THE MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, MEYERSDALE, PA.
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HOUSTON URGES
CONTROL OF FOOD
Gensus of Supplies Needed,
Says Sec. of agriculture
RESOURCES ARE UHKNOWN
While Shortage of Wheat and Pota-
toes Has Raised Their Cost, Prices
on Other Foodstuffs Have Soared.
A thorough census of America’s |
food supply was urged before the sen- |
ate committee on agriculture by Sec- |
retary David F. Houston, speaking |
both in his capacity as the administra.
tion and a member of the council ot
defense.
The fact that we have no way to
weigh with any degree of accuracy,.!
Amnerica’s food re urces, causcd Sec-
retary Houston (6 ...y stress upon the
need of immediate action upon the im-
mediate necessity of appropriating
$25,000,000 to create a bureau of food
census now.
“We have neither the authority, the
machinery nor the means immediately
at hand,” :a:d the secretary, “with
which (¢ wssemble and digest these
statistics, ... order that we might ob-
tain tie 'd basis for federal con-
trol .uod situation as a war
measure.
The (ei. .:c advances in the cost of
the necess.ties of life, Secretary Hous-
ton blames on the alarming shortage
|
of wheat and potatoes.
“The prices have soared when the
supply was entirely adequate in many
lines of production,” said Secretary
Houston. “We are unable to figure
the economical reasons for such price
advances. Seemingly, it is a combina-
tion of circumstances.” ‘
“Might it not be a combination of
individuals?” questioned Senator Ken-
yon. ’
“Possibly,” answered the cabinet of-
ficer.
Secretary Houston told the commit-
tee that he thought it would be well
to have the enactment of a law per-
mitting, for the period of the war,
the fixing of prices of foodstuffs by
the federal govermment. The navy
having tried out the fixing of the
prices for munitions and other neces-
gities of the sea fighting force with
genuine success, he thought: this
showed a way in which the food situ-
ation might be met. He expressed the
opinion that the application of drastic
measures, once or twice, to the detri-
and betterment of the conditions of
the common people's larder, would
probably arrest the disposition of the
people who control the national supply
of food to boost prices.
The suggestion of a federal license
to purveyors of foodstuffs as a war
mea.urce also met with Secrciavy
Houston's approbation. Senator Nor-
ris presented the question of the al-
leged wastage of materials needed for
food in the manufacture of grain alco-
bol.
On this point Secretary Houston
told the committee that he was not in
possession of the complete facts. He
said that last year about 145,000,000
bushels of grain found their way to
the distilleries, but what amount came
out for use in munition manufactures
and what for drinkables he was un-
able to say. :
“It is estimated that the flour sup-
ply,” said Secretary Houston, “on the
basis of a mormal crop, could be in-
creased 18,000,060 barrels a year
through the milling ¢f wheat so as to
make 81 per cent of the kernel into
flour instead of 75 per cent, as at
present. The problem, however, has
many sides and various important is
sues are involved.”
By a vote of 43 to 33 the senate de-
feated a notion to strike the entire
censorship clause from the
bill. It also rejected, 40 to
te by Senator Cummins
signed to modify the pro-
visions.
The amendments adopted leaves the
clause only. prchibiting “publication”
of inform-:ion regarding the move:
ment, pumbers, description, condition
. or dispositi { the armed forces. O
motion of Senator Smith of Georg
more drastic language which would
prohibit “collection, recording or 2
tempts to elicit such information,’
was struck out. As it remained with
out having been {inally adopted and
incorpcrated into the bill, the prohi
bition regulations wouly apply mere
ly to “publication.”
STRIKES IN BERLIN
Chancellor Von Hollweg Will Not Act
. as Arbitrator.
According to the Berlin Vorwaerts,
the: strike of munitions workers con
tinues everywhere in Berlin: and
Chancellor von Bethmann-Hoilweg’'s
reply to a deputation of workers from
the Deutsche Waffen and Munitions
Fabrik of Berlin was a declination to
assume the task of arbitrator.
Strikes have broken out in various
munitions factories in Germany, includ-
ing the Krupps, the Telegraaf says it
has learned from German sources.
The Berliner Tageblatt was quoted
as saying that a number of munitions
makers had quit, but that “effectual
measures were being taken.” It was
estimated that from 125,000 to 130,000
German workmen were on strike in
Berlin and its emvirons, but some had
promised to return to work despite the
protests ef their leaders.
