The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1917-06-13
GIVE FARMERS PRACTICAL AID.

l.
If all of the gratuitious advice rendered tn
farmers since the food crisis developed were com
piled in one work, the Encyclopaedia Brittanic'
would not hold it. Possibly there was some soun'
sense in portions of it. Certainly the major por
ton of it has been the merest drivel.
It is not advice that the farmer needs. l.
there is a class of men in this nation today VIII
are really familiar with every phase of their pro
~fession, it is the farmers. And it is often with
feeling of amused contempt that they read thu
s~enseless vaporings of the wiseacres who essay
to instruct them.
What the farmer is in dire need of right nov
is more man power-man power to put into effec'
the plans he is perfectly capable of formulating
and carrying out if he has agents to do his bidd
ing. Let him be ever so intelligent-he simply
CAN NOT cultivate a hundred acre farm by HIM
self. But he CAN utilize a THOUSAND acres
if he has the man power with which to do it, fol
he already has the brains.
We should make no mistake in this matter
With practically the world to feed, if this war is
won the farmers will play an important part in
the winning, and all of the advice from those
slackers who have nothing else to give is not going
to help him one whit.
"Can'' the advice and offer him work-good
sound muscle and sweat-and the farmer will feed
the world and do his "bit" toward winning the
war.
The most obvious fact to the farmer is that, in
the approaching draft and mobilization, the first
army to be raised should be an army of the fur
rows, and that army should be brought to the fur
rows from other fields of work-or idleness. And
at no time will this need be more pressing than on
the day of harvest.
The average farmer can extract all of the ad-
vice he needs Just now from a long life of EXIST
ENCE. What will be most effective now is bone
and muscle, backed by a willing mind and an in.
telligence that even approaches his own
Get the man power. The farmer will do the
rest.
SUCKING THE POOR MANS BLOOD.
Food spectators and price boosters are liter
ally sucking the life blood Of the poor people Of
this country, and are pairing to the bone the re-
sources of those in more moderate circumstances
And this in the face of war, and misery, and
death!
We see much in the press about government
regulation of the food question, but we see no def
mite action taken by congress to authorize such
regulation.
We read of law officers summoning specula-
tors and going before grand juries, but we look in
vain for convictions and jail sentences.
And in the mean time prices Of the very nee
essities Of life keep right on mounting skyward.
People who live on the noise they make rush
into print and tell us that it is simply a question
of supplying and demand, and that prices will au-
tomatically adjust themselves when the new crops
are on the market.
It is NOT a question of supply and demand,
and prices will NOT adjust themselves until the
government steps in with an iron hand and slams
every theiving speculator behind the bars and
keeps him there.
If allowed to run at large they will buy up
the new stocks of provisions as they have bought
up the old onces, and prices will be just what
they choose to make them.
No one expects these reptiles to do anything
for the welfare Of their country, but they should
longer be allowed to drag it down to ruin.
We can not afford internal troubles with a
lOielSH VOL VII ~ Alaiuo, lin oS q AOyoi Aihoi
can we ask congress and the government to act,
and act quickly.
The blood of the poor man is disappearing, and
in it's wake will come rioting and anarchy.
This must not be, and only official action can
prevent it.
..
LAST LAP OF LIBERTY LOAN.
n
Two billions of dollars is not exceeding much