Page:EB1922 - Volume 32.djvu/388

370

The Government of S. Africa after the Armistice placed " Union Loan Certificates " on sale at every post-office where savings bank or money order business is transacted. The S. African scheme closely resembled the British savings scheme. Cards were issued with spaces for 15 one-shilling stamps. The cards were issued at an initial price of sixpence. When the card was completed, it could be ex- changed for a 153. 6d. certificate which is worth l in five years. The maximum purchasing limit is 387. los. od. for 500 certificates. The S. African Government also adopted the scheme of associa- tions in savings clubs on the British model.

STATISTICS. In the preceding tables statistics are given of the results of the work done under the National Savings Committee.

(T. G. CH.)

UNITED STATES

Upon the declaration of war by the United States in April 1917 it became evident that the nation must practise strict economy if the huge war-time expenditures were to be successfully financed and material aid given to the Allies. Not merely in money, but in consumption (which means money), the resulting movement for economy among the American people was vigor- ously taken up. As a first step toward conservation, President Wilson on May 19 1917 outlined a food control programme and appointed Herbert Hoover Food Administrator, and Congress passed the law commonly known as the Lever Act, effective Aug. 10 1917 " an Act to provide further for the national security and defence, by encouraging the production and con- servation of supply and controlling the distribution of food prod- ucts and fuel." The administration of the Act was under the direction of a U.S. Food Administrator and a U.S. Fuel Admin- istrator. The Food Administration summed up its purpose in the motto: " Food will win the war." The following specific ends were sought: (i) to save food and eliminate waste; (2) to distribute food equitably and cheaply; (3) to stimulate pro- duction; (4) to prevent hoarding; (5) to save transportation; (6) to provide for the needs of the U.S. army and navy; (7) to secure the largest possible amount of food for the Allies.

The most vital early need both for America and for the Allies was the conservation of sugar and wheat. The shipping shortage was so acute that it was impossible to procure the large surplus of raw sugar in Java, amounting to nearly 1,000,000 tons. Exports of sugar from the United States for the year 1917 were more than 17 times the average for the three years preceding the war. In Aug. 1917 the cost of spot sugar reached $9.15 per cwt. seaboard basis, and the demand was still unfilled. During this month an Interna- tional Sugar Committee was appointed. Under the operation of this committee the price of Cuban raw sugar declined to $6.90 by Sept. 14, which was the fixed maximum for the season's crop. The prices to the consumer were maintained at from 8$ cents to 10 cents per lb., varying with the location. As the difference of one cent per lb. added to the price of sugar meant an added burden on American homes of $72,000,000, the importance of the sugar regula- tions is evident. As the needs of the United States and of the Allies became more acute, the Licence System governing dealers in food supplies was put into effect and various regulations adopted which governed the producer and consumer alike. In order to control the sugar situation it was announced on May 2 1918 that on and after May 15 sugar should not be sold for manufacturing purposes either by refiners, wholesalers or retailers, except upon the presentation and cancellation of certificates issued by a State Federal Food Administrator, showing the quantity of sugar sold. Retailers were restricted from selling sugar to consumers in quantities greater than 2 lb. for city residents and 5 lb. for those residing in the country, except for home canning, in which cases the dealer was required to secure certificates for the amount sold. By the operation of this system and the voluntary restriction of household consumption, a saving of between 400,000 and 600,000 tons was effected in 1918.

The most serious crisis faced by the Food Administration during its operations was the wheat shortage of the season 1917-8. In the United States the crop, following the exceedingly short harvest of the previous year, was only sufficient to meet normal demands for home consumption. France and England, which together normally produce about one-half the wheat they consume, both suffered very great crop losses, and their total production was considerably less than one-third their normal consumption. In Jan. 1918 an official communication was received from Great Britain stating that, unless America could send the Allies at least 75,000,000 bus. of wheat over and above what they had exported up to Jan. I, there was grave fear that the war would be lost because of the lack of food. The United States Food Administration replied to this advice: " We will export every grain that the American people save from their normal consumption. We believe pur people will not fail to meet the emergency." All manufacturers in the united States using wheat flour in the production of various foods were placed under licence,

