The Butler weekly times., 1917-04-19

the armies and the peoples now at
war, the whole great enterprise
upon which we have embarked
will break down and fail. The
worlds food reserves are low.
Not only during the present eher-
gency, but for some time after
peace shall have come both our
own people and a large proper
tion of the people Of Europe must
rely upon the harvests in America.
@ Upon the farmers of this coun-
try, therefore, in a large measure,
rests the fate Of the war and the
fate of the nations. May the Ma
tion not count upon them to omit
no step that will increase the pro-
dnction of their land or. that will
bring about the most effectual CO.
operation in the sale and distrl-
button Of their products9 The
time is short. 1t is of the most i'm
.perativc Importance. that every
thing possible be done and done
Immediately to make sure Of large
.harvests. ! call upon young men
and old alike and upon able bod
led boys of the land to accept and
act upon this duty-to turn in
hosts to the farms and make GER
tain that no pains and no labor is
lacking in this great matter.
81 particularly appeal to the
farmers of the South to plant
abundant foodstuffs as we'll
as cotton. They can show
their patriotism in no bet
ter or convincing way than
by resisting the great temptation
of. the present price Of cotton and
helping, helping upon great
scale, to feed the Nation and the
peoples everywhere who are fight
ing for their liberty and for our
own. The variety of their crops
will be the visible measure of
their comprehension Of their ma
.tional duty.
The government of the United
States and the governments of the
several states stand ready to CO.
operate. They will do everything
possible to assist farmers in Sc
curing an adequate supply OF
seed, an adequate force Of labor
ers when they are most needed at
harvest time, and the means Of ex-
pediting shipments of fertilizers
and farm machinery, as we'll as of
the crops themselves when har-
vested. The course Of trade shall
be as unhampcred as it is possible
to make it and there shall be no
unwarranted monopolization of
the Nations food supply by those
who handle it on it's way Ito the
consumer. This is our opportuni-
ty to demonstrate the efficiency
of a great democracy and we shall
not fall short of it.
"'This let me say to the middle
men of every sort, whether they
are handling our foodstuffs or our
raw materials of manufacture or
the products of our mills and fac
tories: The eyes of the country
will be Especially upon you. This
is your opportunity for signal ser
vice, efficient and disinterested.
The country expects you, as it ex
poets all others, to forego usual
profit, to organize and expedite
shipments of supplies of every
kind, but especially of food, with
an eye to the service you are rem
dering and in the spirit of those
who enlist in the ranks, for their
people, not for themselves. |
shall confidentially expect you to
deserve and win the confidence
of the people of every sort and
station.
To the men who run the rail
ways of the country. whether they
be managers or operative employ
ces, let me say that the railways
are the arteries of the Nations s
life and that upon them. rests the
immense responsibility of seeing
to it that these arteries suffer no
obstruction of any kind, no inef-
ficiency or slackened power. To
the merchant let me suggest the
motto: Small profits and quick
service and to the ship builder
the thought that the life of the
war depends on him. The food
and the war supplies must be car
ried across the seas no matter how
many ships are sent to the bottom.
The places of those that 60 down
must be supplied and supplied at
once.