World War I 100 Years Ago: Oct. 14-20

From The Indianapolis Star, Monday, October 16, 1916: “An Embargo On All Foodstuffs” is the slogan that the Retail Grocers’ Association will be sounding at the Pure Food Show which opens today. Indianapolis grocers, as well as retailers elsewhere, are taking up the idea of keeping foodstuffs in America. “We hate high prices as badly as the consumer does. It does not seem reasonable or just that people in the United States should pay a war tax because of the European conflict. And this is just what it amounts to, for we are each day shipping foodstuffs to Europe that we could use at home, because Europe offers more money for these commodities,” said a local retailer. Grocers across the country are asking for Congress to enact an embargo on foodstuffs at its next session.