D <2>35 H5 UC-NRLF B H D7T D31 The Department of Agriculture believes that the problems discussed herein should receive the earnest consideration of American business men THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE During the War and After Discussion of the Nation's Most Vital Industry, by D. F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture; R. A. Pearson, Assistant Secretary; and Clarence Ousley, Assistant Secretary UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Washington, D. C. 5> w THE NEXT GREAT FACTOR to enlist for the betterment of Agri- culture and rural life int his Nation is the business man of the town and the city. He has not always been alive to his obligations. He has con- tented himself, in too many instances, with plans to secure profit in agri- cultural trade, instead of sympathetically and eagerly planning constructive assistance. This duty, pressing in peace time, is of the most urgent and impelling character in this crisis; and I appeal to the bankers and business men to see that they omit no effort to familiarize themselves with the agencies serving to aid the farmers and to promote wise plans to secure; the necessary results. D. F. HOUSTON, Secretary of Agriculture. IN THE INTEREST of our national development at all times and in the interest of war efficiency j ust now our agriculture must be well maintained. It should be remembered that the agricultural unit is a small unit. There are six million farms in this country, each an individual unit. It is tc the interest of persons who do not five on farms, even more than to the interest of those who do five on farms, that production shall be kepi, up. This means that all people, not farmers alone, but those who five in cities as well as the farmers, are interested in experimental and educationa activities along agricultural fines as conducted by the Federal Governmen' and the States. These efforts should be liberally supported. R. A. PEARSON, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture IN A TIME LIKE THIS no man has a moral right, whatever his fortune may be, to employ another man to render any service of mere comfor or convenience, when the finest young men of the United States are b France digging ditches, sawing lumber, laying rails, and playing wit! death, and when the finest young women of the United States are scrubbing floors in hospitals, and it is a sin that almost approaches the unpardonabh offense against civilization for any man or woman in the United States t< engage in a wasteful or unnecessary service. CLARENCE OUSLEY, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture CJaih tib H"' • Q^1. The Farmers' Achievements | /VV: s»'\ An address by David F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture, before the State Convention of the Iowa Bankers' Association, Dubuque, Iowa, June 20, 1918 I AM GLAD of this opportunity to express the Nation's appreciation of the patriotism and efficiency of the farmers of Iowa and of the whole country. The efforts and achieve- ments of the millions of farm men and women have been noble and remarkable. The farmers have occupied the first-line First-line trenches of the food army. They and the agencies assisting T , re ^ che f °^ them, the Federal Department, the State colleges and de- Army° partments of agriculture, were prepared when we entered the war and had been for years, and I venture the assertion that no section of our people and no agencies have done a better job. But they are not spectacular performers — they never are. They do not furnish sensations and headlines. They have no fixed labor day. They work in season and out of season — from early morning till dusk; but they do not work in the limelight. They are not in the view of people living in cities, the centers of intense publicity. Urban dwellers ordinarily devote very little thought to rural districts an to sources of food supply. Heretofore they have not had to think much about food. If it is abundant, as it usually is, they take it for granted. If it becomes scarce, they develop hysteria and an amazing capacity for making sugges- tions. Within the last year, city people have manifested an intense interest in food, and, not knowing their Government, some of them have developed the highly interesting proposal that some Government agency should be created to give atten- tion to production. They have seen windows placarded and papers filled with pleas for conservation, for investments in Liberty Bonds, and for subscriptions to the Red Cross. They have wondered why they have not seen similar evidence of activity in the field of production. They do not know of the thousands of men and women quietly working in every rural community of the Nation and the millions of bulletins and circulars dealing with the problems from hundreds of angles. They forget that the field of work lies outside the city. They do not recognize that both the problem and the method are different. It is one thing to ask a man to save. It is one thing to ask a man to invest in Liberty Bonds. These things tremendously aid the Nation; but they are also a certain benefit to the individual. It is another thing to ask a man to put his labor and capital into the production of food, facing the hazard of the weather, of distribution, and of the 2060* THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE Laws Encouraging Agriculture Federal Agents at Work market. Advice to him to do so is one thing, assistance to him to lessen his hazard is another, and such assistance is famished bo qufctjv that a great