Arizona republican., 1918-02-25

uable thing that we can supply her. We have already sent her 1900 tractors. Perhaps if the war goes on long enough, American brains and nachin- cry will make the farms of France yield as they should.
 The men we are sending to France will help her food supply, too. One reason she wants soldiers-even a few hundred thousands of them-from America is that every one of these soldiers will enable her to release a French farmer from the trenches and put him back on the land. A few hun- dred thousand soldiers will not go far toward beating Germany on the west ern front, but a few hundred thou sand experienced French farmers can get a lot of good out of the soil of France. This was one of the strong est arguments that the French made last September when we decided to hasten all of our war preparations in order to get men to France quickly. From these facts it will be seen that the allies have no great advantage over Germany in the matter of food. England is cultivating her soil to the last acre, but even so, she can produce only about fifth of what she needs, while France, which might produce a goodly part of her own food, cannot keep her land under cultivation. That leaves America as the only hope of the alliance.
 This makes it our most imperative 1 duty, if we are going to see the thing through. to save wheat. We have the 1 substitutes, which would enable us to do this without suffering Our pro- duction of corn is something like thirty
 bushels per capita per year If each of us would eat a bushel of corn this year in place of that amount of wheat
 enough wheat would be saved to see
 our allies through until the next crops.
 Facts like these point to rationins
 as the logical solution of the problem The idea of being put on compulsory
 rations is distasteful to the American
 people. Yet a reasonable rationine l system, combined with a more rigid
 control of prices, which rationine
 would probably make necessary, would be the cheapest and surest way to ac- complish the thing we have set out to do.
 But if it is impossible to starvt Germany, what is to be the outcom,
 of this world fasting?
 Pointing out the weaknesses O
 Germany has become rather a disap
 pointing business. First she was t,
 starve, but now it is conceded tha
 she is not going to starve. Then sh
 was to have a revolution, but the wa,
 the iron hand crushed the recen
 strikes has discouraged that hope.
 Nevertheless, Germany is weaken
 ing, and it may be said with some con fidence that machinery and transporta tion are the seat of her weakness. is known that her transportation sys tenn is wearing out, and that she ca spare neither the metal nor the lapo
 to repair it. It is known that her tex tile mills have practically gone out C business, and that many of her peopl are clothed in paper
 Here is a matter in which the al , liance is really superior. America ca with difficulty make up the allie wheat shortage, but America has fro
 and coal and factories. While tn German railways are going to piece 7 American engineers and trainmen al ! putting new efficiency into the Frenc railways. America has just begun 1
 make guns and aeroplanes, tools an itractors. In the clash of iron engine i. which is modern, the weight Of re ' source is on our side. The real prot T lem is to make American food go roun until the mass and power of America 1 steel con m l<a ifao1f fo1f