Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 69, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1918 — WHEAT SHOWED SPIRIT OF U. S. [ARTICLE]

WHEAT SHOWED SPIRIT OF U. S.

Sacrifice to Ensure Allied Loaf Greatest Single Food Achievement. SUFFICIENT SUPPLY NOW. All the Nations Will Be Able to Return to Their Normal Supply of White , Bread. \ Overshadowing, all other accomplishments of the American people under the leadership of Food Administration is the history of wheat exports in the past sixteen months. Our wheat export program proved conclusively to the world that America was in this war from start to finish and willing to make any sacrifice that will hasten victory or maintain the health and strength of people overseas, upon whom rested the heaviest weight of our war. * Now that pressure'on ocean tonnage is eased by the stopping of large movements of troops to Europe, we may relax oqr efforts to save wheat. The accumulated surplus in Australia, Argentine and other hitherto inaccessible markets will become available, and probably no more than our normal surplus will have to leave this country. We in America and the nations which have won the world for freedom will be enabled to eat their normal wheat loaf at the common table of the peoples of democracy. We entered the past crop year with a wheat supply which gave ,us only 20,000,000 bushels available for export. When the crop year ended, we had sent 141,000,000 bushels of wheat to Europe. The American people had saved out of their normal consumption 121,000,000 bushels.

A survey of.export figures shows that the conservation of flour brought about by the wheatless meals, wheatless days, substitution in our kitchens and bakeries, enabled us to send to our armies and the allies 33,000,000 barrels of white flour —wheat figured as flour. Had we exported only our visible surplus, we would have been able to ship less than 4,500,000 barrels. Before the Ist of December our surplus had gone overseas, and an additional 36,000,000 bushels had been taken from the stock reserved for home consumption and added to the surplus already shipped to the allies. It seemed hardly possible that we could bring our total exports above 100,000,000 bushels by July 1. But in January the late Lord Rhondda, then British Food Controller, cabled that unless we could send an additional 75,000,000 bushels he could not take responsibility for assuring his people that they would be fed. The American people responded by sending 85,000,000 bushels of wheat, saved from their home consumption, between the the year and the advent of the new crop. By October 10, 1918, we had already shipped 65,960,305 bushels since July 1. Absolutely the only limitation upon our wheat exports since the latest harvest has been the scarcity of ocean tonnage. If 'exports continue at the present rate, by July 1 of next year we will have sent more than 237,500,000 bushels to Europe. Thus are.we making good America’s pledge that the bread rations of Allied Europe shall be maintained.