THE FOOD CRISIS AND AMERICANISM 65 



successfully discharge the duties of his colossal trust. 

 To this end, every threshing machine, clover huller, 

 cotton gin, etc., should be required to secure a Federal 

 license. The license fees should be nominal, but the 

 failure to procure and furnish data, or the neglect to 

 follow and promptly comply with the rules and regu- 

 lations, should be subjected to severe penalty. With 

 each license, there should be sent a package of properly 

 printed post cards, addressed to the Food Administra- 

 tor's representative in the licensee's county. These 

 licensees should be required to fill out and mail one of 

 these daily, during the threshing season, giving the 

 exact number of bushels of each cereal threshed on 

 that date, estimated acres of grain, for whom, and the 

 owner's post-office address. As there is now a rural 

 mail box on practically every farm, less than five min- 

 utes daily of the thresher's time would be required to 

 fill out and mail these cards. The county agent should 

 tabulate these at the end of each week or month, and 

 transmit the results to the Food Administrator at 

 Washington. Thus, by November ist of each year, 

 the Food Administrator will know exactly the amount 

 of each cereal in the country, and just where it is lo- 

 cated. He would then not only be able to make defi- 

 nite plans, but to have each mill supplied with wheat 

 from the adjacent or nearest territory, thus making a 

 great saving of time, fuel, rolling stock and man- 

 power. The Food Administrator, if wheat deliveries 

 were slow, would know just what communities were 

 withholding their wheat, and the card index in the 

 hands of his county representative, in case requisitions 

 were necessary, would show exactly where each bushel 



