The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1918-06-19

allies.
I'VE had their support. Yet we
had no evidence we would have
it, except our Judgment of the
character of the people who came
here to kick. They were not the
people who raise the wheat. This
same thing happens in Washing
ton ten times a day where govern-
ment has to interfere in prodnc-
ton, consumption and distiihu-
ton. One result OF this is kick
ers accumulate from so many
quarters that no department di-
rector can last for long. It's just
one of the results of the war.
THE whole question is one of
getting by and contributing every
department action to winning this
war and nothing else. By and by
every departmental head must give
up because he will be fighting
gnats instead of doing his con-
structive Job. Also the public
will lose confidence, and then a
change is necessary in order to re-
establish it. Other wise the ma
chinery would break down.
7 Situation Was Desperate.
"There is, believe, only one
minister in a European govern
ment that has held his job thru
the war-and he never tackled the
food problem.
I'VE got by this year, altho
from a nutritional point of view
we had the shortest harvest in five
years. Despite this, We have
maintained exports of food to our
allies higher than in any year in
our history. The allies have had
to ration, but it has not been SO
drastic as to damage their morale.
There was period during
February and March in Europe
when we were under great anxiety
about the food situation. The
storm blockade on our railroads
and the shortage in transportation
generally made it impossible to
ship food in the necessary guam
titles. The allies supplies ran
down to a dangerous level. How
dangerous is shown by the fact
that in London in March there
were always about 100000 people
in line waiting for chance to get
food supplies. With the opening
of the railroads, we resumed big
shipments, so that by April the
food lines had decreased to an
average of 1900 people a day in
London.
''The fortunate thing is our food
got over there just when the
great spring offensive of the Ger
mans got under way, and just
when the morale of the allied peO-
pies was going down very fast.
, Our food saved the day, and We
never could have shipped the
amounts we did If il had not been
for the enormous savings volun-
tarily effected by the American
people.
Barrel Nearly Clean.
Zone June 1 the total available
wheat supply of this country was
about 100000 bushels. BY July
/ we will have scraped the barrel
clean. And the fine thing is that
our people are not scared by 1t.
They are proud Of it, and we are
proud that the price of flour is
Just the same as it has been all
these months.
..The American housewife is
holding the line by feeding our
allies until we get an American
army over there in force. II II
had not been for her, the war
would have been over"
In view of the prediction of big
grain crops this year. | asked
Hoover what of the future?
/ Whatever happens said he.
''if we have big crop this year
we are an utterly mad people IL
we do not establish reserves of
wheat and of food that can be put
in cold storage. We must figure
on the probability of a lean crop
! next year. We must remember
that everv time we take a soldier