Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-01-24

To the farmer in the Mississippi
valley, busy about his barns and out
buildings, the question of a merchant
marine seems very far away.
"Why," he occasionally asks him
self, SHOULD I be interested in steam-
ships, sailing from ports thousand
miles away? I have never been to the
Atlantic seaboard. Ships, whether sail
ing under the United States flag Or the
Union Jack, concerns me not at all"
There is, however, a reason, and
good reason, why the farmer should
be interested in this governments eff
forts to put thousands of steel and
wooden ships afloat as quickly as pos
sible.
The American farmer today is grow
ing wheat, corn, oats and other prod
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
continue to flow toward War-stricken
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 thou
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 and Min
neapolis and Duluth, where a box car
hauls his grain; it lies thousands of
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): "In 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: "In times
of war prepare for peace" Germany
is not so intent on winning this war
that she has forgotten about the peace
to come. The German reichstag has
agreed, as a tentative policy, on
grant of $375,O00000 to facilitate the
building of merchant ships. The bill
provides that the vessels shall be
available within four years after peace
is declared.
Frustrate German Plan.
In other words, the German govern
ment is determined, not only to win
this war, but to win the commercial
war to follow, by providing bottoms to
carry, not only it's own goods, but also
the commerce of other nations whose
ships it is sinking every day.
The United States government has
wisely set about to Illustrate this
Hohenzollern move, as much a military
project as the hurting of new German
divisions against the French and Brit
ish lines In France and Flanders. This
government has instituted a shipbuild-
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 and
after peace is declared. 1t needs
money for this great shipbuilding plan,
if it is to defeat Prussianism now and
after the war. The American farmer
not only displays his patriotism by
lending the government money to pur-
sue it's purpose, but conserves and
builds his future interests.