The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-06-03
Food Is Now Americas Most I'M
portant Asset and
Weapon.
COMB OUT The idle MEN
Draft the Exempted Men in an Aari.
cultural Army-Put a Million
Men at the Disposal of
the Farmer.
BY MARK SWAN,
of the VigiIantes.

VI Tic viUiidnIcS.
We Americans like to consider our
selves the most wide-awake people in
the world. Hustle is our middle name,
and we glory in it. When the word
American is mentioned, in connection
with a job, or an emergency, we con-
jure up a mental picture of an alert
and determined individual, with the
fine frenzy Of conflict flaming in his
eyes, rolling up his sleeves and doing
things. We revel in this conception Of
ourselves. 1t is very complimentary
and very comforting. There is one
slight flaw In the picture. 1t isn't true.
Naturally, when a spectacular op-
portunity arises, like the declaration
of war last April, we do wake up and
do things. We buy bonds, and enlist,
and drill; we join defense leagues, and
knit, and make bandages, and all the
rest of it-feverishly, sincerely-tak-
ing great credit to ourselves, mean
while, for our unalloyed patriotism,
and forgetting, by the way, that all
the things we are doing, IN mean to
do, should have been Nfereseen, and
done long ago, quietly, thoroughly, and
as q matter of course.
We Are Asleep.
We were warned over and over
again. But we were asleep. And we're
asleep now. We're facing the most ire
mendous emergency that has ever con-
fronted us, the bald, cold fact that the
United States is not going to raise as
much o as we raised last year, thai
we are not going to raise nearly
enough to supply ourselves and our
allies with food-and we're sound
asleep!
The lack of result, when the widely
advertised and justly popular Mother
Hubbard sought a bone for her dog,
tory, and. goes. to prove that the lady
lacked foresight. She had a food
problem, and she didn't meet it.
Like r descendants Of old Mother
Hubbard and Rip Van Wrinkle we
stand asleep at the switch, and ap-
parently we Will never start to take
action until the cupboard is bare. Then
1t will be too late.
This year we have had heatless
days and ,wheatless days and meatless
days. Next. year we will have eatless
days, but nobody seems to be unduly
II 9. German army were landing on
Long Island our inertia would vanish.
would stop discussing what's going
on in Russia, and worrying about
who's going to pitch for the Giants
might even cut out the movies. OF
cabarets, for a night or two. We'd
drill and shout and work and very ! |
likely fight and die.
The situation confronting us is just
rs serious, though not as dramatic, as
t Hindenburg were advancing or Bay.
shore. Hunger is just as deadly an
enemy as the Hun. III
Best Asset and Weapon. :
Food is u most important asset
md weapon. The only way we can
let. food is to plant it, cultivate 1t and
it. But the farmer claims he
ant get labor to do this work.
To any mind capable of comprehend.
ng the startling news that two and
are four, it would seem that the
ital thing to do is to get labor to the
armer, and get it to him quickly SO
e can plant his. crops. If he doesn't
liant soon he can't plant at all.
Now we can't do this as individuals,
ut we can get together and ask the
overnment to do it. Draft the ex-
snpted men in an agricultural army
raft all the boys from eighteen to
not subject to military
ervice. Comb out the idle men. Put
Liillfon men at the disposal of the
armer. It won't hurt any man to
7ork outdoors from March to Septem-
err and If now and then we find one
proud to work, the chances are the
xperience will do him good.
VIII we see 1t in time? Will the
ational alarm clock go off, and will
realize hat each one of us must
hold and help-or will we join
lat large and imposing band whose
philosophy of life may be briefly
lmmed up in the trenchant phrase,
Let George do it,?
If we browse on, next winter we
Ill have an excellent chance for re-
at leisure, while we dine on
a la Russo.
Jail War Garden.