The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-12-06
Friday, December 9th, 1918
FOOD PROBLEM WILL LAST
AFTER THE WAR is
ENDED.

EINDGbs
Just as the Maryland Food Ad-
ministration advised the public to
suspect rumors of enemy collapse
as possible traps set by the foe,
it now urges that even well-sub-
stantiated prophecies of the ces-
sation of hostilities be regared
only as millestones on Americas
triumphal path and by no means
as the goal. Even the advent OF
peace itself will not straightway
solve this nations food problems.
The program announced by
Herbert Hoover for next year
provides for an increase of s.
100000 tons in the amount of
foodstuffs who are to ship to
Europe.
Though the figures were based
on the assumption that active
warfare would continue, our task
cannot be materially lightened
even though the foe lays down
his arms. The food shortage
will not end till two things come
to pass.
First, millions of fighting men
who are consumers must become
producers again and the world
have time to harvest the crops
they SOW.
Second, the ships now engaged
in the transport Of troops and
munitions must be returned to
the ordinary routes of commerce.
Whenever peace does come, the
task of repatriating the Allied
forces will be gigantic. Itmay be
expected that the Short hauls"
will be the first undertaken; that
is, General Allenby's force will
be returned from Palestine to
India, while the Saloniki contin-
gents will be shipped to Naples
and Marsaillies. The British
Army, to a large extent, may
cross the Channel in men-of-war,
but as for the Canadians and Aus
tralians almost a million of them
passenger ships will be needed
to carry them to their homes.
AS most of these have seen three
or four years service, the U. S. A.
despite it's impotence to have it's
own boys back, will no doubt
generously yield to their prior
claim upon the transportation
facilities. It may be added that
the majority of our troops were
either carried or conveyed by the
ships of our allies.
Of our Sammies, a popular song
declared ''They won't come back
till it's over, over there. /" 1t is
highly probable that they will
remain abroad till the final set
Element is affected. Thus it will
be many months before we shall
see Business as Usual.
Then too the declaration of
peace will bring to us the necess-
ity of providing food stuffs for
additional starving millions in
Central Europe. Not only will
Germany be herself a customer
in the food markets of the world
but we shall find it necessary to
supply food to starving Poland,
certain regions in Russia, and the
thousands if not millions of Ger
many's subject people. There is
every prospect therefore that the
declaration of peace will leave
still tremendous shortage in the
worlds food supplies which
America must largely make up
from her own reserves.
Whatever happens, whether
peace comes or whether war con-
tinues, our food supply for an
other year and probably for two
years, must undergo the most
serious drain in our history.
America must learn to conserve
food, to use it wisely, to waste
nothing, or otherwise large por-
lions of the civilized population
of the world will suffer the pangs
of famine.
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