THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 113 



tilities he marshalled the food forces of America and 

 proceeded at once to Europe to join hands with the 

 food forces of England and the Continent to the end 

 that starvation might be prevented. As one of his 

 initial steps, before sailing, he asked that the war gar- 

 dens of America be maintained and expanded. To 

 the Victory Gardeners, he gave the impetus of his 

 urgent plea for continued effort in the cause of food 

 production. 



The signing of the armistice caused complete and 

 peremptory re vision of the figures dealing with America's 

 obligations toward meeting the world's demand for food. 

 During the war we had to furnish food for France and 

 Belgium, but they were a France and Belgium greatly 

 reduced in area because of German invasion. Much 

 of their territory and millions of their people were 

 held by the enemy, shut off from their own countries 

 and therefore compelled to depend in part on the in- 

 vaders for subsistence. To-day these people are repat- 

 riated. Their restoration to citizenship has brought 

 the obligation to feed them. 



While the direct burden falls on France and Belgium, 

 these countries must look to America for ways and 

 means. By all the ties of international friendship, by 

 a sense of gratitude for the part these countries played 

 in winning the war, by geographical location and by 

 inherent capacity to provide food, America is the one 

 country able to meet the call. We must also provide 

 for the smaller allied nations which have been under 

 German oppression Serbia, Rumania, Greece, the 



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