Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1918-04-05

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a. EMNh ster inventory has been
HwNM made of all food re-
WJW sources in the. United
states, and now Uncle
sam is in. a fair way to know what
food stocks he has on hand TO last
oYer until next seasons crops come in,
how much food he can spare for the
allies, and how sparingly he should
make use of it at home.
Under an act of congress approved
by the president August 10, 1917, the
secretary of agriculture was authorized
to investigate and ascertain the de-
mand for, the supply, consumption,
costs and prices of, and the basic facts
relating TO the ownership, production,
Transportation, manufacture, storage
aud distribution of foods, food mate
rails and any articles required in con-
nection with the production, distribu-
ton or utilization of food. An appro-
priation was granted Tor the survey
and within a week after the bill had
been signed by the president schedules
were in outgoing mails to food mer-
chants and manufacturers.
Here are some facts regarding the
correspondence which formed the ba.
sis Of the nationwide food inventory.
The master list which was complied
by the bureau Of markets was made mp
OF $4,000 names. There We're $4,000
grah.. Hour ard feed dealers; 1900
brewers. 500 distillers. G, 800 Gamers Of
fruits, vegetables and sea foods; HOO
reiiners aud dealers in edible oils, l.
800 sugar and syrup refiners. $4,000
wholesale and retail bakers, 1.040 fish
freezing plants, and so on through the
hundred or more classified food trades.
huge force of clerks was kept
busy mailing schedules and sorting,
editing and classifying the returned re-
ports, The whole master list was
more than duplicated by follow up let
tiers and letters giving special informa-
tion. The inventory covered Sc lead
ing food items and brought in complete
returns of the years harvests.
Foar general classes of commodities
were covered: First. quantities of raw
products on the farms, such as grain,
live stock, poultry. eggs and honey;
second stocks of food products nearer
the consuming stage in manufacturing,
Johhiag, wholesale, storage and other
commercial establishments; third,
stocks In small retail establishments
fourth, food supplies on the shelves
and in the bins OF the family pantry.
Done Largely by Mail.
The most importrat part of Uncle
SANS stock taking job was done by
correspondence with food dealers and
makers. But it was not possible to
inventory all food socks by mail.
There were 10000 small retail grocer.S
who through inability to read or I'M
dersrand English, We're unable to carry
out the Instructors Of the schedule. 1t
Mould have been quite impossible to
Inventory each one of these small con-
cerns by personal oauvass. Therefore
she bureau reSorted to estimates based
on detailed survey Of representative
e9anties,
As basis OF selection for these type
counties, All the counties in the United
States were divided into seven groups
according to the size of the largest yil-
Elage town or city contained in each.
THE first group consisted of - metro
Doltan districts. In Il number of in
tStances embracing all or parts of sew
eral counties; the second group CON
tained 10 smaller metropolitan dis
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