634 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



in future be possible to change the 

 ami}' ration established by George 

 Washington and to reduce the quantity 

 of meat to a more rational level. 



In France bread was rationed; two 

 thirds of a pound daily was allowed to 

 civilian adults, about half a pound 

 daily to children, and increased rations 

 were given to people doing hard work. 

 Bread cards were used and each coupon 

 was dated. On May 16 at the railway 

 station at Treport on the French coast 

 I was refused a piece of bread because 

 I had only a coupon dated May 14. 

 The difhculties of provisioning north- 

 ern France last spring were due largely 

 to difficulties of transport, the Ger- 

 mans having broken up important lines 

 of railway. Prefet Mirman at Xancy 

 told me that it was difficult to get flour 

 to his people. I understood there was 

 plenty at the ports of France. At the 

 American Eed Cross Hospital at Toul 

 I was told that until the first of Jan- 

 nary it had been easy to get chocolate 

 for the supper of 250 refugee children 

 who were cared for there, but since 

 that time chocolate had almost disap- 

 peared from the market. 



In Italy wherever we went we found 

 that a large plateful of either rice or 

 macaroni was the prelude to the ordi- 

 nary luncheon or dinner. Neither the 

 French nor the British cared for this 

 invariable introduction to a meal, while 

 the Italians dining in London felt that 

 the meals were unsubstantial. The na- 

 tional psychology of food is indicated 

 by the English attitude toward corn 

 bread. They did not like it. An edi- 

 torial note in the Pall Mall Gazette 

 stated that it was good news to hear 

 that the bread supply of Great Britain 

 was assured and that it was to be hoped 

 that pig's food would be diverted in 

 the direction intended by nature. 



The Interallied Scientific Food Com- 

 mission held its first session March 25, 

 1918, two days after the beginning of 

 the bombardment of Paris by the Ger- 

 mans with the long range gun. The 



problems were to determine the quanti- 

 ties of food needed by each nation, the 

 quantities produced by each nation, 

 and the difference between these values 

 whicli would represent the quantities 

 of food to be imported by England, 

 France, and Italy, and the exportable 

 surplus of the United States. 



The Commission decided to accept 

 as the basic standard for the food re- 

 quirement of each nation the quantity 

 of food which would be taken by an 

 "average man." The diet of an "aver- 

 age man"' was defined as one containing 

 3000 caloTies "as utilized" or, allowing 

 for waste, 3300 calories "as pur- 

 chased," and 75 grams (about 3 ounces) 

 of fat. It was resolved that meat was 

 not a physiological necessity, especially 

 when milk, cheese, and eggs in addition 

 to vegetable proteins were present in 

 the dietary. It was obvious, if a diet 

 contained 3300 calories and was com- 

 posed of foodstuffs ordinarily available, 

 that there would be ample protein in 

 the food. 



In order to determine the require- 

 ment of energy in terms of calories for 

 a mixed population of men, women, 

 and children, it was necessary to es- 

 tablish the relative needs of food ac- 

 cording to age and sex. The following 

 figures were accepted as a basis : 



Eelative ISTeed op Food according 



TO Age and Sex 



A woman at rest requires seven per 

 cent less food than a man of the same 

 size. The average woman is four inches 

 shorter than a man, and, therefore, is of 

 smaller size. The average woman can- 

 not do the same amount of physical 

 labor as a man. The women workers 

 in the Woolwich Arsenal actually ate 

 only about three quarters the amount 



