Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-04-16
Upon the Farmers of the
Country Rests in a Large
Measure the Fate of the
War and the Fate of the
Nation-Service on Farm
as Patriotic as Under Fire
on Battlefield.

trenches. The industrial forces of the
country, men and women alike will be
a great national, a great international
service army-a notable and honored
ton and the world. the efficient
friends and saviors of free men every
where. Thousands, nay, hundreds OF
thousands, of men otherwise liable to
military service will OF right and OF
necessity be excused from that service
and assigned to tho fundamental, sus-
tanning work OF the fields and fac
tories, and mines, and they will he as
much part of the great patriotic
IRE.
! The Supreme Need.
II take the liberty therefore Of ad-
dressing this word to the farmers of
the country and to all who work on
the farms: The supreme need Of our
own nation and of the nations with
which We are cooperating. Is an
abundance of supplies and especially
of foodstuffs. The Importance of an
adequate food supply. especially for
the present year is superlative.
without abundant food alike for
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 re-
serves are low. Not only during the
present emergency but for some time
after peace shall have come both our
own people and large proportion OF
the people of Europe must rely upon
| the harvests in America.
Upon the farmers of this country
therefore, in large measure rests the
fate of the war and the fate OF the ma
lions. May the nation not count upon
them to omit no step that will IN
crease the production of their land Gr
that will bring about the most effec-
tual cooperation in the sale and dis
trtbuticn of their products? The thu:
10 short. 1t is of the most imperative
importance that everything possible
be done and done Immediately TO
make sure Of large harvests.
81 call upon young men and old
alike and upon the able bodied boys
of tho land to accept and act upon
this duty-to turn in hosts to the
farms and make certain that no pains
and no labor is lacking in this great
matter.
1.-The government of the United
States and the governments of the
several states stand ready to cooper
ate. They will do everything possible
to assist farmers in securing an ade-
quate supply of seed, an adequate
force of laborers when they are most
needed at harvest time and the means
of expediting shipments of fertilizers
and farm ma machinery as we'll as Of the
crops themselves when harvested.
1.-The course of trade shall be as
unhampered as it is possible to make
it and there shall be no unwarranted
manipulation of the nations food
supply by those who handle it on its
way to the consumer. This is our op-
portunity to demonstrate the efficiency
Of great democracy and we shall not
fall short of it.
Warning to NIiddlemen.
''This let me say to the middlemen
Of every sort, whether they are hand
ling our foodstuffs or our raw ma
terials of manufacture or the prod
ucts of our mills and factories. The
eyes Of the country will be especially
upon you. This is your opportunity
for signal service efficient and disin-
terested. The country expects you as
it expects all others. to forego unusual
profits. to organize and expedite
shipments of supplies Of every kind