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The Rural Publishing Co, 
333 W. 30th Street 
New York 
The Rural New-Yorker 
The Business Farmer’s Paper 
Weekly, One Dollar Per Year 
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Single Copies, Five Cents 
VoL. LXXVII. XEIV YOKK, .AIARCIl 9. 1918. Xo. 4472. ■ 
Hints and Helps from Hoover 
Hoarding and Price of Bran 
[We have many questions from readers wlio are 
puzzled or annoyed about the rules and regulations of 
the Food Administrator. These (luestions are usually 
sent to Washington, and we receive prompt replies if 
not always clear decisions. Here are two such (jiies- 
tions which will interest many readers.] 
The Housewife and Her Supplies 
Will you tell us whether there is any law now to 
prevent one from purchasing and keei)ing in our homes 
a quantity of any of tlu' foodstuffs which we use com- 
monl.v. such as flour, sugar and the canned goods put 
up by canning factories V If there is, how much are 
we allowed to have in our homes? There are so many 
conflicting stories we housewives hardly know how 
much of a thing we may purchase Avheu occasionally 
a chance comes that we may get larger quantities of 
some _ of these common everydaj^ necessities. I often 
hear it said that our homes arc liable to search at any 
time to find if we have more of any commodity than 
is alloAved, and all overplus seized by the (lovernment. 
If such is true, how may we be able to know whetlun- 
it is one enforcing the Law or a thief? If there is no 
such law now, do you think there may Iv' soon, .so 
float we ought to be careful about jiurcha.-ing iti quanti¬ 
ties? I am very thankful there is a trusty friend whom 
the comniuiilty or of our fighting forces. As to the 
suggestion nuule Ity your correspondent that hoarded 
foodstuffs might he taken by a thief or one not 
entitle<l to seize the same, there can l)e no difliculty 
on that score, as all (lovernment repre.sentatives 
should carry credentials and gladly produce the 
same upon re(iuest. 
One of the most serious problems with which the 
Food Administration has been confuonted is the 
storing away of flour, sugar, commei'cial canned 
goods and other food commodities by the unthinking 
or selfish hou.seholder. It is not and never was the 
intention of Congress or of the Food Administration 
to i)rohil)it the keeping by any householder of sup¬ 
plies suflicient to meet the reasonable needs of him- 
.self and his dependents, but it is their intention to 
trace down, and if necessary to prosecute criminally, 
any householder or per.son who “.stocks u])“ on food 
commodities, and who keei)s unrea.sonably to him¬ 
self foodstuffs to whi<-h his neighbors or tin* l)oys at 
the front :>r(' entitled. 
As already st;if(>d, llu' ho.arding prohibition d.es 
tion at Washington, D. C., who will promptly take 
up the case and see that they obey the regulation.s, 
<U' their licenses will be revoked. Fvery mill, 
whether large or .small, must take out a license. 
FOOD ADMINI.STUATIOX GR.VIX COIU’OR.VTION, 
I>;\’ Watson H. IMoore. Secretarj". 
Hide 10. (Effective December 25, 1017.) Xo licen¬ 
see engaged in the bu.siness of milling flour and 
feed from wheat .shall, after December 25. 1017, sell 
wheat mill feed at any price in excess of the fol¬ 
lowing prices: 
Bran : Bulk price per ton of 2.000 ])ounds at 
mill in car lots in no case shall exceed .IS per cent 
of the average cost to .such mill of one ton of wheat 
at the mill, which cost of wheat shall be the average 
co.st as shown by the previous month’s records of 
said mill, and shall include the 1 per cent adminis- 
tr.ation fee paid by the mill on all wheat ground. 
The above percentage and prices are snbji'ct to 
revision from time to time by the Fnited St.ates 
food Administrator, but no re\isiou will I»e made 
without .■;() days’ notice. 
A Farm-raised Boy on a Farm-built Tractor. Fig. 188 
we may turn to with those perplexing questions that 
are troubling us from day to day. airs. ii. A. c. 
