11 



and inconvenience or abridgment of indi- 

 vidual rights and privileges? 



The answer is plain. There should be an 

 immediate organisation of a National Food 

 Commission to take full charge of the food 

 problem. Doubtless, it is superfluous to 

 state that this Commission should have 

 plenary power in regard to every detail as- 

 sociated with the control and direction of 

 the country's food supplies. It may also 

 seem presumptuous, in view of the thought 

 and attention being devoted to these mat- 

 ters, to make such a suggestion, much less 

 to lay down any definite scheme of organi- 

 zation. But, here again I plead the gravity 

 of the situation, the tremendous importance 

 of getting it well in hand at the earliest 

 possible moment, and the possible aid any 

 earnest consideration of the presenting 

 problem may give in its ultimate solution, 

 if in no other direction than to help prepare 

 the thinking people of the country for con- 

 ditions certain to arise. 



The Commission should not be large. It 

 should consist of seven men ; a chairman, 

 to be known as Director of National Food 

 Control, who should be the executive head 

 of the Commission with power and authority 

 to act therefor. To facilitate the work of 

 this Commission, which will be enormous, 

 it should be divided into a number of de- 



