| Show M the president of the united states appeals to you and to the men women and children on the farms my r fellow ellow countrymen tile entrance of our beloved country into the grim and terrible war for democracy and human rights which I 1 has shaken the world creates so many problems ol of national life and action which calls callb for immediate consideration sider atlon and settlement that I 1 hope you will permit me to address to you a few words of earnest counsel and appeal with regard to them we are rapidly putting our navy upon an all effective war tooting footing and are about to equip in an army but these are tile the simplest ports of the great task to which we have addressed ourselves there is not a single selfish element so far as I 1 cah can see in the cause we are fighting for we ave are fighting for what we believe and wish to be the rights of mankind and for the future peace and security of tile the world to do this great thing worthily and successfully we must devote demote ourselves to the service without regard to profit or material advantage and with energy and antell irence that will rise to the level of the enterprise ter prise itself we must to the full how great the task is and how many things how many kinds of elements of capacity and service and self sacrifice it involves these then are the things we must do and aid tie do well besides fighting the things without which more fighting would be fruitless we must supply abundant food tor for ourselves and for our armies and our seamen not only but also for a large part of the nations with nith whom we have now common cause in whose support and by whose side we shall he be fighting I 1 we ve must supply ships by the hundreds out of our shipyards to carry to the other side of the sea sub marines or no submarines what will every day be needed there and abundant materials out of our fields and our mines and our factories with which not only to clothe and equip our own forces on land and sea but also to clothe and support our people for whom the gallant fellows under arms can no longer work to help clothe and equip the armies with which we are cooperating in europe and to keep keel the looms and tories there in raw material coal to keep the fires going in ships at sea and in the furnaces of hundreds of factories across the sea steel out of which to make arms and almun both here and there rails tor for worn out railways back of the fighting fronts locomotives and rolling stock to take tile the place of those every jay day going to pieces mules horses cattle tor for labor and tor for military service everything with which the people of england france italy and russia have usually supplied themselves with but cannot afford the men the materials or tile the machinery to make it is evident to every thiril thinking ting man that our on the farms lit in the shipyards ii 1 i c e mines lit in the factories must lie be made more prolific and more efficient than ever and that they must be more economically managed and better adapted to tile the particular requirements of our task than they have becu bechand and what I 1 want to say is that tile the men and tile the women who ilo devoto their thought and their energy to these things will be serving tn 9 the country and conducting the light fight for peace and freedom just as truly and just as effectively as tile the men on oil tile the battlefield or lit in tb the c ti cliches the industrial forces of tile the country men and alike N vill 1111 ile be a great national a great international ter national service army a notable ald and lio honored nored host engaged in ill tile the service of the nation and tile the world the eli clent friends and saviors of free amen men everywhere thousands nay hundreds of thousands of men other wise v ise liable to military service will of rig right lit and of necessity bo be excused from that service and assigned to the fundamental sustaining work of tile holds fields tile the mines the factor factories lez and they will he be as much part of the X great patriotic forces of the nation as the men under fire I 1 take the liberty therefore of addressing this word to the farmers of tile the country and to ill all who work on oil the farms the supreme need of your nation and of me nations with which we ire are operating cooperating co is ar a P abundance abunda ice of sapp supplies jes and ly of food stuffs the importance of in an adequate food supply especially for the present year is superlative without abundant food alike for the armies and the peoples now at war the whole great enterprise upon which we have embarked will fail the worlds food reserves are arc low not only during the present emergency but for sonic some time after peace shall conic come both our own people ani and a large proportion of the people of europe must rely upon the harvest of america upon the of this country therefore in large nic measure asure rests the fate of the war and the fabe fac of nations may the nation not count upon them to omit no step tl that will Inci easo the production of their land or that will bring about the most cf ef cooperation in ill tho the sale and distribution of their products the time is short it is of the most imperative importance that thai evera tiling thing possible be done ind and done immediately to make sine of laige harvests I 1 call upon tile the young men and old alike and upon tho the able bod led boys of the land to accept and act upon this duty to turn lit in hosts to the farms and make certain that no pains and labor is lacking jacking lit in this great matter I 1 particularly appeal to the farmers of the south to plant abundant food stuffs as well as cotton the they can call show their patriotism in no better way than by resisting the great temptation of tile the price of cotton and helping upon a cicat scale to feed the nation and the peoples ever everywhere where who are arc righting fighting for their liberties and tor for our own the variety of their crops will lie be the visible measure of tl kneir beir comprehension of alir ir national duty duly the government of the united unit states stales and the governments of the several states state stand ready to chopel ate abc they will do everything possible to assist the farmers in securing adequate seed an adequate force of labor laborers drs when they are needed at i harvest time and the means of expediting ting shipments of fertilizers arid and farm machinery as is well as t the IC 1 crops crop themselves when hai vested the course of trade shall ile be as unhampered as it is ia possible to make it and there shall be no unwarranted bcd manip illation of the nations food supply by those who handle it on its way to the consumer this is our opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency of a great democracy and we shall not rill fall short of it this let me say to the rr ir c nen lien of every sort whether they is lia he idling our food stuffs or our raw ia i a serials of manufacture or the products of ouro our mills and factories the eyes of the country will ile be especially upon you this is an opportunity for signal service efficient and disinterested it the country expects you as it e expects pacts all others to forego unusual profits to organize org anise and expedite shipments of supplies of every kind but especially shipments of food with an all byj eye to the service you are rendering and lit in the spirit of those who enlist in the ranks for their people not tor for themselves I 1 shall confidently expect you to deserve and win the confide confidence of people of every sort and station to tile men who run the railways raila ays of the count country rv whether they be managers or operative employees let me say that the railroads are tile the arteries of the nations life and th that it upon them rest the responsibility of seeing to it that those arteries suffer no ob st ruction of any kind no iti efficiency or slackened power to the merchant let tile me suggest the motto small profits and quick service and to the shipbuilder the thought t that the life of the nation depends upon him the food and the war supplies must be carried across tile seas no matter how many ships are sent to the bottom the places or 0 those that go down must ile be supplied and supplied at once to the minor miner let me say that he stands where the farmer does the of the world waits on oil him if lie ho slackens or falls fails armies and statesmen are helpless he also is enlisted in the gren service army the manufacturer does not need to be b C told I 1 lioe hope I 1 that the nation looks loohs to him to speed and perfect every process and I 1 want only to remind j his employees that their service is absolutely and is being counted on oil by every man mail who loves t tile the country and its liberties let me suggest also that everyone who creates or cultivates a garden helps and helps greatly to solve tile the problem leni of the feeding of nations and that every housewife who practices strict economy puts hensolt lier nation this I 1 is the time for america to conert her unpardonable fault of wastefulness and extravagance let every man and every woman assume the duty of carelus car elul provident use and expenditure as a public duty as a dictate lic tate of patriotism which no one can call now expect ever to lie be excused or forgiven for ignoring in the hope that this statement of tile the needs of tile nation and of tile world in this hour of supreme alisis cn sis may mav stimulate those to whom it comes and remind all who need reminding of the solemn duties of a time such as the world lias has never cen been before I 1 beg that all editors and publishers everywhere will give as prominent publication as possible pos bible to tins tills appeal I 1 Neil venture ture to suggest also to all advertising agencies that they would perhaps lender a very substantial and timely service to the country a if tile they y would give it widespread repetition and I 1 hope the clergymen will not think the theme of an all unworthy alliy or inappropriate subject of comment and homily from their pulpits the inc test lest of tile the nation lin colue we ave must nil speak apt ik net act ui beme together WOODROW WI L LSON lol ol lq |
