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Show ' EsldTK;? 'AMMilCA'BTSDABTTHE HUN! ' .T r ' . . t ' ' a 1 . . .. P.. vtr.v. But ri 3 and ;irls of j by some 40,000 j rF 11 I?t.ecte:to raise $300,- j (00,000 5 of fo,l products in "war gardei durinj the summer fC 1018. As x-'f:--:iderit Wilson put it v in a letter io .rcretay of the In- i torior Lane, ' 'Every school will have, to have a re':, 'inienlin the volun- leer war fianlen 'army.' if , More than Ui,000,00 men and 2,000,000 women I were onafjed last j' j year in this :r,rtry ti agriculture, forestry and aniuVtl hj'liandry. If the United Slated is to feed the ' Allied nations ar.d ..ave the vorld from the scourge of Ifun despotism, ' thousands of "soldiers- of the plow i and hoe" muse he added to those fu ranks without detracting from the " armies of soldiers, of shipbuilders, of in (ll . munition makers and oilier essential ,wl industries. in j Waste of food must he "spurlos j versnnkt." Food Administrator rf Hoover estimates the tmntial avoid- ri ahlo fooil waste in the United States "f, nt $1,000,000,000. This must be fu saved in 19 IS, and from the neces- .'u sary garbago must be salvaged such useful products s frlycerin, -. Koapa, fats, frreaso ?nd fertilizer. )' The food authorities in Washington vt plan to turn 13,000,0001 pounds of kitchen waste into useful products during the present 4ar. More food must he produced than ever beforo in our hUory. At least t'l a billion bushels oE wheat and 8n. tr , ' .$ 000,000 bushels of rye must be r' 1 f V'Sn order that there may bo a ff,U Pi rnent of the prayer, "Give ; this f,, ' day our daily bread." " American farmors ' in; ,17 pro- k, duced a gross tota' of , are than J't' x $19,000,000,000 TCroi"v:a1m prod- J nets, which as 1 $fi,Oo!(,000,000 P. fufl-ihifl yield of 1&.16, and !' more than the combined value of any n 0 two previous years. Despite all this K record yield, the United StaUH must f Produce more and more In 1918 be- '' Alt Vuerif "' " our ood resources jiwing greatef 5s- the war a Attentio' anc increase evon . j :ie war continues. tlierica make good? This 1 f;ram mapped out for the rv , ists of the United States i 'By thorities in Washington. It t In tJiinpaign for wlich the Food p nr ,Iknoirat''ori nn tie DePartinerit I par "Iture prepared during the J L -v-and which now is being set l , "It-ation throughout the entire ( knowlrdj, j in her a)- t IX H5w. the first week in April, with . i of t seaSfttl for farming and garden-' garden-' "'t,'- openingO'P, is the time literally . in" vv'ith might and main. : ui''lnnt for A ERICA or he 'planted' K"y tho HUN!7' ' A MERICA tortay carries the market ' basket for herself and virtually all , I her allies. She is the flour mill, the meat shop, tho grocery store, the fruit ; and vegetable market from which her ! warring partners are drawing their rations. Her storehouses are the icebox, ice-box, the pantry, the granary of her friends. To her ihe fates have allotted j' tho stupendous tuslc of setting: the e tablo throe times daily for tens of ' millions of famished men, women and j t-hildren in many, climes. !.. It has been said that in the final I inalysis victory will come to the nation 1 I t that has bread on its tables and meat i I j j in Us knapsacks after all the food sup-j sup-j j plies of. Its enemies have been ex-I ex-I hausted. "Food will win the war" is a i the cry dinned into the ears of the ' J people of tho United States from the J Atlantic to the Pacific and from J Canada to Mexico. In Washington, as r. in other representative American cen-6 cen-6 i ters, it is tho general belief that upon the question of the food production ' J in 191S depend our hopes of winning 1 the war. It is held that Germany is 1 - s far from being "sts-rved to death" and i t , can survive for a Ions time on the 1 .' food score. In this connection the re- 1 1; ' cent developments in Russia are said to : J favor Germany more than any other , j nation of tho earth because of the j probabilities that the Central Empires ', j will be able to restock their larders out j of the munificent resources of Russia. j Prav ins on Our Resources ' ! Atlas bearing the world upon his .'j shoulders had a task not much more 1 difficult than America feeding half ! 'he world. Mars has commandeered j fi Uncle Sain as a commissary general for all his allies. Feeding tho more w than 100,000,000 members of his own j immediate family is least among his " st. ditlieulties. The big job is to provide 0 lt, food in such plenty that there will 1 oWicughfsr a the nations of Eu-c Eu-c o. toe t are opposing the territorial-e territorial-e "a. x'oVB ,-iordes ,'f the Central Empires. -. a 1 la""151 u can Send us 75,000,000 the .