The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-03-28
JOIN THE GARDEN ARMY
Governor Capper Appeals to Kansas
School Boys and Girls to Help
Win the War,

Governor Capper. Appeals to Kansas
School Boys and Girls to Help
Win the War.
Ny Dear Young Friends:
Last year I made a special appeal
to you school boys and girls. I urged
you to organize yourselves into a
great and mighty army Of food pro-
ducers, that you might help Kansas
do its part in this terrible war. We
needed your help then. Now we need
it much more. Your response last
var was magnificent and was bounti-
full in results. This spring the de-
mand on US for every kind of food
We can produce is far more urgent.
President Wilson has called for an
army of five million boys and girls
as school gardeners. 1 am asking
you in the name of beloved State and
Nation, and for the sake of the cou-
sins, brothers and fathers, many of
you have or soon will have on the
battle line, for your help again. ask
you to join the United States Garden
Army.
This call for your help is many
times more urgent than the one a
year ago, for thousands of men all
over the United States, who hereto
fore have been able to produce food
of some kind have been called to do
war work which you cannot do, be-
cause this is the critical year of the
war know everyone of you will
do what you can to help carry the
Nation safely through this great peril
and l urge everyone of you who re-
sponded so promptly and worked so
faithfully last year to make greater
effort this year.
Next to the soldiers in the field
food is the one thing which is going
to win the war. There are just two
ways we can increase the food sup
ply. One is economizing in the use
of food, the other by raising more
foodstuffs. Both are vitality import
ant this year. But it is far more
important that we produce food in
food until we have produce it.
We must use the. vacant lots we
used last year and every other piece
of land we can get. We must turn
them all into beds of fresh vegetables,
or use them for raising chicken or
pigs. Not one of these pieces of
ground must be idle, for what they
will produce will not be measured
IN dollars and cents but by human
lives. We have learned that if Rus
sia's army had been properly sup
piled with food, the war would now
be won or the end of it would be in
sight. We must not let this happen
to our army, or to our people. Our
soldiers cannot win the war without
your help. Their very lives depend
on the support we give them this
year here at home
Last year 1 asked each of you to
do one of these things:
Grow garden,
Feed q pig,
Raise a pen of chickens,
Or help increase our dairy pro
ducts
This year want to add these two
things to this list:
Grow an acre of corn or sorghum.
Can all surplus fruits and vege-
tables.
This gives you a choice of doing
one of six things.
Last year 1 asked that 100000 of
you volunteer in this work This year
I want an army Of 100000.
There are $4,000 school boys and
girls in Kansas Probably $4,000
of you are too small or are physically
unable to help. This would leave
100000 Kansas boys and girls who
can help.
Here are just a few examples of
what some of the boys and the girls
| accomplished last year: Dorothy Tay-
lor, age IA, at market prices, grew
| $3.50 worth of vegetables on a
square rod of garden in Labette
county. Everett Reed, age 10, raised
a pen of chicken worth S43.17 in Rice
| county: Orville Caldwell, age Ia,
raised a 345-pound pig which sold
for S56.92 in Lyon county. Gertrude
Roach, age Is, canned 355 quarts of
| surplus fruits and vegetables worth
s1O6.5O, in Nemaha county. May
nard Reb, age 16, grew SO bushels of
corn worth 1882 on one acre in Mar
| shall county. Rudolph Ems, age 16,
| IN Harvey county, MIXED and cared
for cow that produced 16,161.17
pounds of milk which by actual test
gave a total of 609-82 pounds of but
terfat.
You can see what tremendous help
it will be if 100000 of you Kansas
boys and girls will do as well rela-
lively as these six children. 1t will
help make it possible for US to feed
our Allies for six months and to give
everyone of our soldiers from Kansas
sas his food allowance for the same
length of time.
I believe you only need to know OF
this to make a choice of one of the
six things I ask you to do. Tell Fa-
Their and Mother you wish to do this
much as your part toward winning
and ending a war that will engulf us
if we do not al do our very best.
ARTHUR CAPPER,
Governor