part of the Nation knows mothing of it and innocently assumes that nothing is done. When we entered the great war, the Nation had a high state of preparedness in its agricultural organization, whose foundations were laid in another great crisis, resting on two laws signed by Abraham Lincoln, the one creating the De- partment of Agriculture, the other the land-grant colleges. It is not extravagant to say that this Nation had agencies working for the betterment of rural life and agriculture which in point of personnel and effectiveness exceeded those of any other three nations in the world combined. It had more. It had legislation bearing on agriculture, much of which had been recently passed, which is without a parallel abroad. I refer especially to the Federal reserve act, with its pro- visions to facilitate the handling of agricultural paper, the Smith-Lever demonstration act, the cotton futures, the grain standards, the warehouse, the farm loan, and the Federal aid road acts. In April, 1917, the food situation of the Nation was not satisfactory. The time for action was short. It was neces- sary that nothing be omitted to increase the supply of food, feed, live stock, and clothing, and to grow strong in agricul- ture, while Europe, and especially the Central Powers, were growing weak. The machinery was ready. The farmers and their organizations were alert. The Department and its great Allies, the land-grant colleges, immediately proceeded to redirect their activities and to put forth all their energies in the most promising directions.^ In a conference of the agricultural leaders of the Nation in St. Louis, called just before we entered the war, a program for further organiza- tion, legislation and action with reference to production, conservation, and marketing was drawn up, the principal features of which have been enacted into law without sub- stantial change, or have been put into effect. In due course, the Congress enacted the food control bill, conceived at this conference, now administered by the Food Administration, and the emergency food production act, administered by the Department of Agriculture. With funds made available by the latter act, the Department increased its activities along all essential lines and developed new ones. It, and the State colleges cooperating with it, quickly took steps to expand the extension work, with a view to place in each rural county one or more agents. To-day there are employed in this great system nearly 6,000 county and home-demonstration agents, club leaders, and specialists in various lines. These agents have not only actively campaigned for increased production along economic lines and carried to the farmer the latest and HOUSTON: THE FARMERS' ACHIEVEMENTS 5 best scientific and practical information, but they have also been of tremendous assistance to other branches of the GcYera- ment, such as the Treasury Department in ife Liberty Loan campaigns, the Food Administration in its conservation efforts, and the Red Cross in its war activities. . It'.woaki require a volume to indicate the thousands of things which the Department, in cooperation with its Allies, is doing. It is stimulating production. It is increasingly controlling plant and animal diseases, reducing losses from the cattle tick, hog cholera, predatory animals, and cereal pests. In co- operation with the Department of Labor, it is rendering assistance to the farmers in securing labor. It has safe- guarded seed stocks and secured and distributed good seeds to farmers for cash at the lowest possible cost; aided in trans- porting stock from drought-stricken regions; greatly assisted in the marketing of farm products; and, under enormous difficulties, has helped the farmers to secure a larger supply of fertilizers. It has also placed under license and control the ammonia industry, the fertilizer industry, the farm machinery manufacturers and distributors, and is now de- veloping plans for the regulation of the stock yards. The Department and the Food Administration have through- out recognized the natural interest of producers in the agri- cultural policies of the Government. They have omitted no opportunity to consult producers. They have held many sectional conferences. They have formed a National Farmers' Sought Advisory Committee, consisting of able representatives from p^^f rg all the sections of the Union. The chairman of the Executive Committee, who is also chairman of the National Com- mittee, will reside in Washington to be in touch with the Department and the Food Administration and to serve also in the machinery of the War Industries Board. In this way he, and through him the members of the committee and the producers of the Union, will have a very direct opportunity to see the problems, to take part in discussions of measures under contemplation, and to assist in arriving at wise con- clusions. The results of last year's agricultural operations speak for themselves. That the farmers are primarily responsible for them and deserve the credit goes without saying; but it would be unfair not to recognize the great assistance rendered by the Federal and State departments and colleges and the tremendous part they have played in bringing about better food conditions for this Nation and for the Allies. In spite of difficulties, real and imaginary, the farmers of the Nation, with the assistance of these agencies, extended their opera- tions, planted 23,000,000 acres more of the leading food crops than in 1916, a larger acreage than ever before planted in the history of the Nation, and