and either strictly limited in their use of wheat to a definite percent- age of their normal requirements or were denied the use of wheat entirely. Wheatless days and other measures for wheat conserva- tion were established. Mills were permitted to grind only a certain percentage of the amount of wheat milled during a corresponding period the previous year. Wholesale dealers were prohibited from purchasing wheat flour in excess of 70% of the amount they had purchased during a corresponding period of the previous year. In sales to consumers the retailers were required to sell an equal quan- tity of substitutes to the purchaser at the time wheat flour was sold. The pledge-card campaign was started in Oct. 1917, and between 13,000,000 and 14,000,000 women registered in support of food con- servation by substitution. Between Oct. I 1917 and Aug. I 1918 hotels, restaurants, dining cars and clubs of the country effected a saving of more than 50,000,000 lb. of flour and wheat products. Flour-mills were required to raise their percentage of extraction to 74% and to eliminate altogether the sale of patent flours. This re- sulted in a saving of 13,504,300 bus. of wheat. Bakers were required to use a certain percentage of substitute flour in all breads, and this resulted in the saving of 16,830,000 bus. of wheat. These various measures made it possible for the United States to send abroad in 1918 approximately 140,000,000 bus. of wheat.

The importance of fats and oils in the diet of a people caused the Food Administration to lay stress on the conservation of meat products. Export of fats to neutrals was greatly restricted and the amount of fats used in bakery products limited. In 1918 1,125,397 short tons of hog products were exported as against 839,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30 1899, the largest in any previous year. In March 1918 exports averaged 10,000,000 lb. a day. Normally the United States exports yearly a little over 10% of its total pork production. In 1918, under the pressure of war needs, nearly 20% of a much larger production was exported. In 1918 773,000,000 lb. of beef were exported, or over three and a half times the exports on the average of the three war years. These supplies were made available by the conservation of meats formerly wasted, by volun- teer rationing and by the adoption in many localities of meatless days and meatless meals.

As the demand on transportation facilities became increasingly heavy, it was vital to keep the routes by which food passed from the producer to the consumer as active as possible. The tremendous increase in the exportation of food and munitions, coupled with the shortage of ocean tonnage, congested eastern terminals. To remedy this condition, a regulation was promulgated providing an average increase in the minimum car-loads of about 50% over those of the published tariffs of the carriers. Thus the number of cars required for the distribution of the commodities on the list of non-perishable groceries was reduced fully 25%. Much material formerly wasted was salvaged by the Waste Reclamation Service, organized originally under the War Industries Board and later transferred to the De- partment of Commerce. One million five hundred thousand tons of book and writing material were made in 1918 from old paper. The total value of allwaste material reclaimed during 1918 was approx- imately $1,500,000,000. In monthly reports as to garbage utiliza- tion during 1918 it was shown that the redemption plants reclaimed more than 50,000,000 lb. of garbage grease and 160,000 tons of fertilizer tankage from garbage.

Several conservation projects were developed in conjunction with food conservation. The National Emergency Food Garden Corpora- tion put 1 ,500,000 ac. of city and town land under cultivation in 3,000,- ooo gardens, resulting in an increase of the food supply to the value of over $350,000,000 in one year. The School Garden Army, 6,000,000 strong, raised and preserved fruits and vegetables and also aided in the utilization of wasteproducts. Community canning kitchens were widely conducted. The Women's Land Army had during the summer of 1918 units in 20 different states, showing an enrolment of 10,000 in camps and 5,000 in emergency units. They were engaged in fruit packing, dairy work, truck gardening and gen- eral farming. Cash-and-carry plans were encouraged and the limita- tion of deliveries to one a day to any family or on any one route was recommended.

The U.S. Fuel Administration began its work in Aug. 1917, with Dr. Harry A. Garfield as director. The Administration set out to accomplish: (i) increased production; (2) better distribution; (3) fair sale prices; (4) the elimination of waste. Small production was largely due to strikes. The Fuel Administration succeeded in getting employers and employees into agreement and eliminated much of this difficulty. In April 1918 a nation-wide plan designed to insure equitable distribution of coal was put into effect. An essential feature was the zoning system, by which more than 5,000,- ooo tons formerly shipped from eastern mines to western territory adjacent to western mines was saved for the eastern states where the demand of war industries was greatest. All the price-fixing was done by territory. Inspectors visited each one of the 250,000 industrial plants in the United States using large amounts of coal and worked out with the management systems of conservation. In one week 50,000 tons of coal were thus saved in Pittsburgh alone. Rationing was put into effect, the supply of coal to non-essential industries being greatly reduced. It was estimated that this saved over 1,000,- ooo tons. All industries were held to their minimum needs. Stores and office buildings were encouraged to take their electric current