The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-07
WHAT WILSON SAVED FARMERS
 BY AvERTINC RAILROAD STRIKE

Republican, recently made the statement that if the threatened rail. road strike had taken place it would have bankrupted many of the frui growers of that State. He said il would have caused a loss of not less than $20,000,000 to the fruit industry of California alone. THis amount is probably much too low.
 The peach crop nov going to mar. ket. with aEalue of about $55,000,00C would have been practically a tota loss. had the President not induced Congress to act.
 The $2O0,000,0O0 apple crop would have been shrunken by inability tc get to storage and disorganization o1 the market to the tune of at least $1O0, 0,000,00O.
 The potato crop of a value of about $220, 100000 would have involved a further loss of at least $50,o0O,O0O.
 The cabbage farmer of Northern Ohio. the grower of tomatoes for the cannery, and the celery grower of Michigan, and Florida would have kept mournful company.
 Melons from Colorado, California Arizona and Delaware, grapes from the vine-clad hills of western New York, and the sunny slopes of Yakima and Wenatchee, prunes, pickles, poultry, butter and eggs would have gone down in the common cataclysna.-
 Some of this stuff might have been fed to the hogs, to be sure, although a hog does not fatten on a fruit and vegetable diet; but when hogs and cat tie are ready for the market they must go. The farmer cannot feed beyond the finishing point without in creasing daily loss. What would a strike have meant to the live stock market of the farmer? And what would it have meant to the consumer, with the cold storage facilities in con- trol of the packers combine?
 The direct and immediate loss which the farmer would have sustained in case of a strike is but one phase of the danger which threatened his in terests. The depressing influence up- on market prices, resulting from the inability of consumers to buy because of lack of employment, would have been felt in every single item of this years farm products. Take this sim gle instance: This telegram} sent to President Wilson on September 2r. by Henry Ford, the worlds greatest au- tomobile manufacturer:
 "The President: The moment it is positively known that a strike will be- come effective on the railroads, the Ford Motor Company will of absolute necessity shut down it's factory and all of it's assembly plants throughout the country, and every man of it's more than 49,000 workers will have to go off the pay roll. '
 "Our business is so organized that the supplies and products must be kept moving constantly. We cannot move day without railroad service. We are making 2,200 cars every day. The materials must be moved in and cars out. sincerely hope something can be done to avert the strike. Your efforts are appreciated and should be commended by every citizen in the country. "
 HENRY FORD"
 This telegram is typical of what would have happened to practically every, American industry had a strike ensued. Millions of tcontented and laborers would have faced enforced idleness; poverty and destitution would have come to mill lions of working mems homes. The working mans power to buy food pro- ducts depends upon his daily wage. Stop his wage and his consuming pow CT is limited by the barest necessities. of life.
 A nationwide railway strike would have paralyzed every American indus try and precipitated panic, such as has never been witnessed in the his tory of this country. The farmer pro- vides the necessities of life for Amer ica's millions and multiplied millions overseas. A strikeNwould have dis the farmers market, de- stroyed and wasted the product of his toll and would have brought him face to face with an economic condition from which he could not have recover ed for years.
 Let the farmer get the record straight. He faced this crisis which him with incalculab1e f1- nancia1 loss. / There was no law, in force to compel arbitration between forces who refused to yield to voluntary arbitration. The Pres ident and Congress performed their inevitable duty for the protection of the public. For this act, President Wilson is denounced by those who of fer, no suggested remedy to meet such 3 situation had they been in power
 On the whole, Nhas not the farmer good reason to thank God that Wood row Wilson was in the White House, with nerve and sanity enough to stop } national calamity?