduced rations.
Thus, since February, France has
had to supply from her own resources
| $4,000 tons of meat year to her
armies. 1.429,000 tons for the civilian
| population and another $4,000 tons
| for refugees, making a total Of 2,000,-
900 tons of meat year demanded by
France.
Herds Depleted.
What are the herds she has to do
this with? At the beginning of 1914
her cattle herds comprised 14,787,710
head; sheep 16,131,390 and hogs T.
! o35,S50. BY the end Of 1914, after
five months Of war, her cattle were
reduced to 12,66S,243, her sheep to
14,03S,361 and hogs to 5,925,291. To-
day her cattle herds are cut down
: more than 20 per cent, while her
sheep number no more than 10000
900 and her hogs 4,000,000-a loss of
| nearly SO per cent of her hogs and
three Fights of her sheep on top of
the loss of 20 per cent of her cattle.
Cattle feed is short in France and
the cattle are poor and underweight.
More of them have to be killed in pro-
portion to supply the needed quantity
and quality of milk. Why, I have
seen the time when it has been next
to impossible to get milk for my lit
tie baby in Paris. I have gone from
store to store, begging some one to
| sell me as little as 2 cents worth Of
! milk for my baby.
Crying Need For Meat.
The government is trying to con-
serve the meat supply and save the
herds now, by limiting the use Of meat
! to one meal day. The endeavor is
made to accomplish this purpose by
forbidding the sale Of meat after
p. m. and ordering the butcher shops
closed at that hour, while hotels and
restaurants can serve meat only with
the monday meal. But this meas
ure has had little effect on the use
! of meat as it serves only against the
restaurants. Housekeepers can buy
all the meat they want before
o'clock, and they do it, as there is no
restriction in the amount that can be
bought. Moreover, in the restaurants
one can eat all the meat one wants at
midday, and thus make up for hav-
ing none at night, and this, also, is
the practice.
There is only one real solution Of
the problem. France must have more
meat. Her herds are disappearing
rapidly. They are today far below the
danger point. Soon they will have to
be reconstructed entirely. Meat, meat,
meat and again meat is a. pressing
need for France