produced record crops of most THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE Crop Prospects Ground for Optimism products except wheat. The partial failure of this crop was in no wise due, to Jack of interest or activity on the part of the farmers. TVy planted a large acreage but had the mis- fo'-tuiv to lose by winter killing the largest percentage of it <\nle#,, as /they also had the misfortune to have the largest percentage of soft corn in our history. These things were done notwithstanding the insistent representations — or rather misrepresentations — made in Washington and else- where that they could not be done. Even more striking is the fact that they greatly increased the number of all classes of live stock. In spite of exportations of horses and mules, they increased the number by 454,000. They increased the number of milch cows by 390,000 and of other cattle by nearly 2,000,000; the number of sheep for the first time in a genera- tion and a half, by 1 ,300,000; and of swine by nearly 4,000,000. The indications to date are that they will do even better this year. Last fall they planted the record winter wheat acreage; this spring the record spring wheat acreage. The weather conditions have been increasingly favorable and the indications are that we shall have more than 930,000,000 bushels of wheat. This, on the basis of a normal and ex- travagant consumption, would allow 600,000,000 bushels for domestic use and an exportable surplus of 330,000,000 bushels. But this is not all. The indications are that the rye produc- tion will exceed that of the record year by 21,000,000, more than double the output in peace times; that the production of barley will be increased by 26,000,000; and that oats will approximately equal the record crop of 1917, exceeding the five-year average by over 300,000,000 bushels. The con- dition of the cotton crop exceeds the ten-year average, as does also that of all hay and pastures. It is too early to speak of the corn crop, but the informal indications are that the acreage will be large, and we have reason to believe the quality of the corn will be by no means as low as last year. These statements furnish ground for optimism and for confidence among our people and our Allies that we shall not suffer from lack of food and that we shall not fail to win the war because of its shortage. They should be reassuring to consumers and a matter of encouragement to farmers that they can again overcome difficulties. I need not point out to bankers the large bearing of this enormous production on the foundations and machinery of finance and credit. In normal times, the annual contribution of the farms to the financial strength of the Nation has run as high as thirteen and a half billion dollars. On the basis of prices existing in 1917, the output was estimated to be worth twenty-one billions of dollars, a sum equal to the total appropriations and authoriza- tions made by the war session of Congress. On the same basis, it is highly likely that this year's value will be even Laborers HOUSTON: THE FARMERS' ACHIEVEMENTS 7 greater. It is exceedingly important that these things be seen in the right light. While they represent an enormous increase in value, they do not imply a proportionate increase in volume of commodities. And it would be highly un- fortunate if any one were to regard the promise for the future as any warrant whatever for relaxation of efforts both for greater production and for fuller conservation. There will be continuing need for large supplies of food, clothing and feed products, not only for our own population but also for the Allies; and there is every reasonable indication that the conditions will result in fair prices to the farmers whether war continues or peace comes. For even if peace should come, stricken Europe will for a time look to this country not only for large supplies of food but will especially seek here large numbers of live stock with which to replenish their depleted herds. These statements mean another thing. They mean diffi- culties of harvesting. They imply the need of large numbers of laborers. The Nation must see to it that the labor and Needed capital invested in planting and cultivation shall not be im- paired or wasted from lack of labor for harvesting. There is a duty in this direction resting upon the town and city, resting upon you and all other business men. You repre- sent for the most part communities which are made by the back country — which would not exist but for agricultural support. It is both a matter of patriotism and business for you to omit no effort to help in the matter of labor supply. I have stated before, and I say again, that the next great factor to enlist for the betterment of agriculture and rural life in this Nation is the business man of the town and the city. He has not always been alive to his obligations. He has contented himself, in too many instances, with plans to secure profit in agricultural trade instead of sympathetically and eagerly planning constructive assistance. This duty, pressing in peace time, is of the most urgent and impelling character in this crisis; and I appeal to the bankers and business men of Iowa to see that they omit no effort to famil- iarize themselves with the agencies serving to aid the farmers and to promote wise plans to secure the necessary results. I am sure that the bankers of Iowa have not been negligent in this matter. Obviously, we must labor unceasingly to produce and to save, and each individual must recognize the pressing obliga- tion resting upon him. There