Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-04-15

! not operate his farm on the elght-hour
plan nor according 10 union rules. BY
the use of large and still larger ma
chinery the farmer has done the best
| he could to make good the loss. He
has worked his boys early and late,
and still he cannot work his acres for
high yields Some lands are being
, abandoned and being turned into
cheap pasturage. The writer has seen
! crops plowed under, while he knows
of harvests ungathered because labor
could not be had for the gathering.
No wonder the farmer works twelve
to sixteen hours day and no wonder
considerable number are forced back
into the self-sufficing system with
no hope of working the land to the
| best advantage.
"As we go into the greatest war of
all time. and as our mind is on en-
| listmcnt for service at the front, let
every American citizen understand
and realize what il means If he can
| that there Is not now enough labor
! left upon the land to produce what
we ourselves should consume. What
| then of western Europe. whose fields
are devastated? Shall we then be
| driven to importation? Very well.
| from whom shall we import? and
what? Argentina has already placed
| an embargo upon wheat. The Cana
| dian yield must decline, for many n
man that ran a tractor on the plains
of Alberta and Saskatchewan two
years ago is now but q bundle of
bones on the battlefield of France.
Food Must BE Plentiful.
Shall we then limit the food sup
ply of the people? How. then, can
we expect to win, for energy and pow
er come only from food. A hungry
people never has been and never can
be a victorious people. besides it would
require more men to enforce a restrict
ed diet than it would TO produce
| enough to turn n scarcity into an
I abundance.
america has acres enough If rea-
sonably well worked to feed both her
self and western Europe. Here lies
her strength in the present struggle,
If only she Is wise enough to know 1t
before she throws away her one great
and peculiar opportunity.
but 1t will not take care of itself
If enlistment for service at the front
is to be made indiscriminately and
without plans to definitely increase
| labor on the land, then it is inevitab BILE
that food will drop to level that may
easily prove disastrous.
But will not this cut off the sup
ply of labor for general manufacture?
| Assuredly 1t Will, but now is time
to cut out Injuries of dress and dis
play, If necessary, and get down to
the serious business of meeting the
exigencies involved in war. In the
| times just ahead the man or the wom-
an that INDUCES in excessive luxury
is helping by Just that much to de-
feat the country That he has the
| tft1nnaV n fn, !,
do with the question. When men are
needed not only at the front but in
the cornfields in order that those
| lighting for liberty and their little
ones shall not s.arve, no man or wo-
man has right to absorb the time
and strength of a dozen able bodied
men in unnecessary service.
This and all other service not need
ed in the serious business of war and
the necessary business of living is
needed on the land, and the Univer-
sity of Illinois proposes definite en-
listment in what may be called the
/ civil military service of men who are
permanently or temporarily disquali-
! fled FOR military service at the front
and of boys IA to IS years Of age, es-
J pecially those looking to active service
| later on.
An Army of Disqualified.
"These men and boys should all re-
ceive the regular military pay be uni
| formed, organized and in every way
recognized as in the public service.
| They should be quartered at agricul-
| tural camps located at convenient
| points upon land rented by the gov
ernment and suitable for the growth
of small fruits. vegetables, cotton and
tobacco-crops that require much
hand labor under conditions that
make supervision feasible
Every attempt should be made to
| place as many of them as possible
upon actual farms, under furlough
and off government pay. the work.
man-soldier to be paid by the far
mer the going wage of the locality.
| it being understood that If dissatisfac-
ton arises the man shall return to
camp and the lower wage.
THE camp should be under mill
| tary discipline and frequent but not
eXacting drill. for the first business
Is food production, and for this pur-
pose the little army should be un-
der agricultural leaders skilled in the
production of the special crops to be
grown at the particular camp. There
| should also be located in connection
with the camps facilities for drying
| and otherwise preparing food for
preservation and transportation.
In this way shortage of food nav
be avoided. Not only that, the ma
chinery is at hand for pushing the
supply to any desired level, and that.
| too. while men and boys are getting
degree OF military training which
Will be of value to those who later
may enter the regular service. The
only real question Is: viii the United
states mobilize as definitely for food