The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1917-09-13

! 1t will be time for the sowing of the
fall grain, and what effort has been
made in Morrow county to utilize
every acre of ground that will pro-
duce crop? When we read our
daily paper our attention is directed
to certain organizations called -Four
Minute Men" that are being formed
In the cities throughout the country
in order to solicit the aid of our peo-
pie in patriotic undertakings, and
especially in food conservation.
This is noble work and one that
should receive the support of every
loyal citizen. If it is important that
the people in the cities should be edu-
Gated to meatless days and to con-
serve all the food that it is possible
for them to do, how much more i'm
portant is the work that is the duty
of the farmers to perform in this
campaign? If a person in the city
can aid his country by saving a small
amount in his daily living, what a
grand patriotic duty the farmer can
perform who will raise more grain,
or other produce.
Today we have the annual Nor
row County Fair Why not select a
committee of our many progressive
farmers and let us have a get-togeth-
er meeting in order to talk over the
situation. The capable speakers
who have been engaged by your Fair
committee, will, no doubt, make
plain to us all the seriousness of the
world situation at present, so let us
their words Of counsel and admoni-
ton, but let us profit thereby. 1t is
easy for us to pass resolutions and
to talk Of what should be done but
the time is past for that, and what is
needed now is intelligent, construct
i've and carefully planned action.
Why not take an inventory of all
the land in Morrow County that is
tillable? If a man has too much
land to work in that way we can re-
fer some person to him who is look
ing for an opportunity to start farm
ing, or to some one who wants to
farm more land. If some of our land
is owned by people who are merely
holding it for speculation, let those
facts be known, so that the land may
be put to work. A few days ago the
writer was talking to a young man
who, after several years of hard
work, had got a good start on a
homestead, where, on account of the
present high prices for grain, he
would soon receive reward for his
years of work. The young man was
called under the draft. He made no
complaint about going to serve his
country, but felt very keenly the loss
that he felt he must suffer by having
to sacrifice his horses and farming
equipment at a price that he knew
to be far less than their actual valua-
ton. 1t is safe to say that if there
were more organized effort among
the citizens of our community situa-
tions such as the foregoing could
easily be taken care of, and when the
man in question returned from serv-
ing his country he would not need to
start all over again.
Another question that presents it.
self is the request for more men to
till the land. Many men are work
ing today in the harvest fields for
practically the same wages that were
paid several years ago, when a man
could buy his working clothes and
shoes for 500 of what he has to pay
today. No ambitious, intelligent
man will work for wages on the farm
any longer today than necessity COM
pels him to, because he knows that
1t will take him many years of thrifty
saving in order to have enough to
protect him in his old age. Should
we not encourage good workmen to
start up for themselves by making ar
rangements whereby they can be
given credit for seed until harvest
time, and in that way we would give
a great assistance in seeing that
many of the large farms in our coun-
ty, that are now not farmed to their
greatest capacity, on account of the
farmers who are farming them trying
to work too much land, will be
brought to higher average yield.
No doubt there are many persons
who would be willing to buy land for
farming if they fully understood how
1t is possible for them at the present
time to secure money under the Fed
eral Farm Loan Act at 5%6 interest
We should ever keep in mind, that
the most of the men that were called
in tha Drnspnt draf Fl ond oIco tboco