Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-09
Our Allies
Food Supply
lI-France

entry of the United States INTO the war
this country cxpDrted vast Quantities OF
food Ia France and since Congress declar~
cd war we have furnished the French
with even greater quantities. Even Eng
land, forced to fall back upon the United
Statep for sixiy-hve per cent III her
e~sentia foodstuHs, IN turn sends much OF
the foostuffr received from this country
acroae the Channel tn France. With tie
aid of the United States and Great Bri-
tain France will he able to tide over until
the next harvest
very important factor 10 Toe taken
into confederation with reference Co the
shortage of food I'm France - the fact that
the Hun invader II to day occupying part
of Erance That heretofore has produced
more than twenty-five per cent of the total
cereal output Of That country. and much of
the livestock Another fact 10 he consider
ed ~ that France has been sending much
food To Italy
FRENCH HARD TO CONVINCE
In spite Of the fact that the French
government has made strenuous efforts
IA make the people accept some program
OF food oonscrvat ON, only measure 81
suceess has been attained. In despair.
Monsieur Boret's department hns gwen
up plan after plan TO make the popuiace
realize the seriousness nf tho food sltuH-
ton Not that the French people are not
patriotic, or do not wiah to cooperate,
fnlt they cannot Accommodate themselves
| To such wide departures from the old order
Of things M are demanded lJy the reg'ila-
tions Of the Department II Food Before
the war one could obtain AN excellent meal
IN France for franc. about twenty cents
Even now the average meal hardly ever
exceeds five francs. the equivalent of a
| dollar This ~ the French people ~ of
couree exorhitantlv high but compares
very favorably with food prices IN this
country. There has always been an album
dance Of food in France and the people
cannot understand Why food shortage
| exists The poorer Glasses, whom the
| shortage hits the hardest, cannot under
stand why the Minister Of Food asks them
To save food when they do not have
When mn American or EngIishman visits
Paris or towns like Tours, Nice or Monte
GaroIo, he cannot understand why reports
have been circulated that food shortage
exists IN Franco Docs not the evidence of
has aenses rcfute any auch statement?
Cannot the American seo before him such
q meal ~ he could hardly surpase in New
Yorks best cafes, and the Fngishman
such feast "a he has not seen for four
hong ycars7 Why then the reports Of
food shortage
SUPERFICIAL PLENTY.
Persons who have nade study u the
food situation IN France declare that any
apparent pIenitudc II food there Is slper-
ficiaI They declare that while IN many
cases the common classes arc almost
starving, the deprivation lF confined % the
homes, while those who have the price can
Obtain MS murh to eat az they wish It
seems that the regulations If the Minister
Of Food are IN many cascs wanfOniy IL
norcsl. An American Just returned from
France declares that in spite 0f the Tegula-
tons demanding that every person have a
bread card, he remained in France for over
a month, obtaining bread at every meal
without q card The visitor 70 France Is
supposed to register with the project Of
police upon his arrival, whereupon he IA
issued bread card This American failed
10 register, consequently received no bread
card, yet received all he bread ne wanted.
The alter in a cafe would say, Have
YOU a bread card" Upon receiving an
answer in the negative, he would proceed
TO get before the American a large portion
- war bread Usually If a customer
possesses bread card he ioes not obtain
as much bread as he does without one.
for the waiter will very dignifiedly detach
coupon and will then meTiculousiy set
! before the customer 50 many grams OF
read th amount prescribed by aw
Yet without the card apparently VISITOR
| receives better deal.
This same American made a tour Of a
certain number OF French towns and cities
Paris, Tours, Troyes, Barbecue, Or
| leans. Nancy and others under the aus
ice of Minister o Food and Agriculture
Boret, and discovered that in a large
number of cases local authori les and
hotel and restaurant proprletors ignored
the food regulations issued from Paris.
IosIsBLE CAUSE.
Many observers declare that the ab-
sence Of a working sy tenn Of deCcntrahza-
ton is largel responsible for this In the
United States. Mr. Hoover has his State
food administrator in every State of the
| Union, who in turn has a representative
in every county in his State, who in turn
| has a responsible representative IN prac-
tie lily every city, town and village. Much
the same system was started by Lord
Rhondda in England, although the local
/ food authorities IN England are given more
! authority than local authorities in this
! country. In France such a scheme OF de-
| centrah ,ation has not been adopted In
l
| mayor of a town has been made repre-
sentative of the Ministry of Food, but
most of the orders for all of the eighty
seven departments of rance are promul-
j gated In Paris and there are few repre-
| sentatives of the government in the more
remote communities to see that the regula-
/ tons are carried out
In numerous communities, boarding has
! been prevalent and the Ministry OF Food
has NOT Yet adequately met this situation
/ Especially IN communities where Amer
/ can soldiers are IN training. where there Is
an American aviation field or an admins
trative branch, much OF this boarded food
has been brought out and sold 10 the
Americans at prices which the poorer
classes of French people simply cannot
afford 10 pay. For them food prices arc
simply prohibtive and they are compelled
10 eat what they can get The govern
ment has had small success with price
fixing
In the town of Riarritz the mayor and
! project OF police agreed between themselves
selves that they wouldsnot enforce the reg
ulations o { the Ministry of Food in Riar-
ritz. They declared that if any shortage of
food were known to exist in Riarrit1 the
summer visitors who yearly flock down
! from Paris would steer clear and spend
their money in the popular resort Of san
! Sebastian across the border