The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-02-13
'!Mobjllzation Of Agricultural
Forces Planned as Emergency
War Measure.
EnEn 70 Be FORCED 70 WORK
Radical Action Rendered imperative
BY the Necessity Of Providing
Larger Landowners With Labor
Needed to Handle Crops.

N0me.-The hrSt OF sortes OF emer-
:gency. war measures tending to Inn
provs as much as circumstances will
permit the difficult food situation will
Be announced soon. The mobilization
:ak all the agricultural forces Of the
country will be ordered and the new
army sent to work wherever there ex-
hts scarcity Of farm labor.
According TO tie experts Of the min
istry Of agriculture. the radical meas
ufe, for which there is no precedent,
was rendered imperative by the necss-
sity Of supplying the large landowners
and the organizations which have en-
gagged n agricultural enterprises on .
large scale with all the labor they need
for sowing and taking in the crop. The
scarcity Of labor also has made fmpera-
tive the coordination of work In farm
Ing operations.
Take Census of Farm Labor.
The mobilization will take place un-
der the direction Of Agricultural Min
lister Rainert, who will be assis' I ~ q
few Of the officers OF the Italialn gem
efal staff. The mayor Of each town
will be ordered to take the census Of
al the farm labor Of both sexes in Nh
district and state the Approximate time
needed for local farming work. The
next step will be the compulsory en-
hBtment Of every man In q new army
which will be under the command Of
regular petty officers. Is.
Active operations will begin early In
March. Thanks to dinereat climatic
eonditiona the haryestfn1 seasen In tn
south of italy and IL the islands IL I
month In advance 0a,that Of the North
Consequently the authorities expsct to
move the different agricultural units
fron place to place till every crop has
been taken in and then repeat the op.
Grafton next year for the plowing and
sowing season.
/. The general staff has promised III
heartfest cooperation provided thu
military situation at the front i'm
proves or, at least, remains stationary
ln this case two or three hundred thou
sand men will be temporarily released
from the army and sent to work in the
farming districts. The men and The
women will be paid the prevailing rate
of wages.
Expect No Hitch.
The authorities are confident the
plan will work without d hitch, anG
II the results are as predicted, and Il
the prize and premium system fails
It is not improbable that compulsory
farming will be among the after wal
measures with which the governmen,
expects to solve some of the most dis
tressing problems connected with tn.
#resupplying and revictualing of thl
country.
In connection with the present foot
situation Premier Orlando announced
in the chamber Of deputies that 1,
could not be improved even If hostili
ties ceased tomorrow, that the higl
cost of living and the scarcity of al
the necessaries of life would continue
Tor a long time after the conclusion Q,
peace, and that the solution Of thu
problem Of supplies is that, today, tn,
country must resupply itself or be con
tented with the little that can be i'm
ported from abroad.
At the same time the premier sait
that before long the people will b,
called upon to make additional sacri
ices, and that in order to Increase th,
ration of the men in the trenches new
food restrictions would bce imposed OF
the country at large.