The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-03-18
Every School sid in Ameri-
ca Urged to Plant Vege-
tables to Relieve the
Food Shortage.
SITUATION IS CRITICAL
Wheat Consumption Must be Cut
Again II America 10 to
Send Any
Abroad.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service.l ]
WASHINGTON, March 18.-Because
of the food shortage, every school
child Is urged to start a war garden
after school hours. School superfn-
tendents and teachers were asked by
Commissioner of Education Claxton
today to help children select proper
vegetables for planting. Lessons in
gardening will be given in many
schools. Department of the interior
officials are behind the campaign.
Not Enough Wheat.
WASHINGTON, March 1S.-Ameri-
can consumption Of wheat appears
about to undergo further curtailment.
On the heels of authentic reports
that Germany's food prospects for
| this year are vastly improved over
those of 1917, there were outstand-
/ ing indications that the cereal short
age facing the allies is little shoft
Of critical.
Reserve wheat held in American
mills and elevators shows q loss OF
nearly twenty-five percent from last
year and approximately sixty percent
from 1915.
For various reasons. the United
States today is shipping only about
fifty percent of what the allies need
in the way of cereals.
Pending the new crops, the people
of this country, in light of the wheat
shortage throughout the world, must
reduce wheat consumption to the
point where 1t is about one-half Of
what 1t was in every home before the
war.
| simultaneously, it is possible retail
sugar dealers will have to resume
strict enforcement Of sugar rations.
Grocers complain that they are again
having great difficulty in obtaining
sugar.
Allied nations use practically no
| sugar at all.
That the farmers Of the middle
west are on the job is indicated in
an announcement OF the federal farm
loan board today showing that S13,-
| S7S,s11 was loaned to farmers during
the working days of February-an in
crease of $2,O67, ,053 over January.
To make up for the allied wheat
| lack. food administration officials are
trying desperately to relieve the great
! meat shortage in England. Shipments
for March are expected to increase
about so percent above those for
February. Meat exports to England
last month were 100000 tons, practi-
caliy only a quarter Of her demands.
! This months total of meat export
will be upwards of 10000 tons, ac-
cording to estimates Of food admins
tration officials.
Soft corn is still two-thirds un-
moved in the middle west, especially
in Indiana. The situation is charac-
terized by food administration officials
as serious.
Not Enough Seed Wheat.
DES MONIES, Iowa. March 1S.-
| There has been such a demand for
seed wheat that county farm agents
have been unable to supply the de-
mand. according to H. ]. Metcalf. sec
retary Of the defense council. and
I many farmers will plant barley and
oats instead Of wheat.
The failure of the defense council to
secure sufficient seed is due in part to
the misrepresentation or misunder'
standing Of the people in charge OF
| the supply at Minneapolis, who repre-
sented that they had 100000 bushels
when their supply was but one-third
/ of that amount.
| A letter was sent from the COVER
nor's Office today to the farm agents
| for a report on the Increase in acre
age of wheat in Iowa this year.