Hitherto our food experts and medical men have been satisfied with
a ration properly balanced as regards protein, carbohydrates and
fat, but the mineral salts in our food have been given little if
any serious consideration. Indeed, they have usually been dismissed
as "ash." As a matter of fact, however, as the statement I am
sending you under separate cover will show clearly, even to a
layman, mineral salts perform an important function in keeping the
body strong and healthy.

I am prepared to demonstrate that the quantity of essential
minerals in vegetables, small fruit and eggs can be multiplied
several times by scientific fertilization and nutrition. If I can
do this (and I am prepared to prove that I can) the Government
should be willing to arrange for the production of such foods in
connection with every military hospital and convalescent camp, both
here at home and behind the lines in Europe. Moreover, given a
central experimental station with proper equipment, it would be an
easy matter to train men to teach this knowledge to soldiers at
every reconstruction camp.

The statement is made by Dr. Mae H. Cardwell, of Portland, Oregon,
one of the investigators for the Federal Children's Bureau that
millions of children are suffering from lack of sufficient food and
from improper feeding, and she adds that not only the parents but
the doctors, in many cases, need education with respect to what
constitutes proper feeding for children. I think that when you have
read and digested my statement of the function of the mineral salts
in the human economy, you will agree with me that the need for just
what I am asking the government to give me an opportunity of doing