is no other way by which w e M m i the enormous financial burdens of this war can be met. It is Pay as We a simple fact that the burden of waging this war must be borne by this Nation as it proceeds. This is a simple truth but it is not an obvious one. Centuries of unsound tradi- tions and many delusions obscure it. There is a singular 8 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE misapprehension that, by resorting to loans, the burden of waging war can, to that extent, be shifted to future genera- tions. If this were true, there would be no definable limit to the extent and variety of war the present generation could wage. The commodities needed for waging war must be had and paid for at the time. The iron, the steel, the coal, the clothing, the shoes, the lumber, the ammunition, the guns, and the ships secured by the Government are used and destroyed at the time, and, for the most part, can not later be enjoyed. At the end of the war the Nation will have paid for them. Borrowing shifts nothing but a credit obligation and entails a burden of restitution and readjustment. A credit relation is set up and an obligation on the part of all is incurred to pay back with interest the wealth the Nation has borrowed, with all the resulting difficulties and irritations. If it be true that the burden of war is actually borne at the time, then it follows that the capacity of a nation to wage war is measured by its ability to maintain production and especially to save, to abstain from consumption of anything that can be avoided, especially of luxuries, and to stop waste. As I see it, if loans were made exclusively from savings, except for the subsequent difficulties of reimbursement, it would be relatively unimportant whether the control of wealth were secured through loans or taxes. But these are T W o large provisos. Loans are not always provided from savings Arguments and we can not escape the necessity for subsequent adjust- for Loans me nt. As I see it, there are only two really plausible argu- ments for resorting mainly to loans, one a psychological argument that the people will not appreciate the necessity for the war and be impatient or resentful of sacrifices imposed by taxes; the other, a physical one, that it is difficult in time to devise an equitable tax measure, to administer it effectively, and to secure revenue promptly. But obviously this argu- ment has diminishing force as war proceeds. Taxes have the obvious advantage over loans that they more directly enforce economy and obviate the necessity of readjustment. Taxa- tion, therefore, especially on consumption, more particu- larly on luxuries, and also on excessive profits, not only tend to saving, to check investment in nonessential directions, but also to keep down the general level of prices, and to lessen the financial obligations of the Nation. I am convinced that the people of the Nation are willing to pay the necessary taxes, and that the financiers of the People Nation recognize the necessity of sound finance. We have Willing been fortunate to date. In the field of finance, as in the field of agriculture, we entered the war in a state of preparedness. Who among you can estimate at its real value the Federal Reserve law and the creation of its machinery in advance of HOUSTON: THE FARMERS' ACHIEVEMENTS 9 the breaking out of this world conflict? The Nation's finan- cial arrangement had never previously been able to withstand strain either in peace or war; but now, after four years of world financial strain and more than a year of special national strain, such as no financier dreamed it possible for the world to bear, through the wise handling of the machinery of the system and the patriotic cooperation of the bankers, our finances are still sound and we are proceeding in orderly fashion. No greater contribution to the winning of this war has been or will be made than through the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 and the successful establishment of the system well in advance of trouble. That we have the physical resources to win this war I entertain no doubt. That we have them in larger measure than any other nation in the world is a matter of common knowledge. We have not fully realized the enormous power of the country. If, in the 60's, when we were a simple, crude, undeveloped Nation, doing things in a small way, with the question yet undetermined whether we were to be one nation or two, we could wage the mightiest war up to that time and issue from it with unrivaled power, what can we not do today, with a united people and with immeasurably greater resources, if our spirit is right and our purpose is steadfast! There can be no slacking on the part of anybody. If the free, democratic, law-abiding nations, like Great Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium, are destroyed, if Prussian mili- tarism is permitted to dominate, then the Anglo-Saxon fight for free institutions and liberty, persisting from Runny mede to Yorktown, its fight against the absolute right of kings and barons, with its Magna Charta, its Bill of Rights, its Declara- tion of Independence, and the heroic fight of the French, of the Italians, of the Belgians and of other free peoples for liberty, will have been made in vain. There is and can be only one thought uppermost in our minds today, and that is to win this war. The conflict is a test of the spirit of nations even more than of their material resources and strength. In the words of the Archbishop of York, "Force will fail unless there is moral conviction behind the