The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1920-06-02
AID FARMERS, THE

i Appealing to the people of the vari
GUS cities of the country to aid the
i farmers harvest their crops this sum,
j mer, Secretary of Agriculture r. u.
Meredith declares that without such aid
/! there il serious danger of a food scare.
lily noxt winer. handicapped by a com
bination of circumstances over which
he has no control, the American farmer
! is doing his utmost to meet the food
| demands of the country. Because OF
| the handicaps, chief among which is
the shortage of labor, the farmer is
faced by the necessity of curtailing his
production unless aid is assured him.
For this reason the secretary appeals
| to the city business organizations and
student bodies throughout the country
to pledge themselves to send large
numbers among them out to the farms
this summer and help the farmer gath
er his crops. E
1.-The problem" Mr.. Meredith declar
ed, 'is as much the city mans as It is
the farmers. Their interests are mex
tricably bound up and interdependent.
/ often wonder if the people Of the cities
realize how closely the problem comes
the packing centers, the cities of the
country have on hand at any time on
ly enough meat to feed them for, per-
haps four days. They have only
enough flour to last few weeks. Their
vegetables and fruits come in from day
to day. Practically everything they
eat is only a few days. or, at most,
few weeks removed. from the farm.
Whenever, there is shortage Of pro.
duction it is almost instantly reflected
ON the people of the cities.
Right nov we face the danger Of
such a shortage for next year. Cur
tailed acreage necessarily means cur
tailed food production, and without; ad-
equate labor farmers can not maintain
adequate acreage. Not alone is there q
shortage Of 30 per cent in the supply
Of hired farm labor the country over,
but farm work is greatly behind be-
cause Of the backward spring. Even
with the best possible season from now
until harvest, those two things short
age of labor and late spring, mean re
tluced production. And food scarcity is
menace to national prosperity every.
where High wages would mean little
to the city worker if he can not buy
food except at famine prices
"The curtailment of immigration
alone during, the war has been sufficient
to make a deep cut in the normal sup.
ply of labor Of all kinds. With what
supply of labor there is, the farmer
feels he is unable to compete with the
higher paying industries of the cities.
II he is to get the help he needs this
summer he must rely on a thorough
awakening on the part of the city PEG.
pie to their responsibilities in the stu
alton. They have got to realize that SO
far as agricultural products are con
cerned it is an emergency that faces
the country, as grave in many respects
as that which faced us during the war
and calling for the same degree of patri
otto response.
I'll
Albert l.. Hyzer, of Dairyland farm
in BuenaeVist county, is making great
preparations for the entertainment Of
the Iowa Guernsey Breeders association
which is to be held in Storm Lake on
June is. At the same time tine state
sale of Guernseys will be held at Mr.:
Hyzers farm, and there will be offered
animals from the best herds OF the
state.