-v:"' , I tnoi. A,of wheat we cannot hold out i lemt tisVe,Ur army is ready to strike." " jiiovi uUul e ci.y rQm Lp-j Rhondda, . -'1 ioftDe'l can1'er foe Great lirinun, only a i , .lusi t0'l;rae ago. Despite ,i record crop ! nrcbaf fc'o tiie x'nited States already has ' "'"a' q ln.ted its surplus and is now nit le e'g down 30 per cent of its normal ''i the 5 N see 1 .' requirements to fill the order. The Entente Powers are short 650,000,000 bushels. They are dependent upon the United States, Australia, Argentina, India and Canada. The latter has been swept nearly clean. Scarcity of ships prevents Argentina, Australia and India from providing more than a few days' supply at a time. In the vernacular of the street, the "buck has been passed" to Uncle Sam. "Hope of the World" Ships may win the war; certainly they are necessary to carry the food to Europe, and thej; must be supplied in goodly numbers while science wrestles wres-tles with the problem of downing the U-boat. Guns, munitions, airplanes, vaat armies and marvelous weapons of destruction may win the war. Subtle Sub-tle diplomacy may win the war. But in the last analysis the tragedy of the world is the empty cupboard. "When food shall have been exhausted, men of valor and weapons all-powerful avail as naught; and it is certain that in the twilight zone of disaster there looms no more dread foe than tho specter of starvation. Ships, guns, men and munitions each may win the war but surely lack of food will lose the war. There seems to be more than a grain of truth, therefore, there-fore, in the phrase, "Food will win the war." , Th American farmer stands out today as the hope of the civilized world he and his Canadian cousin and his South American brother. Viewed from all angles, it would appear ap-pear that the fate of democracy and world freedom is to be settled not on the far-flung battle line in France and Flanders, not in the mountain passes of Italy and the Balkans, not on the billowy expanse of the North Sea. but right here on the great farming farm-ing plains of the United States. AU the wealth of Thropmorton street will not prevail as will the wheat pit of Chicago. Every new Odessa in the hands of Germany means an extra drag on the Dakotas of America and the Aibertas of Canada. "The culminating critis has come." wrote President Wilson in his address ad-dress to the farmers of America earlier ear-lier in the year. "It has turned out that the forces that fight for freedom free-dom depend upon us in an extraordinary extraor-dinary degree for substance." to which he added his hope that "the farmers of America will willingly and conspicuously con-spicuously stand by to win this war." with the further thought "that the toil, the intelligence, the energy, the foresight, the self-sacritice and devotion de-votion of the farmers of America will bring to a triumphant conclusion this last great war for the. emancipation of men from the control of arbitrary government and the selfishness of class legislation and control." One year ago, just at this time, when the United States threw down the gauntlet to Hohenzollernism and cast its fortunes with the Entente powers, the United States was unprepared unpre-pared in the food line, just as it was in the matter of armies, and navies and guns and munitions. As pointed out by Secretary of Agriculture Houston, Hous-ton, the production in 1916 of the leading cereals corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, rice, and ka-flrs ka-flrs was comparatively low, aggregating aggre-gating 4,S06,000,000 bushels, as aramst 6.010,000.000 for 1915, 4,983,000,000 for 1914, and 4,884,000,000, the annual average ave-rage for 1910-1914. The wheat crop of 1916, especially, was strikingly small. It was only 639,886,000 bushels, as compared with the record production pro-duction for 1915 of 1.026,000,000, with 891,000.000 for 1914, and with the average aver-age for the five years 1910-191-1 of 728,000,000. It was certain, too, that on account of adverse weather conditions con-ditions the output of winter wheat for 1917 would be greatly curtailed. The world production of wheat for 1916 'also was unsatisfactory, and the prospects pros-pects for the ensuing year were not good. The situation was no better in respect to another conspicuously important food commodity, the Irish potato. The yield of this crop for 1916 in the United States was only 285,437,000 bushels, while for 1915 and 1914, respectively, it was 359,721,000 and 409.921,000. For the period 1910-1914 1910-1914 it averaged 360,772,000, What happened in 1917 is