Nation," and every individual proclaims, "Here I stand; I can do no other. So help me God." I shall not offend your intelligence by entering into a detailed exposition of the issues confronting us. Still we can not too often concentrate attention upon them; for it is true, as some one has said, that the last word on the theory NatiorCs of war is that the strength of the nation in battle is measured Strength by the hold which causes and purposes of the war have on the minds and the hearts of the people. You know the story of the violation of our rights, the sinking of merchant ships, the murder of innocent men, women, and 10 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE children, the spying and intrigue in our midst, the destruction of our ships, the broken pledges, and the assault on all human- ity and civilization. You know how long and patiently the President labored to keep this Nation at peace and to preserve its neutrality. You do not need to be reminded of the bitter criticism to which he was subjected at home and abroad. Such patience and forbearance have never before been ex- hibited by the head of any great state. You know that he yielded only when failure to act would have meant the sacri- fice of every principle which the American people hold sacred and for which they have always been willing to fight, and would have involved the submission of this great Nation to the dictation of an arrogant power. We fight a nation which knows no law, except its own law of necessity made in Prussia, exclusively interpreted by her, and to be changed by her at will. It was this law of necessity that Germany invoked when she established her illegal war zone and began her career of murder on the high seas. Be- cause England possessed a mighty fleet and was using it in conventional ways to prevent supplies from reaching her foe, Germany adopted her nefarious submarine policy and arro- gantly based it on her law of necessity. It was necessary for Germany to get at France. France did not desire war. She was in her most pacific mood and TM ngs „ unprepared; but, when Germany challenged her to know to Germany whether she would keep her faith with Russia or not, France replied that a treaty with her was a sacred thing, and that she would keep her word and preserve her honor. To get at France Germany decided that it was "necessary" that she should go through Belgium. She brutally informed Belgium that, if she was hospitable, she would recompense her and guarantee her possessions, but, if she resisted, she would regard her as an enemy. Little Belgium replied that she was a Nation and not a military highway. Great Britain had asked both France and Germany what their intentions were with reference to Belgium. France replied that she had pledged her faith and that, of course, she would keep her word. Germany temporized. Finally the British Ambassador at Berlin was instructed to secure a definite answer by midnight. On the fourth of August, he saw the minister for foreign affairs, who stated that German troops that morning had entered Belgium, that they had to advance by the quickest and easiest way so that they could get ahead of their enemy and strike a decisive blow. The southern line had too many roads and too many strong fortresses. Rapidity of action was the great German asset. It was "necessary" for her to go through Belgium. It was a matter of life and death. To get at great France, she must destroy little Belgium and murder her women and children. HOUSTON: THE FARMERS' ACHIEVEMENTS 11 The English Ambassador remarked that this was very serious and he would see the Chancellor. The Chancellor was excited, and harangued the Ambassador for twenty minutes, saying that England's action was terrible to a degree. Just for a word, "neutrality," just for a scrap of paper, Great Britain was going to make war on a kindred nation. He held Great Britain responsible for all the terrible events that might happen. Nothing in history is finer than the reply of the British Ambassador. "If for strategical reasons it was a matter of life and death for Germany to advance through Belgium, violate her solemn pledge and the latter 's neutrality, so it R eS pectfor was a matter of life and death for the honour of Great Britain International that she should keep her solemn engagements." "But at Engagements what a price!" exclaimed the Chancellor. "The fear of consequences," the Englishman replied, "could scarcely be regarded as an excuse for breaking solemn engagements." The German Chancellor, in his speech before the Reichstag the same day, admitted that this was contrary to the dictates of international law, but asserted that "it was necessary" to ride ovei the legitimate interests of the governments of Luxemburg and Belgium. We are fighting a power which has an insane desire for domination and knows only one royal road to expansion and domination, the way of might. Germany entertains the stupid notion that it is necessary for her happiness and prosperity to dominate peoples of the earth by military conquest. From the earliest time, the guiding principle of Prussia's politics has been to stand ready at all times with overwhelming force to secure increased territory by violence and intrigue. Her first great application of this principle was made in 1740. Before the death of his overlord, the Emperor of Austria, the Great Frederick, so-called, solemnly pledged himself to observe the right of succession of Maria Theresa, and to con- firm her in her possessions. On the death of the Emperor, in 1740, Frederick promptly gave Maria