The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1917-05-14
THE FARMER WARRIOR
From the Progressive Farmer:

intime of war he fights its battles
ICertain aspects of this truth have
such vital bearing upon our present
national crisis that they demand
thoughtful consideration.
The present world war has DEM
onstrated that the farmer now plays
a doubly important role. Armies
would be helpless-battles could not
be fought-without the supplies of
food the farmer alone can produce.
Yet the armies striving on the battle
field are recruited most largely from
the sturdy young men of the farms.
Mere desire that this patriotic SER
vice should be recognized is not our
reason for recording the fact. Its real
significance and great importace we
shall attempt to show
| The number of farmers in all the
armies our nation has ever raised has
always been greatly out of proportion
to the numerical superiority of our
farmer population. This fact holds
true of recent efforts to recruit pres
ent National Guard regiments to full
peace strength. The Georgia Bri-
gade-with its unit organizations
centered in a few of the larger cities
when modified for border duty
was unable to muster the minimum
required strength till it sent recruit
ing agents into the country districts
and small towns to appeal to the 10y
atty of the men and boys of the
farms. Within few days in a GER
tain North Georgia county five out of
every six men responding to the re-
cent call of the President to fill pres
ent Guard regiments came from the
farms
With these facts in mind let us con-
slder the other phase of the subject
the food supply of the armies thus
| formed The alarming shortage of
the present world supply has not
been exaggerated by even the most
extreme statements of those in pos
session of the facts. Nearly sixty
million men have been taken from
the ranks of possible producers to
serve in European armies. Millions
more have been driven from the soil
they should cultivate
The vast hordes of women, children
and old men who have striven to cul-
tiyate the, deserted fields have shown
greatly diminished productive capa-
city. Our own harvests have fallen
far below normal We have now in
Our country the smallest reserve sup
ply of foodstuffs in recent years, vet
Europe cries to us for food and must
starve if the cry goes UNDECIDED
Moreover, the condition of the winter
grain crops of the country is very I'm
usually bad
1t is plain and incontestable fact
that only extraordinary effort-and
the outstanding of every resource-on
the part of the American farmer can
save the day. We must produce
very much more food than ever be-
fore or we and our friends must 90
hungry. The bearing of this fact up
on the outcome of the war upon which
we have entered should be apparent
to all. We can not hope to win I'M
less the plows are manned as efficient
ly as the guns.
Rations are as important as ammu-
milton, The best army in the world
becomes helpless without those two
Indispensable supplies. Now is the
planting season and the question Of
food supply is Immediately impera-
tive. The raising of IAN adequate
army may be deferred for few
weeks without disastrous results. De-
lay in planting for the coming army
means irretrievable ruin.
We have no thought that the farm
er should not be we'll represented in
the army to be raised, but he can not
perform double duty, and to replace
the men leaving farms to serve at the
front an army of adequate strength
should be modified for service on
| the farms.
We believe that the proposed select
i've draft is the only adequate means
for providing the army required. In
the selection, however, productive la
Dor should not be disturbed. We are
now only experiencing what would
have been wholly unnecessary had
the nation long ago insisted that true
democracy demands that every citi-
zen receiving the benefits of the gov
eminent should be obliged TO serve
that government-and be trained for