a matter of common knowledge. First, the development de-velopment of a powerful campaign on the part of the Department of Agriculture Agri-culture starting with a conference, held in St. Louis early in April, with all the agricultural interests of the country represented. Next came the creation of the food administration, the appointment of Mr. Hoover and the passage of the food production and food control bills. The American farmer, with a late start following the April declaration of war, did himself proud. The farmers farm-ers of the nation planted during 1917 an acreage of 246,275,000 of the leading lead-ing food crops (winter wheat, spring wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, buck-wheat, rice, Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes), which was 23,038,000 acres (10 tier cent) greater than the acreage in 1916, and 32,339,000 (15 per cent) greater than the average for the five years preceding the outbreak of the European war. The farmers not only planted these acreages, but they harvested record crops of corn,' oats, barley, buckwheat, buck-wheat, and Irish and sweet potatoes. The total production of these products prod-ucts and of spring wheat and rice was 5.771,928,000 bushelsi or 1,204,659,000 bushels (26 per cent) more than in 1916, and 1,002,442,000 (31 per cent) more than the average for the five-year .period (1910-1914). Winter wheat and rye are omitted from this comparison because the 1917 harvests of these crops were from sowings made in the fall of 1916,. before the United States entered the war. JVeed for More Food Meat animals in the United States increased by 6,300,000 in the year ended January 1, 1918, the increase consisting of 1,247,000 cattle, 3,781,-000 3,781,-000 hogs and 1,284.000 sheep. Inspections In-spections for cattle slaughtering increased in-creased 2,039,651, or 24.5 per cent, but inspections of hogs decreased 21.3 per cent, more than 9,000,000 head, and inspections of sheep fell 21.9 per cent, approximately 2,500,000 head. These gains in the available market caused the food administration recently to relax re-lax restrictions on mea.t consumption, so that there might be greater saving sav-ing of wheat for export. Exports of all kinds of meats decreased during the year, due to lack of ships. The total estimated value' of all farm, products, including animals and animal products, for 1917 is given as $19,443,849,381, as against $13,406,364,-011 $13,406,364,-011 for 1916, and $9,388,765,779 for the five-year average (1910-1914). These valuations are based upon prices received re-ceived by producers, which are applied ap-plied to the total output regardless of whether the products are consumed on the farms or sold. "Isn't that going some?" asks. Mr. American Citizen. "Nothwithstanding an increased production pro-duction of staple crops in the United States in 1917," answers Secretary of Agriculture Houston, "there is need for more food. Taking into account our own needs, the needs of the nations na-tions associated with us in war and the needs of friendly neutral nations, our best efforts will be required to provide enough food in 1918. The demand for larger quantities of food, though due in part to the constantly increasing population of this country, is due chiefly to the war. There is necessity of greatly increasing food exports to the Allies. "In spite of the large production in many directions during 1917, the situation is not satisfactory. The available supply of wheat is inadequate. inade-quate. Owing to short crops in preceding pre-ceding years, the reserves of a number of important commodities have been greatly reduced. Whether the war continues or not, the demands on this country, because of the increasing population and the needs of Europe, will be great. They will continue to be great for a considerable period even after peace returns. An especially strong demand will be made on this j country tor mi s the record ot'K fa''mers last year Of. made in th.V ot obstac,e3' sround for coni,cnce on their part that, with equal application and or-ganization. or-ganization. they can overcome , the ditlieulties this year." A billion bushels of wheat are wanted. There ill have, to bs a speeding up on this score, as the area rf winter wheat sown in 1917, while the lars.-t on record, was the lowest ever recorded as regards the condition condi-tion of tho crop, indicating a probable production of only 540. 