The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-12-11
Food I'm War Time.
r. w. ID.

There was prophecies Of old call
ed Cassandra who was endowed with
the vision which foresees, but pro-
phesy as she might, nobody would
listen to her--nobody respected her
prophecies until it came TO pass that
they were histories. Her fate seems
to be the fate OF all prohpets Pro-
phesying is most Improbable busi-
ness. Destinies were never warded
off by some person piercing into the
womb of time and telling what fiery
and fateful years were about to be
born. But prophets, true and false,
still read the heavens. If the tale
they tell be we'll told the world will
| listen and say, How interesting.
Prophesy to US again." as in Lord
Dunsanys weird play the courtiers
spoke TO the old prophet who fore
told the uprising of the slaves But
! nobody went out to grid on a sword
| all the same. We lay claim to no su-
pernatural insight, bat only to the
! best exercise of our fallble reason
when we write, not to prophesy, but
to warn once more about the perilous
condition of Ireland if ttse Empire of
which it was part became involved i'm
q war with any great European pow
ers with naval force sufficient to en-
danger the sea ways Of commerce.
We wrote several months ago some
articles on the food supply in ireland
in time Of war 1t was one Of the
tense moments in European diplo-
macy when everybody went 20 sleep
uncertain whether the next morning
would not find battleships laundering
along the coast The bad moment
passed. but the necessity for the policy
We advocated did not pass 1t is no
use for country a. the last moment
to think of adjusting it's national do
fneSIc economy to a state OF war
When the house is on fire Is not the
time 10 think of fire insurance Ire
land is country which could but
does not feed itself. 1t il unique
among European countries in this
France, Ger rmany. Italy, Spain, Aus
tria' Russia, Belgium, Holland. and
Denmark raise on their own land by
far the larger part Of the food re-
quired by their populations II
France was at war the interruption
by hostile fleets of ships bringing food
to it's ports would worry it very lit
tie. 1t only imports about ten per
cent OF the food it eats, and any ma
ton IN time of stress can tighten it's
belt To that extent. England. of
course, cannot feed itself Ireland is
in the unique position Of being able
TO feed itself and yet it does not do
so. one has only to looN at the i'm
| ports and exports to see TO what an
extent ireland depends on It's oversca
trade for the food it eats and for
| money to buy that food All the eco
'''''''N ''''' iliii'lN W. nave set up
tends to perform Two functions. One
| Is to shovel Irish produce out OF Ire
land as fast as it is ready The other
is To supply ireland with food stuffs
and manufactured articles in exchange
Tor what il exports With a world at
peace nobody can quarrel with such
Il machinery. II ireland is happier
eating American bacon than Irish
one can only shrug ones shoulders
over the gastronomlc taste revealed
If ireland prefers foreign flour in it's
| bread to Hour grown lnd ground in
roland. one need not worry if the
ship Of tn" world has dropped an
Chor in the peaceful heaven OF the
millennium. Hut ii is quite different
when all The great powers go about
rm'd to the teeth and muttcr sulk-
! il} about each other Then it be
h""N's a nation not only To- think about
gums and IrcadnouEht, hu, about its
"'dcr If ih" uatiouM cupboard ~
Empty tho iphohi'auts of tho house
VIII soon hr in 4, ral way if a row is
ou. Nap"icon sail sn army moves
"n it's belly. So. TO-. o,,e nation.
DO England Was ,mbroilcd n,Nt
week. in European .Nrmagcddon. the