ollers early in
the year for a further shipment of 75,000,000 bushels from our 1917
wheat than originally planned, we shall have shipped to Europe, or
have _en route_, nearly 85,000,000 bushels. At the time of this
request our surplus was more than exhausted. The accomplishment of
our people in this matter stands out even more clearly if we bear
in mind that we had available in the fiscal year 1916-17 from net
carry-over and as surplus over our normal consumption about
200,000,000 bushels of wheat which we were able to export that year
without trenching on our home loaf. This last year, however, owing
to the large failure of the 1917 wheat crop, we had available from
net carry-over and production and imports only just about our
normal consumption. Therefore our wheat shipments to allied
destinations represent approximately savings from our own wheat
bread.

"These figures, however, do not fully convey the volume of the
effort and sacrifice made during the past year by the whole
American people. Despite the magnificent effort of our agricultural
population in planting a much increased acreage in 1917, not only
was there a very large failure in wheat but also, the corn failed
to mature properly and our corn is our dominant crop. We calculate
that the total nutritional production of the country for the fiscal
year just closed was between seven per cent and nine per cent below
the average of the three previous years, our nutritional surplus
for export in those years being about the same amount as the
shrinkage last year. Therefore the consumption and waste of food
have been greatly reduced in every direction during the war.

"I am sure that all the millions of our people, agricultural as
well as urban, who have contributed to these results should feel a
very definite satisfaction that in a year of universal food
shortages in the northern hemisphere all of those people joined
together against Germany have come through into sight of the coming
harvest not only with health and strength fully maintained, but
with only temporary periods of hardship. The European allies have
been compelled to sacrifice more than our own people but we have
not failed to load every steamer since the delays of the storm
months last winter. Our contributions to this end co