The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-03-16
| AFTER THE WAR
| WHAT?

alive are anxious to get the correct
estimate of what conditions will pre-
vail after the close of the war. The
present world struggle has smashed
so many maxims and reversed sc
many estimates, it is often said that
one mans guess is as good as an
other. But there are some things
that are beyond the realm of guess
work, and it does no harm to review
them often and modify them as
changes in the outlook seem to re-
quire.
Granting that the war shall come
to an end in 1917 without drawing
any more nations into it, it is safe
to say that there will be scarcity
of men in the nations now engaged
| in the war. Some of the best blood
of the nations will have been sacri-
feed, and vast amount of man
power and brain power developed in
to activity and responsibility among
the masses who had not been active
nor efficient before the war and who
did not know their real powers and
possibilities. .a..
There will be such a scarcity OF
domestic animals thruout Europe as
has never been known. 1t is likely
that the cattle, sheep and hogs that
survive the war will be of the best
blood there is in the land. Naturally
those most valuable for breeding
purposes are being kept and cared
for when there is thinning out OF
the herds to meet the demands for
food. 1t is only reasonable to expect
that Europe will be going nearly
barefooted for few years unless
they can import hides, and animals
that grow hides. OF course, they
may make paper stockings and wood
en- shoes, but even so, boots and
shoes will command exceedingly high
prices. The rest of the world, and
especially those countries that have
animals to sell report the supply OF
animals very much diminished, the
prices soaring and leather famine
in prospect. There is no country in
the world so we'll prepared to pro-
duce great numbers of pure bred and
high grade animals as the United
States, and it's farmers and stockmen
have never been confronted with
such responsibilities of supplying an
empty world with their animal prod
ucts or facing such opportunity for
making money and developing in
dustries that will revolutionize their
business as fast as they can meet
the changes. If the farmer had no
other market than to feed up his
products to animals on the farm, his
prospects would be bright.
But the food supply of the world
is evidently at the lowest ebb it has
ever been. The consumption by war,
the shortage of the 1915 crops, the
scarcity of help to harvest much of
the crops of 1914 and 1915 in the
warning countries, the prompt sale
and. consumption of crops from neu-
trail countries, and the substitution
of materials in so many lines. of con-
sumption, have been draining the
world of it's reserves and its current
supply. Even the talk of Russia's
stupendous reserve of wheat that
might be let loose upon the world in
the event of the opening of The OAR
danelles, has long since ceased to
be heard. If The Dardenelles and
Gibralter were opened to the ships
of all nations tomorrow, it is doubt
full if any great quantity of wheat
would be offered for shipment, and
doubtful whether the great demand
for ships for other purposes would
allow many to engage in carrying
it out for consumption. In any event
no great slump in the price could be
expected.
The sugar supply of the world is
low and bound to remain so for a
long time. The potato supply is low
and there will be great difficulty in
securing seed for this springs plant
ing. Farmers in states that do not
rank very we'll as potato producers
and which do rank high in other
things, can be expected to devote
their acres to raising other things
with the expectation Of buying po-
tatoes to eat or at least not raising
any to sell.
BY every rule of reasoning, all
the products of the farm should be
high for Tie next two or three years.
The price of farming implements
may nearly double without placing
the farmaF at disadvantage as COM
pared with former years, but the
labor problem may cut seriously into
his calculations by increasing his
operating expense. That means an
demand for implements,
for men, 10 manufacture them, for
railroad And shipping facilities to |