OCR Text |
Show VRDOM SUGGESTS 111 III BASIS Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Agri-culture Would Adopt the European Plan. WASHINGTON, March 31. A suggestion sug-gestion that American millers might render a great public service in the campaign cam-paign to prevent a war shortage of food by converting into flour a greater percentage per-centage of milled wheat was made iu an authorized statement bv Carl Vrooman, assistant secretary of agriculture, made public here tonight. "No step could do as much to increase our food supply immediately," wrote Mr Vrnnman "ae fn tin f thp "nfl t.inn nil a 'war bread' basis. J He pointed out that while the present milling standard in this country converts con-verts ouly about 72 per cent of the wheat berry into flour, England has adopted an SI per cent standard, Italy S5 per cent, Switzerland 80 per cent and France 77 per cent, and all of the belligerents bel-ligerents are making bread from wheat flour mixed with rye, barley, corn and potato flour. Since the international outlook became be-came grave the question of food supplies sup-plies has occupied a prominent place in the prcpareduess considerations of officials offi-cials here. In a statement a week ago Mr. Vrooman pointed out the necessity for greater wheat production to prepare against a prospective shortage and Secretary Sec-retary Houston has appealed to the farmers of the country to conserve agricultural ag-ricultural resources by eliminating waste, increasing production and utilizing utiliz-ing all surplus. In his statement tonight Mr. Vrooman said an 85 per cent milling standard would in effect increase the wheat supply sup-ply by (10,000.000 bushels and a 90 per cent ' standard would add S7,000.000 bushels. Use of 25 per cent substitute for flour iu baking, he added, would bring tho total saving to 125,000,000 bushels. Now before necessity pinches ur, these are facts which should be considered consid-ered in all their possible practical bearings,'' bear-ings,'' the statement continued. "It is stated on reliable authority that 85 per cent wheat flour can be manufactured in our mills without changing their machinery. ma-chinery. The most serious industrial change would be that the millers could no longer sell flour according to their well-known brands. The, European millers, mill-ers, however, have patriotically subordinated subordi-nated their business interest to the interest in-terest of the country as a whole, and I believe if the United States were to adopt a ' war bread ' policy that our millers would gladly co-operate. " 'War bread,' or bread made from whole wheat flour, is, for many people, more healthful than white bread." Anv resulting shortage in bran, shorts and middlings for cattle feed could be made up bv cotton seed meal, corn meal, tankage, alfalfa, clover, cowpeas and soy beans, Mr. Vrooman said. He pointed point-ed out that whole wheat flour can be i made cheaply at home by grinding j wheat in a small hand grist mill, aj practice which the department of agri- j culture has long recommended. |