RIGHT WAY TO HANG THE .
FLAG UNDER ARMY CUSTOM
BRA
Fro
Photo by American Press Association.
KANSAS WHEAT FAILURE
55 Per Cent of Sown Area Abandoned;
Weather Against Grain.
Fifty-five per cent of the 1917 wheat
crop in Kansas is a failure, leaving
the smallest acreage since 1897 and
one of the poorest conditions the state
has ever known, according to the offi-
cial crop report just issued by J. C.
Mohler, secretary of the state board
of agriculture. The report covers
every acre of wheat-producing land in
Kansas.
Prospects for a crop from the re-
maining 45 per cent of the last fall
sowing is shown as 60.13 per cent.
The report does not give the bushel
estimate, but it was explained by ex-
perts that the figures would indicate
a probable crop of 48,000,000 bushels
—nearly 51,000,000 bushels less than
last year and more than 133,000,000
bushels short of 1914.
This failure is attributed in the’
, main to dry weather, freezing and
, the blowing of the soil by the wind.
. Increased acreage of corm, oats and
ment of the control of food grafters, '
potatoes is shown by the report.
U. S. ENTRY CELEBRATED
England Pays Distinguished Honors to
i America,
Last Friday the English people cele-
brated America’s partnership in the
gigantic world war by a religious serv:
ice in St. Paul’s cathedral, London,
attended by the official heads of the
nation and a great congress, which in-
cluded hundreds of Americans and
many prominent men and women.
There was a great display of Amer-
fcan flags in’ London and other Eng:
lish towns and a popular demonstra-
tion by the crowds which surrounded
the cathedral. The Stars and Stripes
floated from the highest tower of the
parliament buildings at Westminster,
the first {ime a foreign flag was ever
displeyed cn that eminence, and flew
above all government buildings in the
British copital.
The services in the historic cathe-
dral, where {he most momentous oc-
casions of national rejoicing have
been solemnized, was unprecedented
in being the commemoration of an act
and decision of another nation.
U. S. DAY IN FRANCE
America’s Entry Into War Is Fittingly
Celebrated.
The Stars and Stripes were fiung
to the breeze from Eiffel tower in
France on Sunday aftermoon and
saluted by twenty-one guns. This
marked the opening of the ceremonies
of “United States day” in Paris.
The French tri-color and the Star-
Spangled banner were at the same
hour unfurled together from the resi
dence of William G. Sharp, the Ameri-
can ambassador, in the Avenue D’Ey-
lau; from the American embassy, from
the city hall and from other municipal
and government buildings. The streets
and boulevards were jammed with
i cheering crowds.
Guard Rules Modified.
Discharges from the national guard
will not be granted enlisted men
solely because they are married, ac-
cording to instructions sent out b:
the militia bureau of the departmen: | )
Where a soldier has inde. | Particularly of the great Latayette
pendent means which will prevent his | may be kept vividly in mind, I earnest:
of war.
family from becoming a charge upon
the government, he will not be mus-
tered out.
U-Boat Proliem Not Solved.
“We hive to admit that, without
Anierica sea supplies are in such
danger as to jeopardize the whole
campaign,’ says Arthur Pollen, Brit-
ish naval expert, in the newspaper,
Land and Water. He adds that the
British admiralty has failed to solve
the U-boat problem.
New Fighter Launched.
The new superdreadnought New
Mexico was launched in the Brook:
lyn navy yard Monday.
i patriot as he is a French patriot. His
| most heroic and valuable character.
WILSON INSISTS
ON DRAFT BILL
No Other Plan. For Raising
Army Will Do, Ha"Says
"FIGHTS VOLUNTEER SYSTEM
Only by Selective Conscription: Can
Active and Productive Power of Na-
tion Be Mobilized, Chief Declares.
President Wilson has issued a pub-
lic appeal for the support of the prin-
ciple of “selective conscription.”
The president’s argument is con-
tained in a letter to Representative
Helvering of Kansas, a Democrat
member who favors the administra-
tion hill ,the selective conseription
feature of which has been subordinat-
ed (0 the volunteer system by the
house committee on military affairs.
