The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1918-02-15

Ucts Long Alter the war.
To the farmer in the Mississippi
valley, busy about h;s barns and out
buildings, the question Of a merchant
marine seems very far away.
why he occasionally asks him
Sc, "...!oU.n he Interested in s;ef!A-
ships, sailing from ports Il th0usand
miles away? have never been to The
Atlantic seaboard. Ships, whether sail
ing under the United States flag or the
Union Jack, concerns NE rot at all
There is, however. a reason, ana d.
good reason, why the farmer Should
be interested in this governments Of
forts to put thousands Of steel and
wooden ships alloat as quickly as pos
sble
Tile American farmer today is grew
ing wheat, corn, oats and other pred
uce that must be transported abroad
To supply our own armies and those
Of our allies in France. When the war
is over, the wheat, corn and oats Will
Europe. With thousands Of ships to-
carry this produce, the freight rates
will be correspondingly cheaper than
they would be with only hundreds OF
bottoms available instead Of thOH-
sands
Lofty Prices Will Continue.
The fact that freight rates are
cheaper Will not, however, abate the
hunger Of the millions in Europe clam
oring for the wheat: corn and oats. The;
market there will remain the same and
the present lofty prices will be little
changed If it costs the grain dealer
less to ship abroad, he will be able to
pay higher prices to the farmers.
The farmer is just as much inter
ested in cheap ocean freight rates as :
he always has been interested in
cheaper freight rates on land. His
market lies, not in Chicago anG Min.
neapolis and Duluth, where a box car
hauls his grain; it lies thousands OK
miles across the ocean, where ships
are carrying his produce. The farmer
must help build ships and cut his
freight rates to Europe.
. Someone sagely remarked (and many
! wise men since have repeated the
proverb): an times of peace prepare
for war;
Germany has improved on the
proverb. or twisted it, and over in the
kaiser's realm it now reads: I'm times
of war prepare for peace Germany
is not so intent on winning this war
that she has forgotten about she peace
to come. The German reichStag has
agreed, as tentative policy, on a
grant of $375,O00,000 to facilitate the
I building of merchant ships. The bllk
provides that the vessels shall be-
available within four years after peace
is decl0red.
I Frustrate German Plan.
. In other words. the German govern
mcnt is determined, not only to wln
this war, but to win the commercials
war to follow, by providing bottoms to-
carry, NOL OIlIS ilS pNlA SoVN''' pNS S>'0
the commerce of other nations whose
ships it is sinking every day.
| The United States government has
wisely set about to frustrate this
Hohenzollern move, as much military
project as the hurting OF new Germann
divisions against the French and Brit
ish lines in France and Flanders. Ihls~
government has instituted shipbuiid-.
ing program that will supply us With
steel and wooden freighters to carry
men, food, munitions and machinery
to Europe in the course of the war auG
! after peace is declared. 1t ne%dS
money for this great shipbuilding piAn'
if it is to defeat Prussianism now ana
after the war. The American farmer
not only displays his patriotism oy
lending the government money to pur-
sue it's purpose, but conserves ana
| builds his future interests.