Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-01-31

sible and under the newdraft regula-
tions 1 believe the farmers of the
country will find their supply of
labor is very much less seriously
drawn upon than it was under the
first and initial draft, made before
we had had our present full expert
ence in these perplexing matters. The
supply of labor in all industries is a
matter we must look to and are look
ing to with diligent care.
Farmers Are Efficient
And let me say that the stimula-
tion of the agencies 1 have enumer-
ated has been responded to by the
farmers in splendid fashion. l dare
say your are aware that the farmers
of this country are as efficient as any
other farmers in the world. They do
not produce more per acre than the
farmers in Europe. 1t is not neces-
sary that they should do it. 1t would
perhaps be bad economy for them to
attempt 1t. But they do produce by
two to three or four times more per
man, per unit of labor and capital.
than the farmers of any European
| country. They are more alert and use
more laborsaving devices than any
| other farmers in the world. And their
response to the demands of the pres
ent emergency has been in every
way remarkable. Last spring their
planting exceeded by 12,000,0 600 acres
the largest planting of any previous
year. and the yields from the crops
were record yields. In the
fall of 1917 a wheat acreage of A.
10000 was planted, which was one
million larger than for any preceding
year, three millions greater than the
| next largest, and seven millions
| greater than the preceding flve-year
average.
Scientific knowledge Needed
| But l ought to say to you 1t is not
only necessary that these achieve
ments should be repeated, but that
they should be exceeded. know what
| this advance involves. 1t involves not
only labor, but scientific, the pains
| taking application of every bit of
scientific knowledge and every test
ed practice that is available. 1t
means the utmost economy, even to
the point where the pinch comes. IT
means the kind of concentration and
selfsacrifice which is involved in the
| field of battle itself, where the OBJ
| ject always looms greater than the
| individual. And yet the government
will help and help in every way that
it is possible. The impression which
| prevails in some quarters that while
the government has sought to fix the
prices of foodstuffs. it should not
seek to fix other prices which de-
termine the expenses of the farmer,
| is q mistaken one. AS matter of
| fact, the government has actively and
successfully regulated the prices of
many fundamental materials under
! lying all the industries of the coun-
| try and has regulated them not only
for the purchases of the government,
| but also for the purchases of the
i unnar01 nnhlin and / have
son to believe Congress will extend
the power of the government in this
| important and even essential matter,
so that the tendency to profiteering
which is showing itself in too many
quarters, may be effectively checked.
| In fixing the prices of foodstuffs, the
government sincerely has tried to
keep the interests of the farmer as
much in mind as the interests of the
communities which are to be served,
! but it is serving mankind as we'll as
the farmer and everything in these
times of war takes on the rigid as
pect of duty.
Asks Increased Efforts
It will not appeal to you to con-
tinue and renew and increase your
| efforts. / do not believe it is neces-
sary to do so, l believe you will do
| it without any word or appeal from
me- because you understand as well
as 1 do the needs and opportunities
of this great hour, when the for
tunes of mankind everywhere seem
about to be determined and when
| America has the greatest opportu-
nifty she has ever had to make good
her own freedom and in making it
good to lend helping hand to men
struggling for their freedom every
where. You remember that it was
! farmers from whom came the first
shots at Lexington, that set aflame
the revolution that made America
free l hope and believe that the
! farmers of America will, 1 believe,
and conspicuously stand by to win
this war also. The toll, the intelli-
gence, the energy, the foresight, the
selfsacrifice and devotion of the
Aarmers of America will, 1 believe,
bring to a triumphant conclusion this
great last war for the emancipation
of men from the control of arbi-
trary government and the selfishness
of class legislation and control and
then, when the end has come, we
may look each other in the face and
be glad that we are Americans and
have had the privilege to play such