Only by selective conscription, con-
tends the president, can the full man
power of the nation be marshaled effi-
ciently, and those best fitted for mili-
tary service be separated from those
who are more urgently needed on
farms, in the mines and factories. He
points out that there already is room
for 600,000 volunteers in the regular
army and national guard.
“The process of the draft is, I think,
| very ciearly set forth in the bill draft-
ed by the war department, and which
1 so earnestly hope the congress will
adopt, but it is worth while to state
the idea which underlies the bill a
little more fully.
“I took occasien the other day in an
address to the people of the country |
to point out the many forms of pa-'
triotic service that were open to them
and to emphasize the fact that the
military part of the service was by no
means the only part, .and perhaps, all:
things considered, not the most vital |
point. Our object is a mobilization
of all the productive and active forces
of the nation and their development
to the highest point of co-operation
and efficiency, and the idea of the se-
lective draft is that those should be
chosen for service in the army who
can be most readily spared from the
prosecution of the other activities
which the country must engage in and
to which it must devote a great deal
of its best energy and capacity.
“The volunteer system does mot do
this. When men choose themselves
they sometimes choose without due re-
gard to their other responsibifities.,
Men may come from the farms’ or.
from.the mines or from the factories
or centers of business who ought not
to come, but ought to stand back of
the armies in the field and see that
they get everything that they need’
and that the proper course is sus-
tained in the meantime.
“The principle of the selective draft,
in short, has at its heart this idea,
that there is a universal obligation to
serve and that a public authority
should choose those upon whom the
obligation of military service shall
rest, and also in a sense choose those
‘who shall do the rest of the nation’s
work. The bill if adopted will do
more, I believe, than any other single
instrumentality to create the impres-
sion of universal service in the army
and out of it, and if properly admin-
istered will be a great source of stim-
ulation. -
“Those who feel that we are turning
away altogether from the voluntary
principle seem to forget that some
600,000 men will be needed to fill the
ranks of the regular army and the na-
tional guard and that a very great
field of individual enthusiasm lies
there wide open.”
The administration bill to create a
big war army by selective draft is
under debate in both houses of con-
gress. x
The real interest centers in ‘the
house because the opponents of the
general staff plan have a fighting
chance to force the passage of'the
Dent bill, which is the committee sub-
stitute for the selective draft plan of
the administration. In the senate an
administration victory is admittedly a
foregone conclusion.
TO HONOR FRANCE IN PENNA
Governor Brumbaugh Sets Aside April
26 as Day of Commemoration."
Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh is-
sued the following request to the ‘peo-
ple of Pennsylvania: re
“This country must never forget the
invaluable assistance given us in the
Revolutionary war by France. “Her
greatest gift was the services of Tat
ayette. He is as much an American
services to this republic were of the
“That the services of France and
ly request that we set aside April 26,
the anniversary of the embarkation: of
Lafayette from Bordeaux to America.
as France duy. Hy
“On this day in ali schools and in
all public gatherings and before all
patriotic societies let there be held
exercises suited to the occasion .and
related to this national crisis in which
once more this country stands with
France for humanity and for the
ideals eof liberty, fraternity and equal-
ity.”
Berlin Denies U-Boats Here.
It is officially announced in Berlin
that there is no submarines as yet in
the western part of the Atlantic.
HEIR TO MILLIONS JOINS
. ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD
Photo by American Press Association.
MARSHALL FIELD III.
Young Mr. Field, who is a grandson
of the late Marshall Field, first Chi-
cago merchant . prince, will join the
First Illinois cavalry as a private. He
thinks it the duty of all young men
to enlist. ‘
A GENERAL SURVEY OF
THE WAR
German torpedo boat destroyers
fired 100 shells in the region of
Calais. Some civilians were Killed.
- Twelve persons were wounded.
Calais is the western terminal of
the main railroad artery that supplies
the British armies on the Lens-Arras
battlefront in northwestern France,
+ and lies directly opposite the British
channel port of Dover, near which
place five German destroyers attempt-
ed a raid on British shipping Friday
night with the result that two Ger-
man ships, and pbssibly three, were
sunk by British patrol vessels.
It is believed the object of the raid
was to interrupt the voyage of the
British premier, Lloyd George, across
the channel from the continent, where
he had been in conference with the
French and Italian prime ministers.