Theresa assurance of support, having in his mind at the very moment to commit a crime against her. Suddenly moving his army against her Province of Silesia, after eight years of desperate warfare, he appropriated it. Prussia's next considerable piece of robbery was in 1864. She induced Austria to join her in taking from Denmark Schleswig and Holstein. She then turned upon Austria, seized her part of the booty, and, in addition, annexed four p russ i a ' s of her considerable possessions. The Prussian parliament Next still had some conscience left and protested that force was R° ober y not a sufficient justification for what had been done to Den- mark. Bismarck replied: "Our right is the right of the German nation to exist, to breathe, and to unite." His 12 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE law was the law of necessity. Her last successful "bandit stunt" was the appropriation of Alsace-Lorraine; and now she is engaged on a much more ambitious undertaking. Is it any wonder that her writers hold that the lessons of history confirm the view that wars which have been deliberately pro- voked by far-seeing statesmen have had the happiest results? Is it surprising that the German Emperor asserts that the sword is his best protection, that a great army is the corner- stone of his well-being, and that war is a positive good? Prussia believes that war pays. It is her induction from her history. The world must teach her that it will no longer pay, and that her career as a bandit is ended. It is now engaged in this difficult business. We fight a power with an archaic, out-of-date, medieval state of mind. Its people placidly accept the doctrine that their rulers reign by divine right, that God is a German god, not that they are on His side, but that He is on their side, Ow and that the German people are God's chosen people. Note Medieval ^\ s utterance of an ordained German minister, quoted by Secretary Lansing: "It may sound proud, my friends, but we are conscious that it is also in all humbleness that we say it; the German soul is God's soul; it shall and will rule over mankind." Or this, the recent address of the Kaiser to his troops: "Remember that the German people are the chosen of God. On me, the German Emperor, the Spirit of God has descended. I am His sword, His weapon, and His vice- regent. Woe to the disobedient and death to cowards and unbelievers." What blasphemy! The Spirit of God de- scending on the spirit of the man who decorates naval com- manders responsible for the drowning of hundreds of women and children! The Spirit of God descending on the spirit of the man whose military commanders sanction the mutilation of children and the rape of women in Belgium, France, Serbia, and Poland! Here we still see medievalism stupidly strutting before the offended eyes of men and of God ! And so it is that, in its final analysis, the great issue is that between medievalism and modernism, between the Prussian rule of necessity and might and the rule of right, between the arbitrary rule of whim and the serene rule of law. We people of the modern world had thought that we had made an end to such things and freed ourselves from them forever; that England had given the finishing touch to the rule of divine right and of whim when she cut off the head of the Stuart; and that France had done the same when, two centuries later, she acted in similar drastic fashion. But we had been blind to the realities of central Europe and had failed to take note of the fact that modern means of transportation and electricity had made the western world of our day much smaller than the Thirteen HOUSTON: THE FARMERS' ACHIEVEMENTS 13 Colonies were more than a hundred years ago when they proclaimed their independence. It was from this feudal-minded, vain, insolent, and arrogant power, from the military overlords of Prussia, that the orders came in February, 1917, to us, to 100,000,000 of the freest Orte^io people in the world. These orders were the final expression of America Prussian whim: "Keep your people at home," they com- manded. "Tie up all your ships except one. Stripe it as I dictate; let it sail on the day I fix; send it to the port I desig- nate. Tell your manufacturers to keep their products in their warehouses. Let your surplus foodstuffs go to waste. Tell your farmers to keep their millions of bales of cotton, their grain, and their meat at home till I order otherwise. Set aside international law and accept my law of necessity till I crush the great modern free states of Europe. Stand by till I finish with them and then maybe I will attend to you. Although our spies are operating among your people, in Mexico, Japan, and elsewhere, even while you give hospi- tality to our ambassador, and although our agents are de- stroying yom plants and our submarines are killing your citizens, stand aside. These are my orders." What would we do about it? What answer would we make? What answer was there except one? Life is precious; but not at the sacrifice of everything that makes it worth while. National peace is desirable; but not at the cost of everything that makes a nation worth saving. No man worthy of the name of American citizen in such a situation could fail to exclaim with Patrick Henry, "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." What would Washington have said? And Jefferson, and Samuel Adams, and Andrew Jackson? What Lincoln, and Davis? Grant and Lee? Sherman and Stonewall Jackson? What Albert Sidney Johnson, Stuart, Sheridan, Meade, Thomas, Wheeler, Hancock, and hosts of others who