000,000 bushels. Sprint planting and the sowing later will decide the fate of the Allies' bread basket. Despite the fact that the acreage of corn grown in 1917 was the largest in the history of the country 119,-;M 119,-;M opp acres yielding 3,159.000.000 bushels as much must be. produced this year. A large part of last year's iron is soft and the net feeding value lessened. The areas in oats, barley, rice, buck when i and flaxseed have to be maintained to keep up the dizzy pace.. This country needs 2S.000.000 bushels of flaxseed annually, while ti;8 production In 1917 was less than 9.000-. 000. Hay, forage and. pastures hava -J tti be increased. An extensive acre- y ace of sugar cane and beets will not be possible because of tho time required re-quired to grow seed cane stock and because of the limited amount ot beet seed available. Substitutes may he provided. Maple syrup and sugar nre produced in nineteen 'States, the annual output exceeding 14.O00.0O0 pounds of sugar and 4. 000. 000 "gallons of syrup. The production of sorghum syrup in 1 Si 7 exceeded that of 1916 by nearly 4,000.000 gallons. This, it is believed, may be doubled this (year. Increasing Meat Supply Although the potato crop of 191T amounted to the very wonderful figure fig-ure of 439.000.000 bushels, or 154,000, 000 more than in 1916. and the sweet potato crop was 14,000,000 more bushels bush-els in 1917 than In 1916, an increased crop is hoped for this year because ot the fact that the people are being . urged to substitute the potato for .bread to save the wheat situation and the exports have increased enormously. enor-mously. '. The production of perishables was 50 per cent greater last year than normal. The number of home gardens! was increased between 200 and 300 1 per cent. But Washington wants the I market gardens increased, especially I near large consuming centers, to ob- viate the necessity of transporting f such products from distant points.V, When it comes to meats, the num-ber num-ber of hogs should be increased by at least 15 per cent, according to Wash- ,-ington'3 ,-ington'3 estimates. Whereas before the war our pork exports amounted to an average of 900,000,000 pounds annually, our exports in one year now have amounted to 1,446,000,000 pounds. Sheep and wool must go up. Secretary Sec-retary Houston points out that the wool produced' in this country furnishes fur-nishes only about 50 per cent of the amount used in peace times, and that the amount of wool needed to equip two million soldiers and clothe them for one year would require the entire quantity of wool grown annually in this country. The production of wool in this country has stood stationary from 1914 to 1917, while Imports increased in-creased 48 per cent and the estimated net supply only about 21 per- cent. Dairy products have to go up in 1918. The dairy cow produces more food with less feed than any other domestic animal. Before the war the United States imported dairy products from twenty countries; now they are -' being produced here for our own use and for some of those countries from which we formerly imported them. In 1914 .we imported 64,000,000 pounds more than we exported; in 1917 we exported 320,000,000 pounds more than we Imported. Since the war started our exports of dressed beef and beef products have increased 177 per cent. In 1914, when the war begari, we had 56, -( 000.000 cattle on farm and ranges, the low level reached in a drop from the high level of 1907, when there were .1 72,000,000. Now our meat is furnished r all the allied nations. t Looking Ahead! These are some of the high lights in the resent situation. Will the American farmer make good in this crisis? Secretary Houston thinks so. Mr. Hoover hopes so. Mr. Houston thinks the problems of labor scarcity will be solved. Hundreds of thousands thou-sands of tractors are being built. The cantonments have been built. The draft regulations provide for the deferred de-ferred classification of skilled farm labor. The population of the country has increased. While the price of farm machinery has gone up and labor costs more the farmer is getting more for his product. Two dollars for a bushel of wheat is 131 per cent above the average of 86.9 cents of the three . years immediately preceding the war. Corn prices have increased 109 per cent, from 66.5 cents to $1.38. Oats and barley are each worth 105 per cent more than before the war. All in all, there is reason to believe that, with fair weather conditions this year and an increased planting all down the line, America will make good at feeding the Allies along with herself. There may be a strain through the summer in connection with wheat, but by the exercise of renewed energy in production and judicious care in the distribution ef foodstuffs, it is safe to assume that American perseverance and good sense will win the day. |