El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-27
FRANCE HAS No FEAR
Of FAMINE; FOOD IS.
ASSURED FOR WINTER.
Crops in All Parts Of the Republic Are Large and Fruit
Is Going to Waste for Lack of Farm Help; Only
Sugar Is Short; Meat Is More Abundant
Than at Any Time During the War.
Br ROBERT PREV.

on the animal. while veal took q drOT
OF 50 the hundredweight.
Potato Crop Large.
In the famous potato district Of La
I Grouse hopes are held out that the
yield this year VIII be cOnSidera OF ;
in excess OF last years. In 1916 La
Grouse alone shipped 100000 BUSH
els Of potatoes. Because Of the trip
ling in price Of the tubers. 72,0u0
acres in the vicinity Of Gueret have
been given over to this precious
article Of food, and the minister OF
food has already begun TO arrange for
cars TO transport the crop. The food
minister has also introduced q new
law making speculation in potatoes,
wheat and other necessities a crime
punishable by fine, Imprisonment and
the cOnfiScaLiOn OF whatever supplies
the offender may have dealt in.
Even fish, the price Of which went
soaring last winter. both for fresh
and dried varieties. has gone down be
cause Of the enormous catch. a great
part Of which Is being picked, pre-
served and sailed for the coming
winter. In one day the quantity OF
fish arriving at the Paris central mar
kets alone was 1861 pounds.
An adequate supply Of coffee is as
sured the nation, which takes coffee
with each Of its three meals On
August 81 there were WarehOused in
Havre 1.9OS.575 sacks Of coffee,
enough to last the whole Of France
for II months without importing an
other bean
Speculation Checked.
Precautionary measures have also
caused the food minister TO order that
all stocks Of macarOni, spaghetti and
pastes be declared This has been
done simply TO check the speculation
in this food product, OF which no one
has the right to possess over 20
pounds unless engaged In its handling
either as a bona fide dealer IN foOC
imports or grocer.
There is one article which France
does stand in need Of and which
threatens TO disappear entirely the
coming winter. That Is sugar. Before
the war the country consumed 100000
tons or sugar per annum- That Is ap-
proximatelvy - pounds per person
With the sugar card this consUmp-
ton has been reduced by fully so per-
cent At present the food minister
figures that 100000 tons are neces-
sary. 10 supply the most urgent needs
u the 10 sugar refining plants that
were operative In France before the
war only IS are working at the pres
ent time, a large number having been
destroyed by the invading Germans.
as FULLY 50 percent are IN the north Of
capable Of turning out 100000 tons,
only half Of what is absolutely neces-
sary.
German Prisoners Used.
In order to try and increase the pro-
duction this year by at least % per
cent the government has turned over
1900 German prisoners to the refiner-
les to do the work In the beet fields,
and part OF the mechanical work
around the factories; has repaired the
machinery; has seen that the refin-
cries are stocked with the best coal
and released 8 number Of sugar
specialists from the army to speed
up the work
Coal may be one Of the determining
factors OF the war. but France will
have plenty Of IL this winter. From
the figures assembled IN three years
by the projects Of police in ali dis
tricts the needs OF the country are
100000 tons per month. During the
months Of May and June the impOr-
tations from England amounted TO
100000 tons per month. Within the
same period France Increased her coal
output, despite the fact that her
greatest coal fields, the Pas de Calais,
were in German hands, from the l.
1901 900 tons a month OF before the
war to 1000, 900 tone per month.