Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-11-09
Food Slackers and
Ware striches Must. ls'il'
! Be Awakened to
The Food Situations ion

Il HeaICeS.H
they can fool themselves and the pub
lie long enough some change may take
place which will obviate the necessity
Of facing facts when these facts are
unpalatable. In.
W. must face the issue with exactly
the same spirit that W. must race the
realities of the war, and prepare TO-
meet the food question with exactly
the same degree Of self-sacrifice with
which the soldier offers his life.
The man who wastes food, who o n
sumes more of wheat bread, beef, pork
and mutton than is actually needed
for. his ~sustenance, is a Stacker II. tnis
hour Of world tragedy. Hesis INFINITELY
more of a Stacker than the man who
the war. The latter from cowardice
may stty to save his life. The former,
lfromS selfish gluttony Is unwilling to
sacrifice even some of his appetite.
The Public Stacker.
The hotel or the social club which
furnishes on it's bill Of fare q larger
supply of %foodstuffs than should be
demanded at this hour, which \
wastes by giving too large a. portion,
is worse than. a Stacker. It co-operates =
with the Stacker merely because 1t
does not want heroically to stand for.
what is right, and therefore 1t seeks
to appease the g%luttOnOus appetite OF
the food Stacker. The time has long
since passed for mi4cing words in h
discussion of these problems. Let us
face the facts as to the food question.
900, bushels less than the average
yield Of the last five years. It is over
5000, 900 bushels short OF h crop
of 1901, or 16 years ago, though at
the time we had a population OF at
least 25, 900, 900 less than we have to-
day, At the average rate Of consump-
ton, based on an increase Of 25,O00,-
900 people, we need at least 1875 ,000,-
900 bushels more of wheat than we
! needed for our domestic consumption |
| alone. But instead of that we have a
decrease of $4,000, 900 bushels short
Of that years yield.
/, This years wheat. crop is $1,000, 900
is 103, 600, 900 bushels short of that Of
1913. 1t is $3.50 900 bushels lessNthan
that of 1915. II ~,
If this years yield Of corn and
wheat had been increased in proper
ton to population as compared with
1.-The yield of 1906, we would have $685.
00O, 900 bushels more than the aggre-
gate yield of these two crops in that
year.
The total production of wheat and
corn for the last two years is 400, 000,-
900 bushels short of the total produce
ton for 1914 and 1915.
Can't Make Up For 1915.
1t is true we nave had a large in
crease in corr and oats and in few
other things this year., but it seems i'm
possible to get government authorities
to recognize that this increase will not
be sufficient to fill up the u Gre
], 400, 900, 900 bushels Of grain, pota-
toes and other food stuffs, as compar-
ed with 1915, making last year the
most disastrous crop year in the his
tory Of the country. -.
We have 15,5OO,O 900 head of sheep
less than we had in 1903, decrease Of
over rs per cent; while our population
nearly rs, 200, 900.
We have $4,000 0 head of beef cat
tie less than we had in 1909. and A.
100000 less than as far. back as 1900.
5,4OO,0 600 Hogs Less.
AND as though these factssin regard
to sheep and beef cattle were not seri-
GUS enough we fHva the recent state .
ment of the department of agriculture ,
that on September 1 the country had
5,4oo, 900 less swine than one year ago.
a decrease in IL months of 8.3 per
cent; and the average weight of hogs
now going into the packing houses is
very much less than formerly, due to
the fact that the high price of feed /:
mas been causing farmers to sell off
their hogs without waiting for their
full growth. -
These facts are startling enough.
They are in themselves the strongest
argument that can possibly be made
IN behalf of food conservation. We
cannot go on wasting foodstuffs as we
v done in the past. We have reach
go a point long foreseen by all
!houghtful observers, of a gradually
decreasing supply bf foodstugs, which
could only be met by more conserva-
tlon in The use Of food in order to pre-
vent exorbitant prices, and this en-
tlre!y without regard to the existence
OF the war. This condition-wasi n-ev-
dence long before the war. F
More Consumers Now.
Ihere are many reasons for the sit
uuation which we now face. One. ana a
lundamental one, is the change thai
mas been going on for the last TO-.
years in the shifting of popuiation
from n country to the cities: a
change so momentous that ifs i'm nor+
ance should have been recognized long
ago by all students Of food supply and
general economics. ="
IN 1880 this country had a total
oopn nan IN round figures of 50,-
lived in towns and cities, and az soo
= . eo IN the country. In 1910 we had
a ~, in the cities, and 49. 3 o
wv m the country. In that time r
poPulatlon almost trebled, while coin.
per cent. ~ "oous ~
IN 1880 29.5 per cent Of our nonr-
iation liVed in cities and 70.5 ner 80
t = the country. In 1910 urban opu
nan was 46'3 per cent and rural AT
pei cent. Expressed in gross fip,,ra.
We mad IN 1910 nearly 2S. 900. O0o r,nrs
people living in cities than in 1871.
M we had only ID, 900. 900 more
1 , oons IN the country in 19i0e tban
1851. The most striking chanea - ~
IA = etwee 1900 and 1910. and the ,
amazing advance in city nonmIa+t tne
t.aoe at that time still goes m pn
tween 1900 and 1910 CITY non,,i.tie-
tr u nearly 10. 900, 900 and coune
Try population only 1900, o 'oun'
Must Increase Production
with. his enormous ral.t;v.
crease in country popu1atinn ae-
produces the foodstuffs. and ~ ~nlcn
c Mn,cn consumes the foodst"frs
G an readily understand the ~ we
oe M IN food production 'uaall
no - nai1on must face the is,,
we must learn food consarva ssue' n
greater extent than we han Ca
known 1t in the past. bec. nave ever
In WIT VIZ o-- - "a III