Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1917-04-11
Ex-Governor John G. Sheppard
Urges Growing of Food
Stuffs.


from The Public Safety Committee
of the Atlanta Chamber of Com
merce, saying among other things;
Alarming conditions confront
us AS result. of war. The South
has been fed largely from the West
but this year we must feed ourselves
because the Government will take
the Western food supply for the
army.
There will be Widespread suffer,
ing in the South before the veal
ends if food crops are not heavily
increased. The only way to aver,
the impending calamity is for every
farmer to raise plenty of food fol
man and beast.
by 80 doing he will reap rich
reward, because food is scarce the
world over, and food crops are sure
to bring high prices"
Then follows the suggestion, that
on the average one-horse farm in
the South, there should be planted
in the present year, five acres in
corn and velvet beans, five acres in
cowpeas for hay, to be followed by
winter oats; one and half acres in
sweet potatoes, to be followed by
winter cover crops; and other food
stuffs, together with the ordinary
products of the vegetable garden.
l have just seen also statement
issued by the Commission for Civic
Preparedness for War, recently ap-
pointed by Governor Manning, Of
which that splendid citizen, Mr., D.
R. Coker, is chairman, who is al
ways doing something to promote
progress in agriculture and the pros
perity of the farmer, in which it is
stated:
"Food -stufs are already at the
highest point reached in fifty years,
and prices continue to advance.
The pinch of the high cost of living
is being felt.by practically all classes
of f,our citizens except the farmer,
whn, entirely self-main ntsiaing. Il
behooves our people to take earnest
thought of the situation, and their
duty in reference to it. Our duty
to the Nation demands the produc-
ton of the greatest possible amount
of food stuffs for the consumption
of man and beast"
I regard it as a wise and merciful
dispensation of Providence, that the
seasons have been 80 unfavorable
this spring as to necessitate the post,
ponement of the planting of crops.
The middle of April is near at hand,
and very little corn and cotton have
been planted. When our farmers
were formulating their plans for the
year they did not dream that be.
fore their crops could be planted
war would be declared. Now that
the tocsin of war has been sounded
we must re-arrange our plans.
1t is as certain as anything in the
world can be, that if the crops had
been planted as planned by our peo-
pie, there would have been an excess
of cotton, and famine of food
stuffs" in the Southland before an
other crop could be made, which
would have resulted in conditions
from which our people could not
have recovered in generation.
Therefore I am writing to my
fellow citizens with all the sincerity
of my nature, and urge them, by
every consideration of private inter-
est, as we'll as public and patriotic
duty, to review and reverse their
plans for the year.
The authorities above quoted
urge that the area to be planted in
food stuffs for man and beast should
be doubled; and that the area to be
planted in cotton should be cut to
at least one-half..
Every farmer in the county should
arrange to make provisions for home
consumption, and leave a good bal
ance for sale.
Since our plans for the year were
formed, our government has de-
clared that a state of war exists
with the Imperial Government of
Germany. We are allied with
England, France, Italy and Russia
for the destruction of German mill
tarism. Ths demands of civiliza-
tion, humanity and liberty require
that the imperial militaristic oil
garchy of Germany shall be de-
stroyed. The people at home must
live, and in addition the greatest
armies that the world has ever seen
must be maintained. Soldiers can