10 



arate from the shipping that must he devo- 

 ted to the country's regular foreign trade 

 in food stuffs, or other exports, such as 

 machinery and building material, fuel, farm 

 implements, war munitions and the supplies 

 that will he imperatively needed if an army 

 contingent is sent to France. These figures 

 are conservative and probably should be 

 substantially increased. 



There is no exaggeration, therefore, in 

 the statement that this country is face to 

 face with the most prodigious undertaking 

 the world has ever seen. The human mind 

 can hardly grasp what this means in the 

 aggregate volume of material. Before this 

 huge amount is sent away, moreover, the 

 needs of the American peoplcmust be looked 

 after, and enough food retained to make 

 certain that grim want shall not make its 

 influence felt here. In other words, suffi- 

 cient food supplies to meet the requirements 

 of the United States must be conserved, 

 with the retention of necessary reserves to 

 meet contingencies and provide a safe sur- 

 plus to allow for unexpected crop conditions 

 in the following season. A special reserve 

 for seed purposes must also be held back. 



The thought that instantly arises is: how 

 can all these things be accomplished with 

 least possible delay, interference with es- 

 tablished customs or usual trade conditions. 



