The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1917-04-20

naval force without, would have made
her safe. Last years crops throughout
Europe were almost universally bad.
Nature was in part responsible, but it
Is now realized better than 1t was a
few months ago that the conditions Of
life during war are utterly disastrous
to the interests Of peace. The other
day a Dutch farm hand who had been
working in Germany most Of the time
since the war began returned to his
home in Holland. He painted a pic
ture of conditions in rural Germany.
He had been the one able bodied man
on farm Of more than 200 acres. 1t
had been his work to get maximum
Of production out of the land in the
face of the fact that he was the only
really competent unit Of man power
there.
In former. times several men would
have worked on that farm, amply sup
piled with live stock for power, for
duction Of fertilizers. But the last of
the men was taken away to the army.
some Of the women to munition works.
The horses had been taken away to
the fighting forces and a long step had
been taken toward destruction Of the
other live stock to provide meat.
Fertilizers were almost utterly lack
ing. In anticipation of the crop sea-
son of 1917 he found that the stock Of
seed had been drawn upon to ruin
GUS extent because Germany like the
rest Of Europe, Is living 30 largely up
on its capital
Working long hours under the most
arduous conditions this man had for
months been underfed although well
paid. He simply could not stand the
strain and left his place. This is pic
ture Of what may be seen and is daily
being reported all over Europe. Swift
zerland, Holland, Greece, tell Of null
titudes in dire need Of food. The Scan
, dinavian countries suffer less for food
but more for some other necessaries.
Neutrals Also Suffer.
Yet 1t Is not safe to presume that in
the outside world the wheat fields and
the stock resources of Canada and In
dia and Egypt, the Argentine and Aus
tralia, can be looked upon this year
to make up Europe's deficiencies. Neu-
trails are suffering through the same
causes, even II not SO acutely, that are
! diminishing the productive power of
Europe. Labor Is scarce, machinery
and credit are almost impossible to Sc
cure. Manufactured articles which rep
resent the least Of Europe's troubles
thus far are not to be had by reason
of both the industrial and financial
breakdown.
The outside world cannot produce
food for blockaded Germany and Aus
tria. The naval power of the allies
will not permit 1t to feed them. Wheth-
er 1t will be able to send its surplus to
the entente nations must depend on the
capacity Of an overworked and under
tonned merchant marine. There is
more acute need for shipping than ever
before in modern times, while the sup
ply Of 1t is being diminished day by
day. The world Is no longer on nor
NAL basis. Credit and money, even
gold money, mean little. The tonnage
unit of shipping capacity Is the stand
ard by which the capacities of nations
to live and support themselves must
be gagged.
By all accounts there is no real hun
ger in England as yet, but Mr.. Lloyd
George has informed the nation that
Its food supplies are lower than ever
before; he has required drastic limi-
tation Of imports other than sheer me-
cessities Of life 30 that there may be
cargo space to bring these necessaries,
England has not only to supply Its own
requirements from abroad but largely
to provide the shipping that shall bring
food to France and to Italy. II must
fnd means to carry troops and sup
plies to the near East and necessa hes
Of war to Russia.
Wastags Also q Factor.
This rough outline explains how the
war 10 coming to be looked upon AZ one
Il ywH I~xnUr A. n