Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-03-01
Editors Letter Box


Editor kennebec Journal:
FROM a letter used by you In an edito-
rial ~ days ago 1t appears that dealers
are allowing the requirement that pur-
cpasers Of -four buy at the same time an
! eeoaf weight OF cereal substitutes for
i'ouf 10 be interpreted as requiring peo-
PIE 70 buy large quantities of breakfast
teods. From other sources this is con-
hrmed. The food administration is CIV
ing the cereal breakfast food trust an op-
portunlty to multiply its business and
COIN many added millions out Of the war
ieeos OF the people, when true conserva-
tlon calls for the shutting off of that line
OF business. DR.. Merrill should have ex-
Planned that the cereals to be sold with
hCur must be only such as are used in
bread making, as bran, middlings, corn
meal, rye meal, oat meal and rolled oats
N ouik. In fact. the word cereal"
should not be used in this connection, as
IL mas come to mean in the popular mind
, the extravagant and well-nigh useless
package breakfast foods The dealer
VINO sells breakfast foods with -four yio-
iates the spirit of the law The term
used should be "breadstuffs and only
such Hours and meals as come under that
resignation should be allowed Several
weeks ago the papers told of a govern
nent inspector in a small Maine villa ee
compelling some farmers to unload the
'iour they mad bought and take only what
t"eg could equal in cereals. On visiting
the town l learned that it was not a
government inspector but drummer
~ inc Quaker oats Co, and that he led
me dealers and their customers to believe
. tfat they must have the products of his
/, coihpan" IN order to have flour. The
quaker oats co. also puts out a variety
OF GARY feeds. Last summer | saw n
ietter sent out BY them TO the grain deal
ers saying that as the farmers were GET
tillg Two cents quart more for their
m'ik, dealers should expect a stiffenins
OF feed prices; that an advance of two
cents quart on milk would take care
% an advance Of $50 ton on feed. Per
maps this purpose of the feed trust to rob
the milk producers of the full benefit NJ
inc hrst advance was what made neces
sary the second advance, for the farm
ers round they were still producing milk
= loss. We whose sons are with the
IN DIVISION on the French front are far
fAcre deeply interested in conservation
IMAM the powers that be-" We have =
rEht TO demand that we be not bounn
Lahd and foot by the food administration
ana turned over to the cereal trust. We
"hc are using middlngs and bran to ex-
tend hour are practicing genuine conser-
N<''ioii' Eet we have to buy them in 100 ID.
SACKS as put up for cattle mixed win
7f'"hu screenings. and possibly MOI
c-eah When we appealed to the food
administration for relief we were met h
| t"c assertions, equally true (?) that tha
prah ana mlddlings were needed for cat.
ile iced, and that their use for h,,r,,,
1rou was dangerous to health. Onlv a
Si'dH part OF the corn spelling on the
farms Tor lack of transportation won,,
eqCal IN feeding value all the bran and
hl!nuhhss produced by all the Hour mills
! ahp poor corn meal is more dangerous
70 heaIth than any part of the ube..
except possibly the coarsest of the hran
sUci Is IS put up for a health food ana
soio Tor &c. pound. The middlings sold
~ animal feed equal probably 1900 mn
barrels of flour a month.-enouph ia soIvo
IL "hoie conservation problem. AS for
lrahsportationf car that would bring
! IT. m the Vest a. tons or corr will hrrs
ou' 'hree or four tons OF faxed. pufred
| OF shredded breakfast foods.
=, +. +. HARRIS.
Ihorndike, Me-, Feb. Is