The labor standard., 1918-04-15
ALLIES SUFFER FROM SERIOUS
 FOOD SHORTAGE
Success in War lmperiIed if
 American Homes Do Not l Come to Rescue.
NUN PROPAGANDA AT WORK
0eories Alleging PIentitude of Food M Allied Countries Jeopardize Cause of AlIies-Correspon
 dent Tells of Conditions in France.

Washington. - Irresponsible state 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- Fiously 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 lari1s,-shortage which, if not made up by conservation in American homes and shipments from American ports, will fmperil allied success in the war.
 Any statement, innocent or mali eious. which alleges a plentitutle of fSod over there is German propaganda, pure and simple.
 ef 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 thas happens, Fred R. Pitney. Ameri- enn correspondent, recently returned from France, said:
 '''T have kept house in Paris during tbe war and I can speak from experi- enee. One learns a great deal when keeping house of which one gets no tnkliRg when living in hotel and eat tnS In restaurants. One can always go to a restaurant and get meal. ....
 1T have heard many visiting Ameri- cans, who lived in France in that way, pOOh-poeh the. idea that there was a 10Od shortage in the country. If those same persons had had to search. the market before they had their meals. they. would have gained very differ snt Idea of the food situation.
 eve paid last winter in Paris II cents apiece for eggs and S2 pound for butter and there was frequently meitheE. butter. en0r eggs nor milk to befhad4 4ler Private families were allow cd <tN buy one-eighth of 8 pound of -four 1t a timey The grocers could not sell four, only the bakers"
 1.'' Fl The Meat Situation.
 Ec0fing at the idea that there is shortage in France. one article re- gently published in the United States declared that certain Paris meat market advertised "beef 8 Ia mode" and other, real meat items as meat less day specials"
 This. according to Pitney. may cas- fly have occurred without at. all indi- eating fhat there was no meat shortage fin France. With regard to. the meat situation Pitney said:
 sisaFhe French government is very bu- TeaHara tfes. butithe French people do not ifEeF:to. be overgoverned. They Ob- 1eet seriously to anything that savors of meddling in a mans private affairs.
 Saying how much or what 8 man shall eat Is getting pretty close to pri- vate affairs and therefore the French government knowing intimately the 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 food shortage in the country.
 ''SO far, meat has withstOOd all ef- focts to control its consumption-there 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 Tnent in this country that Frances herds are sleek, fat and plentiful, Pit ney said: -.
 Frances herds are disappearing rapidly. They are today far below the danger. point. Soon they will have to be,.reconstituted entirely. To what ex- tent the herds have disappeared is shown by the cutting of the meat ra- ton 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 froIn that ration. Only dire necessity will 'conntenance reducing the food AlOsvances of soldiers at the front.
 t"At the beginning of 1914 Frances cattle herds comprised IA, 4,7S7.7 head i; sheep '16. .131 ,390 and hogs z 7,035, $50. By the end of 1914 after fse stnonths Sf~ war, her cattle were restuced to r12, ,68S, ,224:;, her sheep toI4,, 4,,0Ssya61 sand hogs to . 5,925, ,2g1. Today her cattle
 
 Herds are down more than 20 per cent, while her sheep number no more than 10.O0O,OO0 and her hogs 100000.
 Cattle feed is short in France and She cattle are poor and underweight." |" s> Y ..>' Nstionai Price Fixing, t Concerning the statement that there ere plenty of beans and potatoes in France, Pitney said:
 "A scheme ef 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. I have seen many days when potatoes could not be bought in Paris.''
 i:t'Fr; @eF ta"s. 1r-. .t *. B. s.=r .ra.Eag sa, s-----7- ----
 This is time when all workers must soberfy face the grave impor-