Omaha daily bee., 1917-04-21
CONGRESS URGED TO CONTROL FOOD PRODUCTS;
7EUTON LINES MELT BEFORE FRENCH ONSLAUGHT
IOWA CHILDREN ARE
ASKED TO GROW FOOD
Proclamation by Governor is
Read in Every School Room
in the State.
WORK IS TO BEGIN TODAY

Des MOines, Ia, April l0.-ln a
proclamation which is believed to be
the first instrument Of its sort ever
addressed exclusively to school chill
dren by the governor of any state
William L. Harding, governor of
!. Iowa, today appealed to the boys and
girls of the state to help Iowa pro-
duce a maximum yield of foodstuffs
during the coming season.
The proclamation, which follows,
will be read in every school room in
the state this afternoon.
ITO the boys and girls of Iowa:
"As governor of the state on be-
half of humanity everywhere | call
upon you to help i'll every way you can
in reducing the world food shortage.
Shortage Already Apparent.
"You no doubt know that in our
own United States we are producing
less foodstuffs than is demanded to
supply our own people. This, cou-
pied with European conditions, makes
the situation very serious and conf
mands our earnest and patriotic at
tention.
Our own beloved America is at
war with foreign country. 1t is
the duty of every boy and girl in stir
ring times like these to volunteer his
or her service to the flag and to the
country. Few, if any, of you can
join those who take up arms, but you
can do just as valiant service for
your country and show your patriot
ism just as much by doing all in
your power to assist in growing food
stuffs to help feed the hungry mil
lions and those who actually do the
fighting in all the ways of modern
warfare.
Needs Help of All Children.
"Our own Iowa is by nature
equipped to produce more food than
any other state in the union. To do
this and bring this production up to
the. highest possibility we need the
help of every boy and girl in the
state. We need your individual help.
You can help and by doing SO not
only serve your country, but your
self as we'll. The way that naturally
suggests itself to one with open mind
is for you to plant a garden, give it
good care and then make a careful
study of harvesting so that the fruits
of your toll can be available for food.
parents and teachers will help you
in this splendid task and, in addition,
the state stands ready to give through
its various agencies all the assistance
Sou may command. The state can
10 much for you by furnishing in
formation of the latest and most im-
proved methods Of food production
md harvesting.
Therefore, by virtue OF the power
in me vested as governor of the state
Of Iowa, l call upon every boy and
girl in the state to enlist in this CAM
paign to increase the food supply and
in accordance Herewith set apart Fri
day, April 20, 1917, as the day when
this work shall be actually started"
Letter to Teachers.
In a letter address to all school
teachers the governor said:
"We are all interested in the great
need of increasing food production OF
our state and,I feel sure that you will
cooperate with us in bringing to the
attention of the boys and girls of the
public schools the fact that they can
be of material assistance in this i'm
portant work.
i am sending you the proclamation
with the request that you make it
part of your program and that you do
all you can to enthuse the boys and
girls to plant, cultivate and harvest
such garden and field vegetables as
will increase the food supply"