The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1917-05-31
Secretary Of Agriculture Points
Out How Each May
Help in Crisis.
One OF. IS 100000 LBS.
The Apron May Be Made the Real
Uniform of Merit in Work for
the Nation-Make Economy
Fashionable.

WaShingtOn.-In an appeal to the
women of the United States Secretary
Houston asserts they can do their bit
most effectually in the national emer-
gency by practicing effective thrift.
The appeal was prompted by many re-
quests for q statement as to the Serv-
ice women can give the nation in pro-
ducing and conserving agricultural
products.
Every woman can render important
service to the nation in its present
emergency" says the appeal. 'She
need not leave her home or abandon
! her home duties to help the armed
forces. She can help to feed and
clothe our armies and help to supply
food to those beyond the seas by prac-
ticing effective thrift in her own house
hold.
"While all honor is due to the wOm-
en- who leave their homes to nurse and
care for those wounded in battle, no
woman should feel that, because she
does not wear a nurses uniform, she
is absolved from patriotic service.
Can Make Apron a Uniform.
"The home women of the country, if
they will give their minds fully to this
vital subject of food conservation and
train themselves in household thrift,
can make of the housewives apron a
are the essentials:
demonstrate thrift in your homes
and encourage thrift among your
| neighbors.
"Make saving rather than spending
your socia! standard.
"Make economy fashionable lest it
| become obligatory.
every ounce of food the housewife
saves from being waSted-all food
| which she or her children produce in
every garment which care and skillful
repair make it unnecessary to replace
all lessen that households draft on
the already insufficient world supplies.
ITO save food the housewife must
| learn to plan economical and properly
balanced meals which. while nouriSh-
| ing, do not encourage overeating or Of
fer excessive and wasteful variety. 1t
Is her duty to use all effective methods
to protect food from spOilage by heat,
dirt, mice or insects. She must ac-
quire the culinary ability to utilize
! every bit of edible food.
Ounce Means 100000 Pounds.
"Waste in any individual household
may seem to be insignificant, but if
| only q single ounce of edible food, on
| the average, IS allowed to spoil or be
thrown away in each of our 20,O00,OOO
homes over 100000 pounds of mate
rial would be wasted each day. 1t
takes the fruit of many acres and the
work of many people to raise, prepare
and distribute 464,000,000 pounds of
food year. Every ounce of food
thrown away, therefore, tends also to
waste the labor of an army of busy
citizens.
| Clothing is largely an agricultural
product and represents the results of
labor on the sheep ranges, In cotton
fields AID in mills and factories.
Whenever a useful garment is need
lessly discarded material needed to
keep some one warm or dry may be
consumed merely to crafty passing
fancy. Women would do well to look
upon clothing more particularly from
the unitarian point of view.
Leather, too, is scarce, and the
proper shOeing of armies calls for
great supplies. There are only sc
many pairs of shoes in each hide
and there is shortage of animals for
leather as well as for meat. Anything
that can be done to encourage adults
or children to take care of their shoes
and make them last longer means that
so much more leather is made avail
able for other purposes.
Employed women, especially those
engaged in the manufacture of food OF
clothing, also directly serve theiI
country and should put into their tasks
thp enthusiasm and energy the imDOrt.