The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1918-01-17
WILEY EXPLAINS HIGH
MEAT AND SUGAR COST
Oh Harvey D. Wiley)

Sugar is more extensively used than
it should be. One hundred years ago
sugar was a luxury; today sugar is
a necessity. This necessity is cap
able of being somewhat restricted and
with advantage to the family The
case of sugar is quite different from
that of bread; bread is the prime nee
essity of life. Sugar is a delightful
addition to. a necessity.
Before the war, half of the sugar
used in the world was produced in
the warning nations of Europe, Ger
many leading with a production OF
more than 100000 tons; following |
Germang were France, Austria and |
Russia. Now the production of sugar
has been reduced to a minimum. Much |
of the area devoted to beet root Gull
ture in Belgium and France is now in
enemy hands, and the industry in this
region may be regarded as practically
extinct.
Suddenly the task of feeding the
whole world with sugar, with the ex-
ception of our own production of
nearly a million tons, has practically
been thrown upon Cuba. 1t was not
possible even for Cuba, with its al
most unlimited sources of sugar pro-
| duction, to rise at once to the magni
| tude of the task
The increase in the price of sugar
| followed the natural law of supply
and demand. The consumption of
sugar was not materially diminished;
| it's production was suddenly cut in
| two.
Allowing for the alleged extortion-
ate profits of the refiner and the deal
err, the housewife should cheerfully
pay double the price for sugar that
she did before the war. There should
be no grumbling with sugar at ten
cents a pound because few years
| ago it could be had for five. This
is not a conservation article, but
cannot restrain the impulse of saying
that, in my opinion, we could diminish
| the consumption of sugar by one-half
| with profit to health and efficiency,
and thus would restore the equilib-
rum which existed before the war
and diminish the price of sugar by
several cents per pound. Meanwhile
let us pay cheerfully.
Meat is usually considered, next to
! bread, as necessary diet. Vegetari
anism is probably growing faster at
the present time than is natural. In
fact, in so far as my personal opin-
ion is concerned, / am not a strict
vegetarian. But it is not the dietetic
question that is considered here, but
the economic.
of agriculture show an increasing
population and a decreasing meat
supply The number of meat animals
and dairy animals is increasing far
less rapidly than our population, and
in fact in some classes is actually de-
creasing.
The exigencies of war demand
higher consumption of meat among
the soldiers; whether that be physiol-
logically and dietetically correct or
not is not a question here. Our peo-
pie in civil life with free access to
meat, eat less than eighteen ounces of
meat per day, the quantity which is
contributed to our soldiers
The natural law of supply and de-
mand, irrespective of any manipula-
ton on the part of the packers and
dealers, justifies to very increased
price of meat. There is no prospect
in the near future of any ameliora-
ton. The cost of production of meat
is constantly increasing. Meat, in
other words, is becoming a luxury.
When the housewife pays thirty-five
cents a pound for steak she should
do so cheerfully, realizing that only
2-5 per cent of the grain fed to the
steer is represented in her purchase.