New York. 
HE impiiry naturally divides it.self into two 
iiuestions, first, wlnit is “hoarding,’’ and, sec¬ 
ond, what are the penalties attached to hoarding. 
You are not intere.sted in technicalities; it will be 
.suflicient to say in general terms that a hoarder of 
food is one who has more food than is reasonable 
under the circumstances. As to penalties for hoard¬ 
ing, the Food Act expressly sul».iects all hoarders to 
a penalty of ^5,000 fine, or two years’ imprisonment, 
or both, ilost people will, of course, understand 
that hoarding is a selfish practice which, particu¬ 
larly during such times as those, is bound to result 
in higher prices and greater burdens upon one’s 
neighbors; and also that the practice is treason in a 
small way, because it is holding back from the 
soldiers and sailors at the front the nece.ssaiw food- 
.stuffs without which we cannot hope to win the 
war. The drastic penalty provided by the Food Act 
Nvill, of course, be used only against tho.se who are 
selfish and unpatriotic. 
It is also provided in the Food Act that hoarded 
food commodities may be seized forcibly, through 
the help of the various United States District At¬ 
torneys, and thus put upon the market or otherwise 
made accessible to supply the legitimate needs of 
not extend to the keeping by the householder of 
.hdlie.s, pre.serves and other canned goods put up by 
herself, for use by herself and her family. Indeed, 
that practice is encouraged by the Food Administra¬ 
tion, for the same reason that it encourages families 
to plant gardens and, so far as possible, from the 
products thereof to sustain themselves and the 
localities in which they live. Such self-sustenance 
helps to .avoid unnecessary u.se of transi»ortation 
facilities, whi( h :u‘e already oia*rta>;ed with neces¬ 
sary war businc:;.-. u. ,s. fooo .'.dmi xistra’i ion, 
By It. B . Boyden. Diidsion of Enforcement. 
Price of Feed at Mills 
IVo umhu'stand that the Food Admiiustratiou has 
put a price u|)on wheat bran—figuring at .‘tS per cent 
of the price of a ton of wheat. Is this correct and. if 
so, has .a miller any right to charge more than this 
price for bran and other mill feed? s. K. 
I am .sending you copy of Amendments and Addi¬ 
tions, Series “B” Supiilement, effective January 2.S, 
191S. Itule 19 on page 9 entirely covers the price 
of feeds; and if a miller is not conforming to this 
l>rice basis he is making himself liable to the revoca¬ 
tion of his license, which would put him entirely 
out of business. Any mill which is not obeying these 
rules and regulations should be reported to the 
Enforcement Division of the U. S. Food Administra- 
The price, f. o. b. bulk, mill, in carlo.ad lots shall 
ho on the basis of cash or draft attaclu'd to bill 
of lading and all feed sold by the licens(*e shall he 
invoiced jit such jirice. There shall also appear on 
the invoice, in addition to such bulk f. o. b. mill, 
the price of the .sacks, and the items of freight and 
interest, if any, when goods are sold on extended 
terms of credit, and other charges, but the licensee, 
for convenience in .selling, may quote a delivercal 
pi'ice in sacks. This rule shall not affeid existing 
contracts. 
Dilb'rentials: (ilaximum prices, bulk, mill.) 
Basis: Bran. 
I’.n- Ton of 2.000 
I’ouml.s-Over Basis. 
Shorts ov siundard middlings.2.00 
Mixed fei'd .’ dioo 
FloiTr middlings . p'oo 
‘log .15.00 
We understand that this rule will work out as 
follows: Suppose the miller pays .1:2.10 per bushel 
for wheat, or .“>14 cents per pound. That means 
.$70 per ton. Now .28 per cent of $70 is $20.00—the 
price for which he must sell bran. Brices for other 
feeds would be as the rule above indicates. BTiy, 
then, is bran quoted at $48 or $50 at retail when 
the miller is prohibited by this law from selling at 
more than $20.00? The only answer seems to be 
that the feed dealers and manufacturers do not 
