The Food Administration was so organized as to decentralize its operations as much as possible and bring them into direct touch with the people. Under the United States Food Administrator, and also appointed by the President, was a food administrator for each state who selected one for each county in his state. These county administrators in turn appointed special committees or committee chairmen to keep track of and solve local food problems and to keep each locality in touch with the aims and operations of the national organization. Upon these local committees were representatives of local grain and food trades, of hotels and restaurants, of clubs and associations of various kinds and directors of educational work. Through these assistants educational campaigns were aided and directed, close watch was kept to prevent both hoarding and profiteering and a nation-wide survey of the food situation was in constant progress. It was all voluntary service, from that of the United States Food Administrator down to the county chairmen and the local committees, given with enthusiasm and the best ability each could bring to the service, with the single-hearted hope of helping the nation to win the war. The primary purpose of the Food Administration was to make sure that there should be sufficient food to meet the needs of our fighting men on land and sea both at home and abroad, to provide such a supply for our people at home as would maintain them in health and comfort, and to furnish to the nations associated with us for their armies and civilians as much of our surplus as they might need. To make that surplus as large as possible called forth its most strenuous endeavor. In addition, it aimed to maintain an even supply of the essential foods and to stabilize prices by preventing, as far as possible, hoarding, speculation and profiteering. The problem of food for the Entente warring nations was reduced in the spring of 1917 to the determination of the amount of food that could be drawn from North America, of which, of course, the chief portion would come from the United States. The surplus over our normal consumption, in all classes of food, which we usually exported, had always been small and would have to be multiplied many times over in order to meet pressing needs, in order, even, to win the war. Moreover, we had diverted from eight to ten million men from their usual productive activities and set them to the making of war and supplies for war.