Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-02-01
FARMER'S> WAR WORK
PRAISED BY WILSON
CONTINUED From Page IL

| y
| Continued From Page IL
are as nation in the presence Of a
| great task which demands supreme
confidence and endeavor of every one
Of us.
WAR AIM is HIGH.
I'VE can give everything that is
needed with the greater willingness
and even satisfaction because the OBJ
gagged is the greatest that freemen
ever have undertaken. 1t is to pre-
vent the life" the world from being
determined aad the fortunes of men
ever ywhere affected by small groups
Of military masters who seek their
own interest and the selfish dominion
Throughout the world of the govern
ments they un:aprily for the moment
control.
You will not need to be convinced
that it was necessary for US rs free
people to take part in this wac. 1t
had raised its evil hand against IS.
The rulers Of Germany had sought to
exercise their Lower in such va;
as to shut off our economic life so far
as our Intercourse with Europe was
concerned and to confine our people
thin the estern hemisphere while
they accomplished purposes which
would have permanently impaired and
imHeded every process of our national
life and have Out the fortunes OF
America at the mercy Of the imperial
government of Germany.
1--WE MUST WIN"
This was no threat. 1t had become
a reality. Their hands Of violence had
been laid upon our own people and
our own property in fragrant violation
not only Of justice but Of the we'll rec
ognized 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 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 own economic development 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 fortunes with those Of the rest
of the nation to the accomplishment
of that great end.
CRITICAL YEAR At HAND.
"You will realize, as ! 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 free
dom of men all over the world as well
as our own, depended upon us in an
extraordinary and unexpected degree
for sustenance, for the supply of the
materials by which men are to live
and to fight and it will be more glory
when the war is over that we have
supplied those materials and supplied
them abundantly and it will be all the
more glory because in supplying them
we have made 0lr supreme effort and
sacrifice
'In the field of agriculture we have
agencies and instrumentalities, fortu-
nately, such as no other government
in the world can show. The depart
ment Of agriculture undoubtedly is
the greatest practical and scientific
agricultural organization in the world.
MONEY FOR DEVELOPMENT.
"The banking legislation of the last
two or three years has given the farm
ers access to the great lendable CAPT
tai Of the country and it has become
the duty both OF our men in charge
of the federal reserve banking sys-
- hor -
see to it that the farmers obtain the
credit, both short and long term, to
which they are entitled not only but
which it is imperatively necessary
should be extended to them if the
present tasks of the country are to be
adequately performed Both by d.
rect purchase of nitrates and by the
establishment of plants to produce nj
trates the government is doing it's ut
most to assist in the problem of fer
tilization.
LABOR PROBLEM DIFFICULT.
THE department Of agriculture and
other agencies are actively assisting
the farmers to locate, safeguard and
secure at cost an adequate supply of
sound seed. The department has 81
100000 available for this purpose now
and has asked the congress for &c.
100000 more.
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. ! take it for grant
ed they would not wish to be put in a
class by themselves in this respect.
But the attention of the war depart
ment has been very seriously CEN
tered upon the task Of interfering
with the labor of the farms as little
as possible and under the new draft
regulations I believe that the farmers
of the country will find that their
supply of labor is very much less
seriously drawn upon than it was un-
der the first draft, made before we
had had our present full experience in
these perplexing matters. The sup
ply Of labor in all industries is mat
ter we must look to and are looking
to with diligent care.