Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1918 — Food Situation In East Is Serious [ARTICLE]

Food Situation In East Is Serious

Washington, Feb. 21.—The eastern part of the United States faces a food shortage likely to contiue for the next sixty days. In making this disclosure tonight Food Administrator Hoover declared that the situation is the most critical in the country's history and that in many of the large consuming areas reserve food stores are at the point of exhaustion. The whole blame is put by the food administrator on railroad congestion which he says also has thrown the food administration far behind in its program for feeding the allies. The only solution he sees is a greatly increased rail movement of foodstuffs even to the exclusion of much other commerce. It was evident tonight that the railroad administration is inclined to resent Mr. Hoover’s blame of the railroads and Director General McAdoo declared he-was ready to provide every transportation facility for expediting food movement. The Railroad administration, he said, had suggested that farmers be urged to release their grain holdings so that large numbers of available cars might be utilized in moving them. Potatoes are' spoiling in the producers’ hands while consumers have been ’supplied only from summer garden crops and stores carried over.