Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1943-01-29
Scott Nearing
Says
By Federated Press

brated throughout the country on
Jan. IL. Food is a weapon" Presi-
dent Roosevelt said in his message
to American farmers. He added /:
American farmers must feed our
growing army and navy, they must
feed the civilian families of this
country and feed them we'll. They
must help feed the fighting men
and some of the war workers of
Britain and Russia, and to lesser
degree of other Allied countries"
The farmers of the u. S. face a
real job in 1943. They are short of
both tools and manpower.
Through 1912 farmers had trou-
BILE in getting even such indispens-
able replacement parts as plow
points. They could buy little new
machinery. They enter 1943 with
tools in worse shape than they were
in 1912. Gas rationing adds to their
tool troubles.
FARMS NEED LABOR POWER
The real farm shortage is in la
Dor power. 1t is estimated that
about five million men have left
the farms in the past two years.
Some have gone into the army,
some into war plants. The total
available for farm work under or
dinary conditions was not much
over IL million. Those gainfulIy oc-
cupied on farms are reported by
the census as just over 10 millions.
Here is an Illinois farm that
usually planted 1000 acres of
corn. 1t employed 10 men. Five
were drafted. Three went to war
plants. In the fall of 1912 half the
crop was lost because no labor was
available to harvest it and high
water ruined it. In 1943 the owner
expects to plant 400 to 500 acres
one fifth of his usual crop.
Here is New York dairy farm
on which 25 cattle are MIXED. The
farmer is getting on in years. He
keeps one man always and usually
two. For the last year he has been
without help. Recently he sold his
entire herd at auction.
MILK OR MEAT
Several members of the House
of Representatives enlivened one of
the first sittings of the present
congress by demanding action to
meet the sale of dairy cattle for
beef. One member waved an auc-
tion notice of a dairy herd sale,
told his hearers that it was high
class herd, and that many others
among his constituents had been
forced out of the dairy business in
the same way.
"You cry for milk and butter"
he said. "How do you propose to
get them if the milking herds are
slaughtered for beef?"
So serious has the situation be-
come than on Jan. 13 a federal
dairy animal conservation director
was appointed for Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Iowa and Missouri and au-
thorized to buy up dairy cattle of
fered for sale and hold them at |
government expense until they can
again be placed on dairy farms.
CRITICAL FOOD SITUATION
This is not the whole story.
Many farmers may not try to raise
crops for market in 1943. They
may produce their own food, do
The chores, sell enough eggs and
outter to pay the taxes and hope
Tor better days.
This is a safer procedure than
working IL or 15 hours a day to
get crops in the ground and then
having them rot in the fall be-
.ause of lack of labor to get
hem harvested.
In the old days when the ma
ority of Americans lived on farms
r. in villages shortages were Sc
'ious but not vital. There were al
ways farm animals and garden
rops to supply the basic needs.
943 is different story. More than
Ialf the population lives in towns
md cities. Their food supply is
hipped to them from the farms.
The farmer has been cut down
n his supply of both tools and
abor. Weather may be less fav-
rable this year than last. Unless
miracle is performed, the food
hortages of January, 1943, will be
Widespread and critical by next
inter.
WASHINGTON (FP) - The