2 4 



nourishing element, and the fruits or vege- 

 tables when thus dried keep indefinitely. 

 The reduction in bulk and weight is highly 

 advantageous, as it reduces the storage space 

 required, facilitates handling, and cuts down 

 transportation costs. The method will go 

 far to solve a good many of the problems 

 pertaining to food preservation and the 

 elimination of needless waste, thereby secur- 

 ing directly a substantial increase in the an- 

 nual food supply. 



Many other questions having an impor- 

 tant bearing on the conservation of our 

 food supplies will come under the consid- 

 eration of this department, as its duties un- 

 fold. I have only "scratched the surface" 

 of its wonderful opportunities, not only to 

 aid and extend the specific purpose of the 

 Commission, but to serve and promote the 

 interests of all humanity. 



Such, briefly, is the plan of organization 

 which plainly indicates the important and 

 far-reaching influence a National Food 

 Commission, with adequate power, will 

 have, not alone in markedly increasing the 

 food production of the country, but in de- 

 veloping our natural resources and placing 

 their direction on a sound and systematic 

 basis. 



I have dwelt very briefly on the matter 

 • it price regulation, as it is impossible to do 

 more in a general consideration of food pro- 

 duction. It cannot fail to appear that any 

 action in this direction must be based funda- 

 mentally on a due regard for the farmers' 

 rights. The times and conditions are ex- 



