Thrift and Economy

Thrift and Economy By F. S. Harris, Ph. D., Director, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station In these war times when a scarcity of food is so near to our own doors, many are reminded of the wise advice given by the leaders of the Utah pioneers. In those early days before the production of the land had reached its present degree of cer- tainty and before the facilities for transporting food great dis- tances were developed, it was necessary for each family to store supplies to last from one harvest to another; starvation many times faced those who did not prepare for the future. The leaders strongly advised all to be ready for a number of years of shortage. ... Many of the frugal men of those early days have continued to the present time the practice of buying at harvest time enough flour, beans, and other staple foods to last the family till the next harvest. Some have kept two or three years of supplies on hand all the time. Most of the people, however, have drifted into the habit of living in a sort of hand-to-mouth fashion hav- ing only sufficient food on hand to last a day or a week and being entirely at the mercy of dealers. Without considering the relative merits of these two meth- ods of purchasing food during normal times, all must agree that in the present world crisis those who have prepared for the emergency are in a much better condition than those who may .become victims of a food shortage. No one knows how long the war will last nor how long the balance in the food supply will be disturbed after the war is over. Of this we are certain: today millions of people in the world are under-nourished, and if the war continues, many more will have occasion to know what hunger means. With millions of the world's food producers engaged in actual warfare, with millions more working to furnish the fighters with munitions and other war supplies, and with trans- portation and manufacturing facilities reserved for army pur- poses, some will have to suffer. The first to suffer will be those who depend for each day's supplies on a delivery from the grocery store. The far-sighted individuals who have taken the precaution to store the necessities in advance will be the last to suffer. Hoarding food for speculation in this great crisis cannot be too strongly denounced. Those who would make merchandise of the nation's distress or who would extort from the poor high prices for commodities that have been withheld from the market

THRIFT AND ECONOMY 817 till a fabulous price could be obtained are altogether lacking in true patriotism. The storing of food to meet the actual needs of the family is, on the other hand, an act of the highest patriotism. It tends to equalize the price of food throughout the year and reduces the likelihood of a food shortage in the country. If all the families would store a good supply of the necessities while they were abundant or while traffic conditions permit, the railroads would be free to serve the purposes of actual warfare if an emergency should arise. If none of the people have provisioned themselves in advance, the railroads will be kept busy supplying immediate wants during critical periods when they should be free to serve the government. It is believed, therefore, that family welfare, national duty, and patriotism call on every family in the land to conserve most carefully all possible food and to store sufficient of the neces- sary foods to carry over what might be a period of very sore na- tional distress. Now that the season of production is here, let every family take the opportunity to supply itself with food for the season when there may be no surplus. Storage in the home is much better than storage in the bins of the speculator. Logan, Utah