It is believed the German destrdyers
‘were the ones which escaped in the
darkness from the Dover battle, di- |
recting their shells on this town while
skirting the coast on their return to
the naval bases at Zeebrugge, Bel-
gium.
‘Hard fighting continues between
the French and the Germans all along
the southern front in Framce. The
French war office, in its latest com-
munication, records further progress
for the forces of General Nivelle north
of the Aisne, in Champagne and in the
Argonne forest.
More than’ 19,600 Germans have
been made prisoners and ‘guns in
excess of 100 have been captured by
the French since the offensive began
last Monday. :
British troops made further prog-
ress in the region of Lens, where the
fighting continues to go in their favor,
says the official statement issued by
the British war office. Three German
counter attacks were repulsed by the
British, who captured a number of
prisoners and machine guns.
The late British official communica-
tion announces that the prisoners
taken in the offensive begun last week
now aggregate more than 14,000. Guns
to the number of 228 also have been
taken.
In the Champagne section on the
right strong positions still held by
the enemy are falling one by one. All
this work could only have been done
at a heavy cost in life under former
war conditions. It is being carried
out with comparatively small loss.
General Maude, commanding the
British forces in Mesopotamia, has
forced a passage of the Shatt-El-Ad-
hem, attacked the Turkish main posi-
tions and completely routed the Turk-
ish forces, says an official statement
issued by the British war department.
So far 1,244 Turks have been taken
prisoner. :
The British hospital ships Donegal
and Lanfranc with many wounded
aboard have been torpedoed without
warning. They were sunk on April 17.
Of those on the Donegal twenty-nine
wounded men and twelve of the crew
are missing. The Lafranc carried Ger-
man wounded as well as British. Of
those aboard nineteen British and fif-
teen Germans are believed to have
perished.
BRAZILIAN RIOTS SERIOUS
Big Masses of German Munitions
Found In Country.
Rio de Janeiro dispatches stated fed-
eral troops engaged in putting down
the German uprising in cities,in south-
ern Brazil had found huge supplies of
ammunition. Other evidence had been
brought to light, it was declared,
tending to show that the Germans
had planned action long ago.
Serious rioting occurred in Porto
Alegre, where manifestations against
the German colony have been in prog-
ress several days. AS a street car
crowded with passengers passed a
German hotel shots were fired from
the building. Several persons wera
wounded.
FER cn — =
without water, and finally came stag-
drinking water, while a fifth man al- Willis— You must be
lke an overheated boiler.
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WRITING FOR THE STAGE.
8ir W. 8. Gilbert Was Not Overproud
{a of His Own Work.
i*No man,” writes Mrs. Alec-Tweedie Why He Balked at Being a Witness on
her reminiscences, “My Tablecloths,” the Side of Truth.
“Had stranger admirers or keener Colonel BE. M. House—“Silent” House,
haters than W. 8. Gilbert. Successful as he is often called—told at a dinner
people always have, but then, added toin Washington a significant parable:
his success, he had a pompous manner “They who expect the men in author-
and a sarcastic tongue. ity to do a great deal for them-—they
“He was in excellent form one May who expect the impossible—should re-
night in 1898 when he dined with me. member the grizzly bear story. 3
We were talking about ‘Lysianne,’ “A famous grizzly bear hunter gave a
Sarah Bernhardt’s new play, which ldinner, and one of the guests told of a
had just seen in Paris, and I sald itbear hunt that be had once shared in
was a poor play splendidly acted. with his host. It had been a remark-
*“‘IZ it's a poor play it's sure to suc-able hunt. The bear had been killed
ceed,’ he retorted. ‘No good play isunder almost incredible difficulties.
SAVED HIS OWN FACE.
ever a Success. Fine writing and high Although his auditors looked skeptical, -
morals are hopeless on the stage.” the narrator did not spare them any of
“*That is severe.’ , those difficulties. He counted om the
““‘Not any too severe. I have beenhost, you see, for corroboration.
scribbling twaddle for thirty-five years “Then, when he had finished his
to suit the public taste and ought tostrange but perfectly true tale, he said:
“know. And, after all, look at the the- “There, that's the story, and, ger:
ater. It contains some 1,500 persons.tlemen, our host will corroborate every,
Now, if you serve up tripe and omions word I say. ¢
for the gallery it offends the stalls; if «No, George; he said, I don’t re-
you dish up sweetbreads and truffleSmember anything of the sort at all.’
