The official bulletin [Vol. 1, no. 10, 1 November 1918]

              jHt
U. S/Food Administration
-ft
THE OFFICIAL BULLETIN
VOL. I
RALEIGH, N. C, NOVEMBER 1, 1918
No. 10
ASK YOURSELF!
The weight of purely military effort in the great war
has been put at only 25 per
cent of the whole, the remaining 75 per cent being, strictly
speaking, of a non-military
nature, and made up of many
elements — agriculture, food,
shipping, diplomacy, etc.
When people ask me, as
they sometimes do, how the
war is getting on, I feel inclined to reply, "Why ask me?
why not ask yourself and the
remainder of the 75 per cent?"
SIR WILLIAM ROBERTSON
Former Chief
British Genet al Sta
VIOLATORS WILL
BE DISCIPLINED
Unpatriotic Merchants Who Disregard the Combination Sale
Order and Other Regulations
Will Be Dealt With Severely.
The Raleigh office of the Food Administration and practically every
County Food Administrator in the
State have done their utmost to correct
the impression that the amendment to
the combination' sale order as applied
to flour meant that a letting down of
the bars was permissible. Only one
pound of corn meal, corn flour or barley flour must now be sold in combination with four pounds of .wheat flour
instead of pound for pound with wheat
flour. Notwithstanding the small proportion of cereal substitutes that must
be sold with flour, a number of merchants-have been found guilty recently
of disregarding the combination sale
order altogether by selling flour alone.
Any unpatriotic merchant who has
been disposed to ignore this or any
other order of the Food Administration is put upon notice that any such
infraction will be severely punished.
The need for conservation of foodstuffs and rigid regulation of the distribution of foodstuffs is more Impor
tant now than It ever was, and the
State Food Administrator is determined to stamp out absolutely violations of rules and regulations in North
Carolina. If this cannot be accomplished any other way, any merchant
who is found guilty of violations will
be promptly blacklisted.
In the past, the State Food Administrator has been disposed to forgive and
admonish, accepting contributions to
the Red Cross or other war charity in
lieu of more drastic punishment and
having a blacklist order issued only in
the most flagrant cases. The trend
from now on will be fewer violators
forgiven, fewer let off upon the making
of contributions to the Red Cross, etc.,
and more dealers put out of business
because of their evident unfitness "to
deal at a time like this in products
which can be measured only in terms
of human lives — either "the 'iv
sir   fellow-
-
Europe.
INCREASE IN FOOD
PRODUCTION URGED
FOOD AND HUMAN LIFE
America is under direct obligation to
furnish its Allies with 17,500,000 tons
of foodstuffs this year, against 12,000,-
000 tons last year. The promise of
this quantity of foodstuffs must be fulfilled, whether the war continues or not.
If peace should come, America will
be confronted with the responsibility—
and will be prompted by every dictate
of humanity—to save from death as
many as possible of the starving millions in Roumania, Poland, Finland,
and Russia. Literally millions of these
people are doomed to starvation. We
cannot save any of them if the war
continues, because we cannot reach
them, and shipping is not available to
transport the foodstuffs to them. If
the war should end, the' way will be
open, and we cannot shirk the responsibility.
In the face of this situation we
cannot but measure foodstuffs in
terms of human lives, and only
in terms of human lives.
The person who is responsible
for the waste of food is guilty of
murder. The person who can
produce food, and does not, withholds his hand from saving human lives.
Producers of Food, as Well as
Consumers, Face Terrible
Responsibility
Producers of foodstuffs, as well as
consumers, in America face a terrible
responsibility.
.If the war continues the United
States must export to its Allies 17.500.-
000 tons of food. If we fall down on
the job the war is likely to continue
even after next year, and if it should
our' failure will be measured by the
lives of American soldiers and other
Allied soldiers.
If the war should end America must
not only feed nations which are its
present Allies, but it will face the
responsibility of saving from starvation a e 1S0.O0O.OO0 people
Fir.
There is a world-wide shortage of
foodstuffs—the natural result of four
years of warfare between all of the
leading nations of the earth, with the
consequent withdrawal from agricultural and other productive pursuits of
50.000.000 or more adults, the disorganization and utter demoralization of
Russia, and the interrupted and unbalanced movement of food and feedstuffs
to the neutrals of northern Europe and
elsewhere.
The worjd must continue on short
rations for two to five years after
peace is declared. If the lid should be
taken off when peace is declared the
price of most staple food products
would no doubt be doubled instantly.
High prices will undoubtedly continue
for several years after the war.
In the face of the present situation
the American farmer faces:
(1) The greatest responsibilities that
have ever been placed upon the producers of any nation—that of feeding
a starving world.
(2) The greatest opportunity the
agricultural industry has ever faced
for making money/
Not only must food be measured in terms of human life, but
the efforts of the producers of
the country must consequently
likewise be measured in terms of
human life.
\