Evening star., 1917-03-03
MAKES URGENT PLEA
FOR FOOD INQUIRY
Secretary Houston Asks Con-
gress to Grant Trade Com
mission S4OO, COO Needed.
SAYS FACTS ARE LACKING

Declaring that there is nothing in
the food situation of the country which
iustifies hysterical thinking or acting.
Secretary Houston of the Department
of Agriculture today made public
statement in which he makes a plea
for the 100000 appropriation asked
by the federal trade commission and
Agricultural Department to make the
Investigation asked by President Will
son into the national food situation.
Since the statement comes officially
from the head of the great government
department which works hand in glove
with the source of the nations food
supply, the opinions of Secretary Hous-
ton are regarded as peculiarly signiti-
cant at this time.
Begins With Warning.
"A full and satisfactory explanation
of prevailing prices is not possible on
the basis of existing knowledge"
warns Secretary Houston. 1T is only
recently that agencies have been Gre
ated in the country to study food dis
tribution. and We have not all the nee
essary facts to enable US to arrive at
the truth. Where the 1000 supply is
located, who owns 1t. what may be the
difficulties of securing II, whether the
local market conditions are due TO car
shortage, whether there is artfncfal
manipulation or control, no one can
state with certainty"
ut is essential that We have the
facts not only because Of the light they
might throw on present conditions, put
also because they are prerequisite 1or
the working out Of permanent, just
and economical system OF marketing
Therefore the investigation directed
by the President ought to be made
promptly. and Congress ought to give
the federal trade commission and the
Department of Agriculture the neces-
sary funds Certainly such an investi-
cation cannot furnish immediate re-
lief but it would be absurd to oppose
1t for this reason. 1t does not stand
in the way of any other measures that
may be wise. 1t does not prevent any
constructive action on the part OF any
municipal or local agencies. We must
have the facts and the sooner the in
vestigation is undertaken the better.
1t is highly probable that as result
of it large perman nent improvements
may me made.
Conservation and Waste, Topic.
For partial immediate relief. every
Individual and community should con-
slider earnestly the matter of food con-
servation and the limitation Of waste.
As nation. we seem to have dis
dain of economizing. In many homes
there is a strong feeling that it is
only decent to provide more food
than will be eaten and that it is de-
meaning to reckon closely. The ex-
perts of the Department of Agricul-
ture report to me that the dietary
studies made by them point to an an
nual food waste of about $70o.000.0 900
OF course. the waste in families Of
the families Of moderate and ample
means the waste is considerable. Even
IL the estimate were reduced by half
the waste would still be enormous.
The food waste in the household,
the experts assert. results in large
measure from bad preparation and bad
cooking. from improper care and
handling, and. in well-to-do families,
from serving an undue number of
courses and an overabundant supply
and failing to save and utilize the food
not consumed. AS an instance OF i'm
proper handling. it is discovered that
in the preparation of potatoes 20 per
cent of the edible portion in many
cases is discarded.
Says Farmers Are "Quite Human"
If farmers of the country are to be
induced to increase their acreage, a
guarantee of a reasonable price by the
nation or the community seems neces-
sary, Secretary Houston says, pointing
out that farmers are quite human. and
that. while they are patriotic, it is un-
likely that they will undertake greatly
to increase their output unles they
are reasonably sure that it will be
profitable for them to do SO.
The food output of the current year
was not so small as to excite ALARM Mr..
Houston declares, although the wealth
er conditions during the growing sea =
son of 1916 were unfavorable. While
he is not a prophet, the Secretary de-
clares, he sees that farmers have al
ready in certain directions shown a
definite purpose to increase their acre
age, and adds:
"A further word should be said about
the tendency of the meat supply to in
crease. While following the outbreak
of the war there was a considerable
increase in exports of meats, amount
ing in 1915 to SOC, ,000, 900 pounds, the
domestic production in 1916 was g.
o00. 600. 900 pounds greater than in 1914
and the tendency is still upward. Fig
ures recently submitted show that the
number of cattle on January l, 1917,
was 100000 greater than on January
l, 1916, and that the milk cows had in
creased in the same period $4,000. A
very considerable development in live
stock is taking place in the south"
Dictatorship Not Involved.
Solution of the problems of the coun-
try's proper food supply will not in
volve federal dictatorship. Secretary
Houston concludes, and il is highly un-
likely that it will involve a dictator
ship in any state community.
America does not take kindly to die
tators,' he says.
PLANS ENGINEERS ACADEMY.
Initial Steps Taken by Maj. Gen.