The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-12-27
|SClhCIlI u FQ0D
TRlEsT AND TRENTIlO|
italy Must Depend For Long Time
On Food From United States.

Washington, Dec. 2s.---The need
Of food 10 so desperate in the north
ern provinces of Trieste and the Tren-
tho, recently liberated by Austria,
that the Italian government has been
using it's great fleet Of Caproni planes
to carry food to the starving people.
Each machine carried several tons OF
food from ltAly's slim supplies TO
meet the terrible needs Of people who
would have starved to death before
the roads and bridges. destroyed by
the retiring Austrian army, could
have been rebuilt.
Italy can III spare that food. Her
own people are never very far from
famine. This Is true not only OF the
laboring classes and Of the poor, but
Of all classes Of society. A professor
In the university OF Bologna, who re-
Gently arrived in this country. states
that this fall he and his family were
actually without food for three days,
1t being absolutely impossible to Sc
cure food for that length Of time.
The average ration obtaining in IT.
ally prior to the signing Of the arni-
stice consisted of 8 ounces Of bread
per day; two and half ounces Of rice
and two and a half ounces of alimen-
tary pastes to be. had on alternate
QAyEt Z OUHCe8 u sugar ky%t thOhShs
and one-half quart Of olive oil per
month. One Of the first results Of the
signing OF the armistice was the fur
Their reduction OF these small rattons.
in order that Italy might meet the in
creased demands upon her ueager
stocks of food. which were to result
from the cessation Of hostilities.
The signing Of the Armtstice brought
no relief to the serious shortage of
food existing at present In Italy. In
fact. the cessation OF hostilities has
greatly added to ltaly's burden in this
respect. for now shc must feed the
people OF the districts recently lib
Grated by Austria.
Italy's normal population of 81
000. 900 has been increased by several
millions since the beginning of the
war. In times of peace, about COOS
600 people emigrated from Italy each
year. Upon the outbreak of HOSTILE
ties. the flow OF emigranss from Italy
was stopped and in the four years
since. 1t il estimated that 2,0o0, geo
people have remained In Italy who
ordinarily would have left the coun-
try. Add to this 10000 Austrian
prisoners; 7e0, 900 OF the starving peo-
pie OF the Trentino; ,o00. 900 In Tri-
este and Tstria; 500, goo in DaInatia.
and 100000 In Albania, and one gets
a total of over 100000 hungry
mouths which Italy has now to feed
in addition to her ordinary popula-
ton. Subtracting the losses of the
army, which amount to one-quarter
Of million killed. this constitutes q
heavy drain on ItalY's already de.
pieted resources.
Italy has never produced sufficient
food for her population. She has
always been Obliged to import wheat
and other foodstuffs, as her average
production falls far below her con-
sumption. Since the beginning of the
war. OF course. her production has
rapidly decreased. According to ad
vices Just received from Rome by the
Italian American news bureau. this
years crops Of wheat are estimated to
be 100000 bushels short OF the nor
NAL yield. Her corn crops shows q
deficit of 24.o00.Oo0 bushels compared
with normal production. Her live
stock hos been reduced from a total
OF 100000 head to less than 5000
200 head. This reduction In livestock
Is doubly serious for italy, because
| there the animals are used to large
extent as boasts of burden in farm
j labor. as web as a source of milk and
/ meat.