The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-09
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Director.
Washington, D. C.
THE ALLIED FOOD SUPPLY.
Washington, D. c.
H.-Francc.

this country exported vast quantities
of food to France, and since congress
declared war we have furnished the
French with even greater quantities
Even England, forced to fall back
upon the United States for sixtyfive
per cent of her essential foodstuffs, in
turn sends much of the foodstuffS re-
ceived from this country across the
channel to France. With the aid of
the United States and Great Britain
France will be able to tide over until
the next harvest.
A very important factor to be taken
into consideration with reference to
the shortage of food in France is the
fact that the Hun invader is today
occupying a part of France that here
tofore has produced more than twenty
five per cent of the total cereal out
put of that country, and much of the
livestock. Another fact to be consid-
cred is that France has been sending
much food to Italy.
In spite of the fact that the French
government has made strenuous eff
forts to make the people accept some
program of food conservation, only a
measure of success has been attained.
In despair, Monsieur Boret's depart
ment has given up plan after plan to
make the populace realize the serious
ness of the food situation. Not that
the French people are not patriotic, or
cannot accommodate themselves to
such wide departures from the old
order of things as are demanded by
the regulations of the Department of
Food. Before the war one could OBJ
tain an excellent meal in France for
| franc, about twenty cents. Even
now the average meal hardly ever eX-
ceeds five francs, the equivalent of a
dollar. This to the French people of
course is exorbitantly high but COM
faVnra will varic
in this country. There has always
been an abundance of food in France
and the people cannot understand why
food shortage exists. The poorer
classes, whom the shortage hits the
hardest, cannot understand why the
minister of food asks them to save
food which they do not have.
When an American or Englishman
visits Paris or towns like Tours, Nice
or Monte Carlo, he cannot under
stand why reports have been cir
culated that food shortage exists in
France. Does not the evidence of
his senses refute any such statement
| Cannot the American see before him
| such a meal as he could hardly sur
pass in New York's best cafes, and
) the Englishman such a feast as he
has not seen for four long years? Why
i then the reports of a food shortage?
/ Persons who have made study of
/ the food situation in France declare
! that any apparent p1enitude of food
/ there is superficial. They declare
! that while in many cases the common
| classes are almost starving, the dep
/ rivation is confined to the homes,
While those who have the price can
| obtain as much to eat as they wish.
/ 1t seems that the regulations of the
Minister of Food are in many cases
wantonly ignored. An American Just
returned from France declares that in
! spite of the regulations demanding
that every person have a bread card
he remained in France for over a
| month, obtaining bread at every meal
| without card. The visitor to France
| is supposed to register with the pre-
J feet of police upon his arrival, where
/ upon he is issued a bread card, This
| American failed to register. conse-
quently received no bread card, vet
received all the bread he wanted. The
! waiter in a cafe would say, Have
| you bread card?" Upon receiyine
an answer in the negative, he would
proceed to set before the American
a large portion of war bread, Usual.
| ~ II a customer possesses a bread
card he does not obtain as much
bread as he does without one, for the
waiter will very dignifiedly detach a
coupon and will then meticulousl,
set before the customer so many
grams of bread, the amount pre-,
scribed by law. Yet without the caro-
apparently a visitor receives a bette
deal
This same American made a tom
or certain number of French town:
ana cltles-Paris, Tours, Troyes, Bar
Ie-Dec, orleans, Nancy and others
under the auspices of Minister of Feot
and Agriculture Boret. and discovered
that in large number of cases Ioca
authorities and hotel and restauran
proporietors ignored food regulation.
ovS-
Many observers declare that the
absence of a working system of de
Capitalization is largely responsible
Tor this. In the United States, Mr.
Hoover has his state food adminiStra
tor in every state of the Union, whC
In turn has a representative in ever,
county in his state, who in turn ha:
a responsible representative in prac
tcally every city, town and village
Much the same system was started
| by Lord Rhondda in England, Attic
the local food authorities in England
are given more authority than 1oca
authorities in this country In Franc
such a scheme of decentralization ha
not been adopted. In many cases tn,
project of police or the mayor of ;
town has been made a representative
of the ministry of food, but most o
the orders for all of the eighty-sevel
departments of France are .promul
gated in Paris and there are few rep
resentatives of the government in tn
more remote communities to see tina
the regulations are carried out.
In numerous communities. hoardin
has been prevalent and the ministr
of food has not yet adequately me
this situation. Especially in commu
mites where American soldiers are il
training, where there is an American
aviation field or an administrativ
branch, much of this boarded foo
: has been brought out and sold to tn
, Americans at prices which the poore
classes of Frer h people simply can
not afford to pay. For them foo
prices are simply prohibitive and the
are compelled to eat what they ca
: get. The government has had SINAI
success with price fixing.
: If the three meatless days in Franc
+ do not meet with success. 1t is under
stood on high authority that Min