Newport daily independent., 1918-03-21
Success in War ImperiIed if American Homes Do Not
 Come to Rescue.
HUN PROPAGANDA AT WORK
Stories Alleging PIentitude of Food in Allied Countries Jeopardize Cause of AlIies-Correspon- dent Tells of\Conditions
 in France.


 ments from unknown sources, purport- ing to show that there is no food short age in France and other allied Euro pean countries, are creating wrong impression in the public mind and se- riously hampering the governments food conservation program, declares the United States food administration. The administration can only repeat what it has said all along on the basis of official government statistics: There is serious food shortage in France, and in other allied European lands,-shortag which, if not made up by conservation in American homes and shipments from American ports, will imperil allied success in the war. Any statement, innocent or mali- cious, which alleges plentitude of food. over there is German propaganda, pure and simple.
 Get Wrong Impression. Persons returning from Paris have unintentionally jeopardized the cause of the allies by giving American news papers their flash impressions of food conditions in France. Explaining how this happens, Fred B. Pitney, Ameri- can correspondent, recently returned | from France, said:
 'T have kept house in Paris during | the war and I can speak from experi- ence. One learns a great deal when | keeping house of which one gets DO l inkling when living in hotel and eat s,< ;,,, nt tc nnn always ! to a restaurant and get meal. q have heard many visiting Ameri- | cans who lived in France in that way, | pooh-pooh the idea that there was a | food shortage in the country. If those same persons had had to search the market before they had their meals, I they would have gained a very differ | ent idea of the food situation. l eve paid last winter in Paris Il ! cents apiece for eggs and $2 3. pound i for butter and there was frequently neither butter, nor eggs nor milk to be had. Private families were allow ed to buy one-eighth of pound of flour at time. The grocers could not sell flour, only the bakers"
 The Meat Situation. Scoffing at the idea that there is l shortage in France, one article re- gently published in the United States | declared that certain Paris meat l market advertised "beef la mode" | and other real meat items as "meat- less day specials"
 1 This, according to Pitney may cas- | srxr Ao-o oon,,rroI x,{tbo1rt ot oil iDdf. eating that there was no meat shortage in France. With regard to the meat l situation Pitney said:
 "The French government Is very bu- | reaucratic, but the French people do not like to be overgoverned. They ob- l ject seriously to anything that savors 1 of meddling in a mans private affairs.
 Saying how much or what a man shall eat Is getting pretty close to pri- vate affairs and therefore the French government knowing intimately the 1 people it has to deal with, is slow s-l-o-w-in coming to such measures even in face of the only too evident l food shortage in the country. | "So far meat has withstood all eff I has been no attempt to control it's price, and yet it is vitally necessary to control the consumption of meat in France or to increase the supply"
 Herds Are Disappearing. ] With regard to the published state ment in this country that Frances
 herds are sleek, fat and plentiful, Pit
 ney said:
 "France's herds are disappearing | rapidly They are today far below the danger point. Soon they will have to
 be reconstructed entirely. To what ex- | tent the herds have disappeared is
 shown by the cutting of the meat ra- l tion of the soldiers at the front. At
 the beginning of the war they were
 allowed one pound of meat a day. Twenty per cent has now been cut ] fromxthat ration. Only dire necessity
 will countenance reducing the food
 allowance of soldiers at the front.
 At the beginning of 1914 Frances
 cattle herds comprised 14,7S7,710 head 1;
 sheep 16,131 ,390 and hogs 7,035,850.
 By the end of 1914. after five months l
 12,66S, PAS. her sheep to 14,O38,361 and
 hogs to 5,925,2 ,291. Today her cattle
 herds are down more than 20 per cent.
 while her sheep nur Der no more than
 1O.OO0,000 and her hogs 100000. l Cattle feed is short in France and
 the cattle are poor and underweight." !"
 National Price Fixing.
 Concerning the statement that there
 are plenty of beans and potatoes in France, Pitney said &.. !, "A scheme of national price fixing is } to be tried now with beans and pota-
 toes. Both of these crops are far be-
 low the requirements of the country, l
 have seen many days when potatoes
 could net be bought in Paris"