400 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 37 



monopolization, hoarding, injurious speculation, manipulations, and private 

 controls, affecting such supply, distribution, and movement; and to establish 

 and maintain governmental control of such necessaries during the war." 



The act confers greatly extended powers upon the President during the exist- 

 ence of a state of war and imposes drastic penalities for violation of its pro- 

 visions. Many of these powers deal with the control and distribution of food 

 as well as a number of other commodities. In administering the act, the 

 President is authorized to use any Department or agency of the Government, as 

 well as to establish and work with other agencies. The enforcement of the 

 provisions relating to the control and distribution of foods has been entrusted 

 by him to Herbert Hoover, appointed Food Administrator. 



Among practices specifically prohibited in the act are the wilful destruction 

 of necessaries for the purpose of enhancing the price or restricting the supply, 

 conspiring to restrict their production or manufacture for the same purposes, 

 and to hold or attempt to monopolize necessaries as defined in the act. A sys- 

 tem of licensing various operations is authorized when deemed essential, and 

 the President under certain conditions may seize factories, packinghouses, or 

 other plants and operate them. He may requisition foods, feeds, fuels, and 

 other supplies needed by the Army or Navy, and may purchase, store, and sell 

 to the public wheat, flour, meal, beans, and potatoes, as well as procure nitrate 

 of soda to .'^ell at cost if the emergency requires it and it is possible to secure 

 the material. In an emergency requiring stimulation of wheat production, he 

 may fix a mininmm guarantied price. For the crop of 1918 this guaranty is 

 made absolute until May 1, 1919, and Is fixed at not less than $2.00 per bushel 

 for No. 1 northern spring wheat or its equivalent at the principal interior 

 markets. 



The use of foods, fruits, food materials, or feeds for the production of 

 distilled spirits for beverage purposes Is prohibited after September 8. 1917. 

 The President Is also empowered to restrict or prohibit the use of thest> 

 materials for the production of malt or vinous liquors if deemed essential to 

 the food supply or the national security and defeiisie. 



An appropriation of .$152,500,000 is provided for the enforcement of the act, 

 with .$10,000,000 additional for the purchase of nitrate of soda. 



Food Training Camps at Agricultural Fairs. — A recent article in Breeder's 

 Gazette outlines plans adopted by the American Association of Fairs and 

 Expositions for cooperating with the Government in conserving the food supply 

 through emergency food conservation exhibits and demonstrations. Tliese 

 plans include the use of standardized exhibits dealing especially with wheat 

 substitutes, the conservation of fats and milk, and the home canning, drying, 

 etc., of fruits and vegetables. The boys' and girls' clubs are expected to fur- 

 nish demonstrations of these and other desirable practices, and the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, the Food Administration, and the Council of 

 National Defense are among the many agencies actively cooperating. 



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