The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-09-07

to eat more than is absolutely neees-
sary for our mainte1ance. 1t is every
body's duty, therefore, at this time to
%"tfghten his belt" and to make a gen.
uine effort to live on as hin a slice Of
the loaf as he can. Unless that be
done we must buy additional food in
neutral countries, thereby using ton
mage that should be kept available for
u military operations and increasing
our difficulties in adjusting our trade
balances with neutral countries.
Hurts Uncle Sam In Many Ways.
To return to our story of the suit
of clothes During last veal the Unit
ed States had to import 421, 900, 1000
pounds of wool, representing a value
of about SIP, 600. About half of
this came from Argentina. Our suits
of clothes called for a substantial por-
ton of this wool and therefore to that
extent robbed Uncle Sam of the use
of his ships. Moreover, our factories
being busy in producing the things re-
qulred for the prosecution of the war
and Il home consumption still pro-
ceeding at almost top speed, the guam
tity of goods available for shipment
to Argentina in payment for the wool
(Or for that matter to Chile for nj
~trates, to Peru for copper, and so on),
is insufficient. AS a consequence the
United States had to pay for more
goods in South America than South
America has had to pay for goods
bought in the United States, thereby
causing a decline Of dollar exchange
in these neutral countries. This shrink
age in the price of the dollar means
that it has lost a corresponding part
of its purchasing power in neutral
countries. The scarcity of goods
available for our export trade has
thus become a serious obstacle in our
way in trying to secure at reasonable
prices or in adequate quantities some
of the things that we absolutely re-
quire from foreign countries.
My suit of clothes has hurt Uncle
Sam, therefore, in several ways I
have consumed more wool than neces-
sary and thereby forced the United
States to import a correspondingly
large quantity of this article I have
consumed more cotton goods than nec-
essary and to hat extent have de-
prived Uncle Sam of the means with
which to pay for the minimum of wool
which we may have to import.
HINkL:-- n..A ~. - No..
l have used the illustration of a new
suit of clothes; it would be easy,
though somewhat tedious to show that
we have been dealing only with one
case in point. The country is short
at this time of hides and skins and
has to import large quantities from
neutral countries because we are ex-
t%ravagant in our individual purchases
of shoes. Similarly, though we are
the largest producers of copper, we
are forced to import copper from Peru
because our civilian population has
not begun sufficiently to curtail its use
In like manner we might ask ourselves
is it at all e%xcusable that at this time
we still manufacture such articles as
silk stockings, when every thread of
silk must be imported, while we could
use our own cotton?
1t is impossible and unnecessary to
enumerate the many articles hat are
in a similar position. Many billions
of dollars can easily be saved when
once we are capable of realizing the
cumulative effect of individual "sav-
ing - take the word Saving in its
larger meaning, as involving not only
money, but also goods and services.
If every individual could be made to
see with his WI eyes that neglect of
saving of this sort means decreased
war efficiency, a ~prolongation of the
war, and a larger number of casual
ties; if every one who has a son or
dear relative on the fighting lines
across the water could be made to feel
that millions of small savings directly
affect his boy-there would be no
doubt that we could secure the most
conscientious and enthusiastic coop
GRAFTON of all the people. Thus far
we must say with regret-of 105,
900 people, 100,0o0.000 do not see the
connection between the suit of clothes
and the life of the boy.
Gernany's Enforced Economy.
Germany's military success is large
ly p%redieated upon her ability to CEN
ter the entire national effort upon the
business of war. 1t is safe to say that
she never would have been able to
bear the burdens of the fight as we'll
as she has during these four long
years had it not been for the enforced
savings in material, money and men
brought about through the British
BLOCKADE. If it had not been for the
stern necessities created by that block
ade the German people would not have
been willing to submit to famine ra-
+ioOc nc 70 food o1otbaS choaS opd