River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-07-12
STATE WILL GAIN 4
!. BECAUSE OF WAR
Is
ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL BE
SHOWN WHICH WILL BE
BRED BY NECESSITY.
SACRIFICES ARE TO COUNT
Trenches Others May Show
Patriotism Worth While
at Home.

Madison, Wis.-Although the State
Council of Defense was created be-
cause of the war and goes out of ey-
istence when that crisis which is fac
ing the nation is over, the work it is
doing will have an unestimable eco
nomic value to the state.
If the plans of the council are car
ried out, and with the cooperation
which is being given freely by the
people there is no doubt of it, Wis
consin will gain over night because
Of the necessity for economic advance
ment what she could not have gained
in the ordinary process in years.
All Citizens Must Aid.
No matter how progressive a state
may be-and Wisconsin has borne
reputation of being a progressive
state-material growth comes slowly.
Half the people, or perhaps less than
half, are striving always to do more
today than they did yesterday, and
with still greater hopes for tomorrow.
The others, no matter how much they
appreciate the results, are apt to &C
cept conditions as they are.
The work of the state council of de-
tense along economic lines will be
undertaken now because the nation
needs food, and the state must do it's
share. The fact that bread is as nee
essary as bullets to win war will
be better realized if the conflict is of
long duration.
If Wisconsin increases it's acreage
SO that it can not only feed it's own
citizens at reasonable prices but also
send food to the east and across the
water, it will be doing a service as
valuable in it's way as the sending Of
soldiers to fight in the trenches.
To bring this about the state coun-
Gil is appealing to the producers to
grow more and is trying to enlist
more volunteers in the army of produ-
GERS. The reports to the state de-
partment Of agriculture have been
promising. More potatoes, more
beans and more acres of nearly every
thing grown in the ground already is
assured for 1917. The planting sea-
son being nearly over, the next prob
lem will be the harvest With thou
sands of men out of the state, labor
also is a problem.
1918 Problem Is Next.
The state council has departments
devoted to all these phases of the sit
uation.
When the crops of 1917 are harvest
ed, then comes the work for 1918. It
is with this problem that the state
council will work during the winter
months.
So much for the present. After the
war, when Wisconsin goes back to the
business of producing its own needs
and once more enters into competition
with other states for the markets of
the nation and of the world, the state
which is the best prepared will lead
all others. The growth which came
over night because conditions demand
ed it will not be lost. Wisconsin will
have increased millions of dollars in
producing wealth. Thousands Of acres
of land will be under the pillow which
might not have been for decade or
more. The output of the factories,
increased to meet war conditions, will
continue because manufacturers will
have learned how to economic on
time and material.
After the war, much as it will cost
the state, the lessons of sacrifice will
show their worth.