for the stalls 1t disgusts the pit. There “Tableau!
fore plain leg of mutton and boiled po- “Maddened by this tableau, the guest
tato is the most suitable fare for all. at the end of the dinner took his host
Light fiippery and amusing nonsense aside and hissed: hy
are what I have endeavored to write. «Why didn’t you back me up in that
But I can tell you that after thirty-five pear story? You know every word of
years of that sort of thing, which I amit wag true’ 9
glad to say has brought grist to the « Yes’ gaid the famous hunter—'yes,
mill, I am about sick of it, and Ijt was all true, but I saw that every-
shouldn’t mind if I never wrote anoth- body round the table thought you were
er word.”” lying. If, then, I had supported y« 1
FADS OF LITERARY MEN.
A Letter From His Wife Always Made
Hawthorne Wash His Hands. Looming Mirages.
Keats liked red pepper on his toast. In what are called “looming mi-
Dickens was fond of wearing jewelry. rages” distant objects show an appar-
Joaquin Miller nailed all his chai ent extravagant increase in height
to the wall. without alteration of breadth. Distant
Edgar Allan Poe slept with his cat pinnacles of ice are thus magnified
and was inordinately proud of his feet into immense towers or tall, jagged
Daudet wore his eyeglasses when mountains, and a ship thus reflected
asleep. from far out at sea ma
: se y appear to be
Thackeray used to lift his hat when twelve or fifteen times as tall as it is
they would have set me down for a
liar too.” ”—\ "ashington Star. v,
— eee
ever he passed the house in which hejong. Rocks and trees are also shown
wrote “Vanity Fair.” in abnormal shapes and positions.
Alexandre Dumas the younger bought while houses, animal and human be-
a new painting every fime he had ainos appear in like exaggerated shapes-
new book published. before the sandy plains of our south-
Robert Louis Stevenson's favorite western states and territories were
recreation was playing the flute, in or- converted into verdant fields by the
der, as he said, to tune his ideas. ingenuity and tireless energy of man
Robert Browning eould not sit still. mirages were very common in those
With the constant shuffling of his feet regions, the Indians regarding the phe-
holes were worn in the carpet. nomenon as being the work of evil
Longfellow enjoyed walking only at spirits.
sunrise or sunset, as he said his sub-
limest moods came upon him at these
times.
Hawthorne always washed his hands
before reading a letter from his wife.
A Russian National Dish.
One of the national dishes of Rus-
sia is known as the pashka. It is'a
sort of cake that stands one and a half’
He delighted in poring over old adver- feet high and is nis on a talk
tisements in the newspaper files. base. It is usually surmounted:by a
Oliver Wendell Holmes used to Carry sugar cross and is placed in the centr
a horse chestnut in one pocket and a of the table when the Russians hold
potato in another to ward off rheuma- their. great feast at Easter when the
tism.—Philadelphia Inquirer. fast is broken. . It takes about sixty
; €ggs to make the pashka, but none but
Horrors of Thirst. natives can succeed in producing the
There is no horror like the horror of rare taste. To
thirst—no physical suffering compara-
ble to it. A traveler over the desert
in Egypt describes a man who had lost
his way, wandering about for days o
2 - Comprehensive. 4
I understand you have bought'a set
f Shakespeare’s works.” :
“Yes,” replied Mr. Dubwaite loftily,
a complete set.” ? : d
“And a glossary. too, I' presume?” af
“Oh, yes, yes! In fact. everything
Shakespeare wrote” — Birmingham
Age-Herald, :
gering into his camp. The man’s eyes %
were bloodshot, his lips swollen to
twice their natural size. His tongue,
blue, parched and swollen, hung out
of his mouth. To allow such a man
to drink water at will would be like
pumping cold water into a redhot Ta aT
steam Dbofler. It would kill him.. This Higher Authority.
man required to be held forcibly by Willis—The Hizhfliers are going to
four men in his eagerness to get at 5.'¢ UD their hi hous S year. Mrs.
nistaken. 1 was
| lowed a few drops to trickle down the talking with Mrs. Highiiier only yes-
throat of the sufferer at long intervals. terday. Willis—Well, I was talking
| He had to be cooled off little by Httle, .t2 the mortgagee only this morn-
ing.—Puck
the only result would have been that.
serve
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