Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-04-18

considered essential or nonessential,
we hear nobody saying that there are
too many farmers. 1t is perfectly clear
that the industrious and skillful farm
er is in his duty, be out Of it who may.
3. Registration for national service.
In this matter we fall far short of
the enemy. We are Informed that long
before the war, Germany had effected
a complete registration, not only of her
own citizens, but of alien residents as
We'll That is one example Of German
efficiency, and constitutes one of the
serious disadvantages under which we
suffer both in Canada and the United
States. In our haphazard voluntary
system, enormous labor resources are
either unemployed or misplaced. "PrO-
fessfonaI' laborers, especially those Of
alien birth and unsympathetic toward
our cause, go to the farms in summer,
demand high wages and when the cold
weather comes and they have earned
enough to keep them for the winter,
back they go to their shacks and leave
the farmers alone to feed their own
stock. 1t is a pretty general opinion
among US in Canada that such re-
sources Of labor ought not to be al
lowed to remain unemployed for six
months in the year. 1t is a general
opinion in a free country-a country
to which they came to escape from
hardshipS and tyranny-that they
ought to be required to pay for this
privilege by rendering honest and faith
full and constant service in some Occu-
patton in the national interest. And
the same opinion prevails with respect
to the employment of all idle men or
men unprOfitably employed, Of what
ever nationality. And that is what we
mean by registration for national serv-
ice that there should be a register pre-
pared for all citizens and residents,
giving their names, places Of abode,
and occupation, and that the nation
should take to itself the right to assign
men to occupations where it may be
considered they will do the most good.
The resolution Of the Grain Growers
illustrated an important advance that
we have made in our political think
ing. We have come to believe that vol
untary effort, while it does very we'll
up to a certain point, yet for the final
test for the extreme limit Of human
endeavOr, it fails. It fails because the
democratic idea is voluntary action Of
the citizen to think and speak and do
the thing he will. It fails because the
democratic idea is that the state exists
for the individual. 1t so happens that
we belong to great alliance OF demOc-
racieS, Great Britain, Canada, Aus
trala, France, Italy, the United States
In all of these, in greater or less de-
grees, the theory is that the state
exists for the individual. It so happens
also that this alliance is opposed to
the most autOcratic system of govern
flent in the world where the theory is
that the individual exists for the state.
In this death grapple the rights and
liberties of the individual cannot be
maintained if the state fails. On
peace basis, the individual is first. But
conditions are now on war basis and
the state comes first. Whether we
like it or not, the great democratic
principle is abrogated. We must sur
render our individual rights and liber-
ties to the needs of the state. Democ-
racy if 1t adheres to it's democratic
principles of voluntary action, cannot
win against an autOcracy where hui
man and material resources are any
where nearly equal. We have been
very slow to realize this. We have
been proud of our liberties and conf
dent that we should win by adhering
to the principles Of liberty. But one
by one our individual liberties have
surrendered to the necessities of the
times. RatiOning Of food regulation
of industries, taxing profits, fixing
prices, CONSUMPTION of human re-
sources one after another has come
about to remind us that the state
comes first, and that we are on war
basis. Obedience is the thing. Con
certed action is demanded noW+-all
pulling together, all one way, under
one command.
Editors Note--This is the fifth of
series of articles on the Farm Labor
Problem" They were written express
y, Gov WISCONSIN, formnrS