Acting under the authority of section 2 of the act of Congress approved August 10, 1917, entitled an act to provide further for the national security and defense by encouraging the production, conserving the supply, and controlling the distribution of food products and fuel, which section reads in part, as follows: "That in carrying out the purposes of this act the President is authorized * * * to utilize any department or agency of the Government, and to coordinate their activities so as to avoid any preventable loss or duplication of effort or funds;" because the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in the Treasury Department is now regulating the production of distilled spirits throughout the United States and is in control of the machinery necessary to enforce effectively the provisions of sections 15 and 16 of the aforesaid act of August 10, 1917, relating to distilled spirits;

Now, in order more effectively to enforce the provisions of said act, and to avoid preventable duplication of effort and funds, I hereby direct that the Treasury Department shall henceforth supervise, direct, and carry into effect the provisions of sections 15 and 16 of said act of August 10, 1917, and exercise the powers and authority therein given to the President, subject to such instructions and regulations as may from time to time be issued by the President. For this purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to assign such duties to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the Internal Revenue officers of the United States, and the Division of Customs, and to employ such additional assistants as he may deem necessary therefor.

The Executive order dated August 10, 1917, providing for the organization of the United States Food Administration, so far as it is inconsistent herewith, is hereby modified.

WOODROW WILSON



THE WHITE HOUSE,



September 2, 1917.