The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1918-01-31

Speaking of the manner in which
war was forced upon us, President
Wilson said:
THE rulers of Germany had sought
to exercise their power in such a
way as to shut off our economic life
within the western hemisphere, while
they accomplished purposes which
would have permanently impaired
and impeded every process of our ma
tional life and have put the fortunes
of America at the mercy of the i'm
perial government of Germany.
This was no threat. 1t had be-
come a reality Their hand of vio-
lence had been laid upon our own
people and our own property in
flagrant violation, not only of justice,
but of the well recognized and long
standing covenants of international
law and treaty. We are fighting
therefore, as truly for the liberty and
self government of the United States
as if the war of our own Revolution
had to be fought over again; and
every man in every business in the
United States must know by this
time that his whole future fortune
lies in the balance. Our national
life and our whole economic devel-
opment will pass under the sinister
influences of foreign control if we do
not win. We must win, therefore,
and we shall win. l need not ask
you to pledge your lives and for
tunes with those of the rest of the
nation to be accomplishment of that
great end
you will realize, as 1 think states
men on both sides of the water real
ize, that the eliminating crisis of the
struggle has come and that the
achievements of this year on the one
side or the other must determine the
issue. 1t has turned out that the
forces that fight for freedom, the
freedom of men all over the world
as well as our own, depend upon us
in an extraordinary and unexpected
degree for sustenance, for the sup
ply of the materials by which men
are to live and to fight, and it will
be our glory when the war is over
that we have supplied these mater
ials and supplied them abundantly,
and it will be all the more glory be-
cause in supplying them we have
made our supreme effort and sac
rifice."
Recounting the great things done
ny lut ldI 1ItSlQtul WllSOu
calls attention to the fact that the
national agricultural budget has in
creased more than seventy-two per
cent during the past two years. He
tells of increased number and ac-
tivity of county agents, of the extern
sion work under the Smith-Lever act,
of the banking and rural credit leg
islation of the nitrate plants utilized.
He continues:
"The labor problem is one of great
difficulty and some of the best agen-
cies of the nation are addressing
themselves to the task of solving it,
so far as it is possible to solve it.
Farmers have not been exempted
from the draft ! know that they
would not wish to be. l take II for
granted they would not wish to be
put in a class by themselves in this
respect But the attention of the
war department has been very seri-
ously centered upon the task of in
terfering with the labor OF Nle farms
as little as possible, and under the
new draft regulations / believe that
the farmers of the country will find
that their supply of labor is very
much less seriously drawn upon than
it was under the first and initial
draft, made before we had had our
present full experience in these per-