The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1918. THE FOOD SHORTAGE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 112, 29 January 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1918. THE FOOD SHORTAGE

Lord Rhondda's appeal for a great increase in the American supply of wheat for the Allies shows how serious the food problem has become. It is hard for New Zealanders to realise what a food shortage means. We have never _ felt tie pinch,'and it gives us quite a shock when we think that tho amount of bread, meat, and other articles' of diet our kith and kin in the Homeland may consumo is fixed by strict rules and regulations. Lord Rhondda declares that unless America takes effective measures to make good _ the shortage experienced in Britain; France, and Italy he cannot take the responsibility of assuring the public that there will ■ be sufficient food to win the war. This announcement may seem alarming to some people, but really Lord Rhondda does not say anything more startling than Mr. Lloyd George and other responsible people have said at vari- j ous times. His utterance is not a r,ry of distress, but it is an empha- j tic note of warning. It is intended to impress upon tho British public j the fact that they must bo prepared to make sacrifices and submit to inconvenience as far as food is concerned, and it is also intended to make the people of the United ■States realise that by decreasing home consumption and increasing the quantity of wheat available for export to Britain, France, and Italy they will contribute enor•mously to the winning of the warLord Rhondda is evidently desirous of impressing upon the Americans by means of the plainest speaking that victory depends quite as much r.n tho maintenance of , the food supply of the Allies as upon- guns and ammunition. His words leave no room for any mistake as to the fs-riousness of the situation. He does not want to create a panic, hut to lay stress upon the need for a great and sustained effort. ■ Tho piompt anc! straight reply of Mr. Hoover, the American Food Controller, indicates that Lord Rhondda's appeal has noli fallen on deaf ears. "We will export every grain from America,'' Mr. Hoover says, "save what is required for normal consumption. We will not fail to meet the emergency." What the United States has already done and is now doing gives confidence that Mr. Hoover's promise will be fulfilled. As far back as October 10 of last year President Wilson issued a proclamation announcing tho termG under which the Food Administration would control ' the manufacture, storage, importation, and distribution of practically a'l essential foodstuffs. Th-» proclamation provided that a. liccnso must be secured by tho individuals and corporations concerned, with certain exceptions, and .it concluded with a warning that any' violation of the regulations would bo subjected to the penalties provided in the Food Control Act. All direct trading by American millers, exporters, and blenders of flour with European countries was suspended, the business being taken- over by the Food Administration. The nurposo of this step was to control and centralise the exports of flour to neutral countries in Europe. These lvjutrals wero in fact placed on rations. T !, c compulsory food control regulations were supplemented by voluntary action, heads

of households being called upon to regulate their home-baking in accordance with tho formulas and other instructions issued from time time by tho responsible authorities. According to reports received up to November (3 it was estimated that one family out of every three in the United States had pledged itself to support the Food Administration's plan for voluntary food conservation. This meant a total enrolment of 7)406,544. More than 90 per cent, of the better-class hotels had signed pledges and the others were coming into line. A movement for a meatloss Tuesday and a wheatlcss Wednesday was started in September, ana was generally accepted by •' public' eating-houses everywhere, President Wilson has now appealed to Americans to still further restrict their consumption of meat and wheat, and the Food Controller has taken further measures for increasing the supply of wheat to the Allies. America' evidently understands that much is expected of her, and appears to be willing to shoulder the great responsibility the war has placed upon her. The inauguration of a scheme of compulsory rationing in Britain is not principally due to the German submarine campaign. The attacks oi the enemy upon our merchantmen are an important contributory cause, but the shortage is chiefly the' result of a serious diminution of (b<- world's food production. In a recent speech to a deputation from agricultural organisations, Mi;, Lloyd George said : I am not apprehensive that tlie Germans will be able to starve these islands through the action of their submarines. That is not what is causing anxiety at tho presont moment. Our apprehension is attributable rather to the fact that the available stock of fbod in the world is less than. I will not say it has ever been, but less than it hns been for years. lam not going into the causes of that, but there aro many. For instance, in France the French cereal resources, which have been from time to time adequate to the whole demands of the French nation, are considerably less than they have ever been. Tho same thing applies to Italy, because when a very large proportion of the'agricultural population aro on the fighting front, naturally cultivation suffers, and the produce of the soil is not comparable to what it was in peaco times. So France is in the markets of the world for a larger proportion of cereals than she has over been, and the same thing applies to Italy. On the other hand, when you come to Australia, sho is almost ruled out as a means of supplying thoso deficiencies, because of the enormous mileage you have to cross. Therefore, wa nlust utilise our shipping to ply between ports which will not occupy such a long timo in the voyage. The world shortage and the submarine campaign have shown, the urgent 'neoessity for a large increase in the food jiroduction of the British Isles. A great deal has already been achieved in this direc- . tion. When the Government made its first organised appeal to the {armors of the United Kingdom for increased production the area undei cultivation was 300,000 acres less aa compared with the previous year. There was then very little time to make good tho deficiency, but a vigorous effort was made and the shortage of '300,000 acres was converted into a balance on tho right side of 330,000 acres. Most people will agrea with Mr. 'Llotd Geoeob in regarding this as a highly creditable performance. The Prime Minister .has again appealed to the farmers not merely 1 to repeat this achievement, but to improve upon it. The more self-supporting Britain can make herself as far as food is concerned, the greater will be _ the supply of foodstuffs obtainable by her Allies. As Mr. Lloyd George pointed out, if tho Allies aro short it is because the farmer is handling a rifle to defend his country instead of a plough. Tho drain 011 Britain is great', but the drain on French agriculture is _ much greater. "We have," said Mr. Lloyd George, "got to produce such a quantity of food here that we need not go into tho American market and snatch food, out of tho mouths of our Allies." The food regulations enforced in Britain aro mild in tho extrems as compared with the drastic measures _ which have long been in operation in Germany, while in Austria-Hungary the plight of the civil population is becoming absolutely desperate. It is oerfcam that if the Allies aro prepared to discipline themselves and to make t>ho best use of their food resources their supplies will last longer than thoso of the enemy. They need not be forced by hunger to accept a premature German-made peace.