The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-06-02
Patriotic Potatoes.

By Ellis Parker Butler of the Vigi-
lantes: There is an apple called the
Northern Spy, don't know why. !
wish we could rename the biggest,
meatiest, most prolific potato the
"Kaisers Defeat" Every potato that
grows in American soil this year is a
steel-nosed bullet aimed point blank
at the heart of autocracy. Big guns
and little guns, bullets, shells and
shrapnel are doing their share on the
battle front, but what America must
do is to send food, food and still more
food Every extra potato grown in
America this year releases food that
can be sent to our fellow fighters in
Europe.
America does not ask you to give
the extra potatoes you grow, or the
extra beets or turnips or beans. 1t
is patriotic service if you just grow
them and eat them yourself The po-
, tato YOU grow and eat let's some other
potato, that you would have eaten,
climb aboard ship and go to help a
warning democracy win against a
good thing to throw trench bomb at
the kaiser, but you can hurt him worse
by hitting him in the eye wttha home
grown potato. Every American potato
eaten by the allies is poison in the
stomach Of tyranny. Our navy is on
the job; awaken the war-winning
navy bean!
This year you can serve America as
well by killing potato bugs as by
killing Prussians. Bread and Boats"
food to feed the allies and ships to
carry it to them-is Americas war cry
at the moment. Men we will send by
millions when the need comes, If 1t
does, but potatoes by the ton we must
send. The hundreds of thousands OF
rockies" will soon be drilling all over
this broad land, and at night they
will crawl into their shelters and touch
gently the blisters on their heels, say
ing, "Blistered for America, for right,
and for humanity, by gosh!" Heaven
bless the blistered heels of the embryo
fighting men of our nation, but don't
forget the blistered palms of the man
with white hands who goes out to hoe
the potatoes! He, too, when he looks
at his blisters, can say, "Blistered for
America! Long may she stand for the
right" The blistered heel and the
blistered palm will win the war; let
them be recorded in the Book Of VAL
liant Wounds.
Corn and potatoes, wheat and
beans! Speed UP old Mother Earth
and poke her in the ribs until she
Yields victory!
Who knows? Our enemies may
crumple in a week or a month and
shrek for peace. and get it-paying
the penalty Of aggression But still we
need the potato, the potato you can
grow. The fight is democracy against
autocracy. The world is being put to
the test Shall men govern themselves
or shall autoerats make US slaves?
The world crops are short this year.
Ii the war ends tomorrow 1t will b@
too late for the peasants to grow food
until another year, even IL they arp
released from army duty at ONCE,
Hungry nations are always the easiest
prey OF autocrats. When men hunger
and see their women and children
starve, no one knows what they will
do, and it is then the willy autocrat
gives a handful Of corn and wrests
away the liberties won by centuries OF
effort. If the war ends tomorrow,
America must still send food. to pre-
vent riots and to prevent starvation
and to allow democracy to hold its own
calmly and sanely until the waste OF
war is adjusted
On second thought I'd call the big
gest. meatiest, most prolific potato, not
the 'Kaiser's Defeat" but the Hope
of Civilization"
Today the hoe is mightier than the
than the spear The empty belly must
sword and the beanpole more valiant
not wini