Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 134, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1917 — DON'T EAT ANY OLD POTATOES [ARTICLE]

DON'T EAT ANY OLD POTATOES

Millions of Patriotic Citizens Will Obey Edict to Insure Big New Crop. OLD ONES NEEDED FOR SEED Prominent Chicago Club Starts Movement Which Quickly Spreads to All Parts of Country—Speculators Hoarding Supply. Chicago, Hl. —Several million patriotic citizens will eat no more old potatoes until after July 1. They take this method of helping to make as large as possible the potato crop of the United States next harvest —a very important matter. The “Eat No Potatoes” movement started a short time ago with the Hamilton club, one of the leading political and social organizations in the country, quickly was taken up by other clubs and hotels here, and soon was spreading out over the nation in all directions. Who started the movement? An agricultural expert of international reputation, Eugene H. Grubb, is the man. He made a public statement in Chicago, saying: “If all the seed potatoes in the United States were planted this spring they would not produce a sufficient crop to meet the needs of the country.” That was an ominous statement but Carl Vrooman, assistant secretary of agriculture, backed it with this: Needed for Seed.

“There are several things I wish to urge upon the American people for the sake of economy and as a patriotic duty. First, don’t eat any old potatoes. We need them for seed potatoes. Buy new ones, if you can afford them, or use rice or something else as a substitute.” That settled it Hamilton clubmen formed a committee which began work by taking potatoes off the club restaurant menu. Other clubs in town were asked to co-operate. Then clubs and hotels and prominent individuals aU over the land were asked to ban th< potato and use their influence tokeexi folks from eating old potatoes. The replies came in a flood, and they were the right kind of answers, too. The Hamilton club committee also started an investigation in the Chicago vegetable markets to see how many potatoes were held here. Imagine their surprise when they found certain commission men and food speculators in possession of more than half a million dollars’ worth of the vegetable. This supply had been bought up during the late winter and early spring and the owners were planning a profit of millions of dollars. And now the appeal has gone forth to farmers: “Don’t sell your seed potatoes at any price.” The potato planting season begins very early in the South, but it does not end until about the first of July in northern Michigan, Minnesota and Montand, which are imtv'rtant potato states. The American who wants to help Uncle Sam win the war ant! who will be delighted to get a chanc* to trim the food speculators, has his ipfort®nity now: He should eat no old p* tatoes until after the planting mxisqq.