The Prescott daily news., 1917-04-09

ySSeeHudy were Illuminating ana interesting. People from the prairies of Mississippi were there. and they told what remarkable chang es had come over the face of that fair region. The advent of the boil weevil all but swamped East Mississippi. but fortunately the people had been preparing for just such an event for sevreal years. East Mississippi. along the line of the Mobile & Ohio railroad, is growing hogs, corn and cattle. The people there live in a creditor territory.
 Conditions all over the south should be exactly what they are in the coun- ties in Mississippi along the Mobile X Ohio road.
 The people of certain regions of the south need not expect to put every acre of land they have in cot ton and then draw on the rest of the country for food supplies. It would not be fair, and it may not be possible to get the food.
 What will it profit man if he sells cotton for 30 cents pound and has to pay $2 bushel for corn? Where is the profit in getting 25 cents pound for cotton and having to pay 35 cents pound for bacon?
 A bale of cotton in 1914 selling at F cents would buy 80 bushels of corn at the current prices.
 A bale of cotton today selling at 20 cents pound will buy only 66 bushels of corn.
 Argue from this basic fact and you will see the absolute necessity both for business reasons and for patriotic reasons for needing the presidents message.
 Right now there is a shortage of freight cars in the United States. When we get to moving troops and munitions, and ores for iron to make munitions, and coal to melt the ores, there will be no cars to haul can goods, corn meal and flour and bacon and cabbage down south from the north
 Let's begin to make ourselves self sustaining.
 Let's make it so that within less than three months there will be ra- tions of potatoes, early corn and chickens and eggs.
 And let's make it so that this fall there can be sent away herds of hogs and carloads of corn.
 And for heavens sake, let's grow enough forage to feed the hogs, cattle and mules.
 Growing hay in the south is the easiest thing in the world. The peo- pie in the north can only make hay out of four or five grasses. We can make hay from dozen grasses.
 As stated in this paper yesterday morning, ware are won by bounteous food and ammunition supplies. We have a possible military strength of 10,000,O00 people. We have possible supplies to keep and feed these 10,- O00,000 people, and to spare enough to keep and feed 5,000,000 other fighting people.
 Our products in men, metal and food in one year are greater than those of any other warning nation. But in organization we are not very far ahead of Russia.
 But we can organize ourselves into efficiency in one year, whereas it would take Russia 10 years to acquire an equal degree of efficiency.
 Therefore, it is up to us to make all our strength a quick asset for the use of ourselves, and for our allies in this war.
 If you are still intent on growing cotton and nothing else, kindly read the table on the farm page in this paper That table was compiled from data secured more than a month ago. Look at the market quotations on wheat, hogs and corn yesterday and bring the figures down to date.
 Then you will find that in order to get along as well this year on cotton alone as you did in 1914. you will have to get BOG pound for it, and then even with cotton worth soc a