The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-05-11

of necessity be excused from
that service and assigned to the
fundamental, sustaining work of
the fields and factories and
mines, and they will be as much
part of the great patriotic forces
of the nation as the men under
fire.
| take the liberty, therefore,
of addressing 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 abund-
ance of supplies, and especially
of food stuffs. The Importance
of an adequate food supply, es-
pecially 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 reserves are low.
Not only during the present en-
Urgency 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 nations. May the nation
not count upon them to omit no
step that will increase the pro-
duction of their land or that will
bring about the most effectual
cooperation in the sale and dis
tribution of their products? The
time is short. It is of the most
imperative Importance that
everything possible be done and
done Immediately to make sure
of large harvests. | call upon
young men and old alike and up
on the able-b bodied boys of the
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.
l particularly appeal to the
farmers of the South to plant
abundant food stuffs as we'll as
cotton. They can show their
patriotism in no better or more
convincing way than by resisting
the great temptation of the pres
ent price of cotton. and helping,
upon a great scale, to feed
the nation and the peoples
everywhere who are fighting for
their liberties and for our own.
The variety of their crops will be
the visible measure of their COM
prehension of their national duty.
The Government of the United
States and the governments Of
the several States stand ready to
cooperate. They will do every
thing possible to assist farmers
in securing an adequate supply
of seed, an adequate force of
laborers when they are most
needed, at harvess time, and the
means Of expediting shipments
of fertilizers and farm machin-
cry, as well as of the crops them
selves when harvested. The
course of trade shall be as I'M
hampered 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 oppor-
tunity to demonstrate the effici-
ency 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 food stuffs or
our raw materials of manufac-
ture or the products of our mills
and factories: The eyes of the
country will be especially upon
you. This is your opportunity
for signal service, efficient and
disinterested. The country ex-
poets you, as it expects all others,
to forego unusual profits, to or
ganize and expedite shipments of
supplies of every kind, but es-
pecially of food. with an eye to
the service you are rendering
and in the spirit of those who
enlist in the ranks, for their
people, not for themselves. I
shall confidently expect you to
deserve and win the confidence
of people of every sort and sta
ton.
To the men who run the rail-
ways of the country, whether
thew he manaporS ar oporotiuo