The Yale expositor., 1918-07-18
CONGRESS BLUNDER
HITS FARMERS HARD
SLEEPER APPEALS TO BOYS AND
MEN OVER DRAFT AGE TO
MAN HARVEST TOOLS.
FARM HELP CALLED TO C0LoRS
The Peril Of MIehiean's Crops Arises
From a Provision Pushed
Through Congress.


ty in the harvesting of her crops.
Calls for the selective draft army
for July 20 and for August will take
1000 men direct from the farms.
All hope of having these men held
back has failed and Governor Sleep
er, in a statement issued from his
Office, appealed to boys and men over
the draft age to come forward and
save the crops.
The demands of the selective draft
will take nearly all of the Class
men who have been kept on the
farm, the governor said, land we
must have help to harvest the crops
which will soon be matured. The
boys working reserve has many boys
on farms now, but many more are
needed.
Sleeper Appeals for Farm Aid.
II appeal to every boy from Is to
81, and to every man who is over
the draft age, to come to the front
and If 1t Is humanity possible for him
to go to the farms, thus taking the
place OF the men, or some OF them
at least, who have been taken into
the army.
This matter is imperative. Judg-
ing from the protests from various
county agents and others interested
in agriculture, the coming call of July
20 and the one coming in August will
practically denude the farms Of help.
We must not let the crops spoil and
We must have help to harvest the
will be needed as the situation is
really more serious than some of us
believe.
"The trouble is only temporary,
but comes at the time when the crops
must be harvested, or all of our
efforts for big crops will go for
naught."
Congress Stripes Farms Of Help.
The peril to Michigan's crops arises
from provision in the revised draft
law pushed through in congress de-
spite the protests OF Provost Marshal
General Crowder. This provision was
that none Of the registrants who
reached Fl since June 5, 1917, should
be called until all the men in Glass
1 of the first registration between the
ages of 81 and 81 had been called
out. Whether it was the intention OF
congress, the effect OF this piece of
statemanship is to compel the draft
authorities to strip the farms of
deferred classification men before
they can call out any of the new reg
istrants.
Protests from county boards, from
county agents and from prominent
officials poured into the Office OF the
selective draft officials. Colonel Ber-
sey wired General Crowder asking
whether something could not be done
TO leave the actual farmers on the
farms until the crops were harvested.
but he received a reply in which IL
was stated that any deferment was
impossible. General Crowder did let
the bars down a little by announcing
that man from the 1918 class coul1
volunteer to go in the coming calls
and that in this way some OF the
farmers might be left until later. But
this plan is not expected to be pro-
ductive of much result
Help Must Be Had Soon.
Major Petermann recently put the
problem squarely up to Governor
Sleeper and the appeal to the youth
and to the men over draft age Is the
result. Help must be had and IL the
boys under 81, and the men over 81
will only come to the rescue for the
30 or go days the crops can be saved.
II is thoroughly understood here,
too, that some OF the larger employ
ers in the industrial sections have
men out soliciting farmers sons to
work in factories, but this will be re-
duced to a minimum, and practically
eliminated on August /, when the rub
ing that all such help must come
through the United States employ
ment agencies becomes effective.