The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1918-02-28

and 100000 acres more than the aver
age for the five years before the out
break of the European war
1T seems not to be generally under
stood why wheat is picked out for
price determination and only wheat,
among the cereals. The answer is that
while normal distribution of all our
farm products has been subject to
great disturbances during the last
three years because Of war conditions
only two commodities, namely, wheat
and sugar, have been so seriously af-
fected as to require governmental In
tervention.
Meet Government Obligation.
THE disturbances which affect these
products {and others in less degree)
arise from the fact thPt all of the
overseas shipping in the world is now
under government control and that the
government is obligated to assign ton
mage to each commodity that enters
into commercial overseas traffic. 1t
has consequently been necessary to es-
tablish single agencies for the purchase
of the food supplies which must go
aboard. The purchase of wheat in the
United States for foreign use is of so
great volume in comparison with the
available domestic supply that the price
of wheat has been materially disturbed
and it became necessary, In order to
protect both the producer and the con-
sumer, to prevent speculation. 1t was
necessary, therefore, for the govern
ment to exercise direct supervision as
far as possible to control purchases of
wheat and the processes of it's exporta-
n, d.. -. III
amounted to price fixing and l, there
fore, thought it fair and wise that
there should be a price stated that
should be at once liberal and equitable.
Farmers Serve Whole Nation.
These peculiar circumstances gov
erning the handling and consumption
Of wheat put the farmer at the very
center of war service. Next to the
soldier himself, he is serving the coun-
try and the world and serving it in a
way which is absolutely fundamental
to his own future safety and prosper
ity. He sees this and can be relied
upon as the soldier can.
1.-The farmer is also contributing to
the army and ] am keenly alive to the
sacrifices involved. Out of 13,S00,0 ,00C
men engaged in farm industries, 205,-
900 have been drafted, or about Las
per cent of the whole number. In ad
dition to these, there have been volun
teers, and the farmers have lost con
siderable number of laborers because
wages paid in industrial pursuits drew
them away. In order to relieve the
farming industry as far as possible
from further drains of labor, the new
draft regulations have been drawn
with a view to taking from the farms
an even smaller proportion of men, anC
it is my hope that the local exemption
boards will make the new classified
tions with view of tightening the loaC
upon the farmers to the utmost extent
The secretary of war has asked fol
authority to furlough soldiers of tn,
national army il conditions permit i
so that they may return to their farmi
when assistance is necessary in th'
planting and harvesting of the corp
National and local agencies are active
ly at work, besides, in organizing com
munity help for the more efficient dis
tribUtion of labor and the drawing
upon of new sources of available labo
While there will be difficulties, ant
very serious ones, they will be diff
culties which are among the stern ne
ceSsities Of war.