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Show VWOMEN WHO ARE READY TO SWARM OVER "NO MAN'S LAND" ' I I; " ; e 10,000,000 War Gardens Aimed .for in Epoch Making Drive Now Under Way America Must Produce Food for Allies, and Farmers Need Help. iIBy Ed. A. Goewey. (X courso you have heard of "No Han's Lacd." Everybody has. Ibis Is to bo a story of a "No Man's Land." Not the one which lies between the waning battle lines In Europe, how- vtr, but the one which Is right at your I tack door. I Noit, don't jet excited, rush Into tho tm ftchen and bolt and bar tno rear uoors T ud from tno va11 tno anclent rauakct "jjlf ehlch Grandfather Scand-So used in tho j'li Revolutionary War and prepare to repel llJI ia 'cvasIon of Boclie3 for the situation jfl rciifrontlng you, though serious, Is not so jfl t tomlncnlly dreadful. m Probably If you peep from your back eicdows all that you will seo will bo a Dice green lawn,, with a sprinkling of bushes and shrubs. That Is, you will I'M !W ieS tn'"5S C you "vc 'n 0mc section 111 53tse f lne rather extensive "Jack Frost blt." If your yard space still remains 'iW buried under many tons of snow, let it be 1m! laktn for granted that it was a delight to Wm the eye last summer and might be again .fa. If any real warm weather ever comes this jl) i Uncultivated land assists our enemies; cultivated It will help win tho war. No patriot need know more. . Say to yourself, your-self, evcry ono of you: "If I can help win thc great struggle I shall shoulder my hoe and go out Into my yard and ralso beans, peas and potatoes. I will serve, I will enlist in the mighty homo garden army' pcaKing oi uio situation now piacca squarely beforo tho country, Mrs. John Dickinson Sherman, chairman jof tho Conservation Con-servation Department of tho General Federation Fed-eration of Women's Clubs, and a member of tho National War Garden Commission, Is about to send this message to the women wom-en of America: "You arc confronted by a condition and a responsibility and an opportunity without with-out parallel in the hlstorj of tho world. There novcr beforo was a war In which women had a recognized place outside of tho hospitals. In this war thoy not only have a place, but they have a placo so Important and responsible that the war cannot be won without their help. Loyal, self-sacrificing and efficient service Is demanded de-manded of every' ono of us and, without regard to social position, wealth, religion or organization affiliations, we must, individually in-dividually and 'collectively, do our utmost to glvo. this tremendous service. And there Is no inoro vital factor In winning tho war than food. Evcry community must raise as much of its jwn food supply as conditions condi-tions will permit, and to that extent exactly exact-ly It adds to tho nation's food supply, dc- fPli, $tovl$ Al Work on Jtes'.DtuwdS.y KidoLW s"fA.f " creases transportation demands, and Increases In-creases tho shipment of foods to our allies." Whether or not It becomes necessary for the women of the United States, in great numbers, to go into thc fields and do thc work on tho farms which tho men have been doing as is thc caso in England and France thoy can do much toward increasing increas-ing America's food supply. And thoy can accomplish this most easily by assisting In the cultivation of home gardens. With a comparatively small amount of labor and of time they can in this manner ralso an Immense total of products for home consumption. con-sumption. Only a few days ago David Lu-bln. Lu-bln. American representative on thc International Inter-national Institute of Agriculture, was quoted from Rome as saying: "I am reporting - the Stato Department Depart-ment and to Congress that Europe's crops may be worse this year than last, and that tho mobilization of women In thc United States for farm work may bo necessary. nec-essary. Our allies arc depending upon the United States'. Without Its help thoy would reach a condition similar to that In Germany and Austria, in which thcro Is merely enough food for the - tiles, with tho civilian population dying off." tho more prominent women lawyers In tho United States, has called attention to the fact that in Europe she haa seen Women driving commercial automobiles through somo of tho most congested streets In the world- "And If they .'an do this," she said, they can handle a tractor on a farm, as tho women of France anri England are doing." To what extent It may be necessary to call upon women to do farm labor remains for thc future to determine-But determine-But there is one great field now open In which women can help and without delay, and that Is In the homo gardens. War means sacrifice and hard work, and If liberty is worth retaining It Is worth all that it costs. By cultivating war gardens they will add production to tho campaign of conservation In which thoy have b6cn assisting. A small garden Is the direct channel through which tho woman of the city and town can do her bit Tho children also should assist In this work, and once they aro mado to comprehend com-prehend tho purposo they will spend much of tho tlmo which ordinarily would bo given giv-en to play In taking care of the vegc- Uncultivated Backyards and Lots Branded as Enemies I of Country Every Available Foot Must Be Fer- H tilized if We Are to Win War, Experts Say. H iH tables In tho back yard. A little Inspiration Inspira-tion and Instruction are all that will bc required to obtain the rullcst co-operation from the children In this mighty patriotic enterprise. In the cities and towns of the United States thcro is a total running Into millions mil-lions ot acres In back yards. Last year, largely through tho Initiative given to thc movement by tho National War Garden Commission, there were more than 3,CO0.CO0 such plots under cultivation In tho United Stales, and thc food then produced was estimated us worth more than 50o.0CO,000. A great deal of It was canned and dried for winter use. This year, with tho need for food more urgent than ever before In the world's history. his-tory. It is vitally Important that everything possible be grown. The battle for democracy democ-racy may be won or lost at thc .kitchen doors in America, but If tho women and children will do their full duty In this matter mat-ter there will bo at least 10.CO0.OjJ war gardens. gar-dens. Such a showing, with the Immense quantity of food which would bo added to the nation's larder, would constitute a war weapon against the enemy moro powerful than many rounds of shells and ammunition. ammuni-tion. Without food armies aro powerless and soldiers cannot fight Everett Colby, of West Orange, N. J., formerly a State Senator, went to Europe as one of a special commission from the United States Food Administration to gather Information on thc food situation, particularly with reference to our armies. Upon his return tho other day he said: "Troops have but little war valuo unless they arc well fed. It therefore is "thc busl-ness busl-ness of our people to supply that need, and every ounce of energy we can mobilize should go into tho Job." Mr. Colby also reported that there are certain portions of Franco which never again will yield a harvest, because It is poisoned with shot and shell and arseno gas. Much of this Is in what has been at one tlmo or another tho "No Man's Land" which divides thc fighting forces of tho Allies and tho Teutons. |