"Tairn • • 

 Dne Pound. of Si 



ige 



tvery Spoonful of Drippings 

 is" Valuable in Cooking 



Photograph from Food Administration 

 AN OBJECT-LESSON IN THE CONSERVATION OE EATS 

 'Starvation or sufficiency will in the end determine the victor in this war" 



cision into effect, and to eliminate all 

 speculation, and to reduce the cost of dis- 

 tribution, in hopes of finding relief to the 

 consumer. We can now measure the re- 

 sults. The farmer will receive about 60 

 cents per bushel more for his wheat than 

 his average last year. Sixty cents per 

 bushel is equal to about $3. per barrel in 

 flour. The price of wholesale flour is 

 today $3 per barrel less than the last four 

 months' average. 



So here is the measure of reduced 

 speculation and distribution charges — $3 

 per barrel increase to the farmer and $3 

 decrease to the consumer. 



The Food Administration has no pow- 

 ers to fix prices except through the ex- 

 port buying, the power to buy and sell 

 certain commodities, and the further 

 power to enter voluntary agreements with 

 producers. A case of the latter lies in 

 sugar, where we agree with 95 per cent 

 of the beet producers that they shall fix 

 the price at a certain figure, and we pro- 

 pose to reinforce this by the control of 

 imports, and if necessary to enforce other 

 measures against the five per cent if they 

 fail to fall in with the majority. 



Each and every commodity has its own 

 situation ; each must be handled on the 

 merits and with least interference by gov- 

 ernment that will effect purely war ends, 



and each by cooperation with the industry 

 itself. 



EITTEE POWER OVER PRODUCER AND 

 RETAIEER 



One illusion in the mind of the public 

 I am anxious to dispel : The Food Ad- 

 ministration, through its own authority 

 and the cooperation of other government 

 agencies, can accomplish a great deal, but 

 it is limited absolutely to that area of 

 commerce between the producer and the 

 retailer. We are stopped in law within 

 this area ; we can only use influence on 

 both the retailer and producer, and de- 

 pend upon their patriotism. In this area 

 we can only regulate the flow of trade 

 and hold it to moderate profits and ex- 

 cise speculation. This is an economic 

 step short of price control — except where 

 we can accomplish price control by the 

 indirect means I have quoted above. 



In the Food Administration we intend 

 to confine ourselves to ten or twelve fun- 

 damental staples — those food commodi- 

 ties that make up the basis of life — we 

 take no interest in the luxuries or even 

 semi-luxuries. We haye laid down certain 

 principles of cooperation with the busi- 

 ness community, and if we are to succeed 

 on these lines we must have their support. 



We are asking - the various trades in 



