The midland journal., 1917-04-20
THE NATION URGED TO FORGET SELF
AND PROFIT TO WIN THE WAR
An Appeal by the President

rests Lno rate OF the war anu Iu0 Adto
of the nations. May the nation not
count upon them to omit no step that
will increase the production of their
land or that will bring about the most
effectual cooperation in the sale and
distribution of their products? The
time is short. 1t is of the most I'M
perative Importance that everything
possible be done, and done immediate
ly, to make sure of large harvests. l
call upon young men and old alike and
upon the able-bodied boys of the land
to accept and act upon this duty-to
turn in hosts to the farms and make
certain that no pains and no labor is
lacking in this great matter.
II particularly appeal to the farm
ers of the South to plant abundant
foodstuffs as well as cotton. They
can show their patriotism in no bet
ter or more convincing way than by
resisting the great temptation of the
present price of cotton and helping,
helping upon a great scale, to feed the
nation and the peoples everywhere
who are fighting for their liberties and
for our own. The variety of their
crops will be the visible measure Of
their comprehension of their national
duty.
"The government of the United
States and the governments of the
several States stand ready to cooper
ate. They will do everything possible
to assist farmers in securing an ade-
quate supply of seed, an adequate force
of laborers when they are most need
ed, at harvest time, and the means OF
expediting shipments of fertilizers and
farm machinery as we'll as of the crops
themselves when harvested.
Warning To Spectators.
"The course of trade shall be as un-
hampered as it is possible to make it,
and there shall be no unwarranted
manipulation of the nations food sup
ply by those who handle it on its way
to the consumer. This is our oppor-
tunity to demonstrate the efficiency
of great democracy, and we shall not
fall short of it!
"This let me say to the middlemen
of every sort, whether they are hand
ling our foodstuffs or our raw ma
terials of manufacture or the products
of our mills and factories: The eyes
of the country will be especially upon
you This is your opportunity for
signal service, efficient and disinter-
ested. The country expects you, as 1t
expects all others. to forego unusual
profits, to organize and expedite ship
ments of supplies of every kind, but
especially of food, with an eye to the
service you are rendering and in the
spirit of those who enlist in the ranks,
for their people, not for themselves.
1 shall confidently expect you to de-
serve and win the confidence of people
of every sort and station.
"To the men who run the railways
of the country, whether they be man
ayers or operative employees, let me
say that the railways are the arteries
of the nations life, and that upon them
rests the immense responsibility OF
seeing to it that those arteries suffer
no obstruction of any kind, no ineft1-
!. cheney or slackened power. To the
merchant let me suggest the motto:
Small profits and quick service, and
to the shipbuilder the thought that the
life of the war depends upon him. The
food and the war supplies must be
carried across the seas, no matter how
many ships are sent to the bottom. The
places of those that go down must be
supplied and supplied at once. To the
miner let me say that he stands where
the farmer does: The work of the
world waits on him. If he slackens or
| fails, armies and statesmen are help
less. He also is enlisted in the great
service army. The manufacturer does
not need to be told, hope, that the
nation looks to him to speed and per-
feet every process, and 1 want only
to remind his employees that their serv-
ice is absolutely indispensable and is
counted on by every man who loves
the country and its liberties.
Economy Will Count.
Let me suggest also that every one
who creates or cultivates garden
helps, and helps greatly, to solve the
problem of the feeding of the nations,
and that every housewife who prac-
tices strict economy puts herself in
the ranks of those who serve the
nation. This is the time for America
to correct her objectionable fault OF
wastefulness and extravaganza. Let
every man and every woman assume
the duty Of careful, provident use and
expenditure as public duty, as die
tate Of patriotism, which no one can
now expect ever to be excused or for
given for ignoring.
'In the hope that this statement OF
the needs of the nation and of the
world in this hour of supreme crisis
may stimulate those to whom it comes
and remind all who need reminder OF
the solemn duties of time such as the
world has never seen before beg that