died that the Nation might live? What did you say then? What do you say now? For my part, I would rather see this Nation gloriously fail fighting for freedom with great England, heroic France, Italy, and Belgium and to see it pass from the pages of history than to see it survive in the greatest ease and luxury submissive in any respect to the dictation of Germany. We have discovered that there is truth in Jefferson's assertion that the Tree of Liberty is a tender plant and that, as it grows from more to more, it has to be watered by the blood of patriots. We have discovered that independence in this world is not a thing which can for all time be secured by what is done at a given place on a particular day. We have 14 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE The Way to Victory Those Who Spread Class Conscious- ness learned that the process of civilizing the world and of sub- jecting the disorderly to the rule of law is a slow one. There must be another Fourth of July for all the world, and we are now in the midst of making it good. But I verily believe that, when we this time set the world free from Germany, its independence will not again be seriously menaced; for Ger- many is its last great foe. We are now engaged in this task. Will we complete it? Can we stand the test? One thing is clear. The way through this grim business is the only way out. There can be no turn- ing back, no faltering, no hesitation. This war will not be won by a miracle or by enchantment. The quickest way to win it, the cheapest way, if you please, is to put into the struggle every ounce of our will, intelligence, and power as quickly as possible where it will be most effective. It will not be won by soap-box orators or professional pacifists. If such people could win a war against the Germans, the Russians would have been in Berlin long ago. It will not be won by irresponsible critics. It will not be won by misrepresentations based on ignorance or partisan- ship, or inspired by the mischievous. There are many of these among us. It will not be possible to Bolshevikize the people of this Nation, but there are many who are valiantly engaged in the attempt. It is the duty of good citizens to keep their heads, to de- mand of such critics their evidence, and to place the burden of proof not upon conscientious public servants of all shades of opinion who are serving the Nation, but upon these ignorant and mischievous persons who greatly hamper public business and are endangering the lives of thousands of your boys. This war will not be won by those people of confused minds who profess to see nothing in our life and institutions dif- ferent from what they find in medieval countries of Europe. They deceive themselves by phrases, and have never caught the meaning of the American spirit and institutions. No greater duty rests upon the leaders of thought than that of bringing home to all the people of the Nation the real meaning of our institutions and life. They must be taught that ours is a Government of law and of majorities; that every good cause has its day in court; but that, if they can not convert a majority to their way of thinking, they will not be permitted to achieve their ends by violence. This war will not be won by those who spread the doctrine of class consciousness, promote the theory of class struggle, and who really mean to secure the dominance of their class. Their plans will not prevail. The Nation has not been working in vain for centuries to destroy class rule, to develop a common consciousness and a government by all the people. Government by classes and class interest is passing from the HOUSTON: THE FARMERS' ACHIEVEMENTS 15 earth. It is the German plan and it is the antithesis of democracy, as President Butler observed. The American people will have none of it. We have undertaken the biggest task of our lives. Our work is cut out for us. We must see it through to a successful end. We must let nothing divert us. But, as order and organization increasingly develop, as our mighty energies are overwhelmingly directed against the foe, we must give thought to the binding up of the "Nation's wounds" and to the tasks of reconstruction. This the Government has begun to do. We must, in advance, for example, plan the demobilization of our forces, the conservation and disposition of Government property, the redirection of industry, the adjustment of land and water transportation, the safeguarding of labor standards, and the rearrangement of our finances. There will be many difficulties and dangers. There will be thousands of people burdening themselves with the tasks. This is one of the advantages of democracy. It is also one of its difficulties. There wiH be many futile proposals — some of them very selfish. What is needed is a clear analysis of the situation, a keen sense of direction, and a large patriotic view. It will be an aid if our people will realize that the problems can not be dealt with largely in terms of European experience, and will bear in mind American conditions, which, in great measure, will be different and peculiar. There are those who, in view of some existing tendencies and practices, predict a permanent radical change in our institutions and habits — the disappearance of individualism and the wholesale substitution of State socialism, or even Mark communism. There are always people who violate Mark Twain's Twain's best maxim: "Never get more out of an experience axim than there is in it." I wish every citizen would frame it. Mark Twain illustrates the maxim, saying: "A cat that has sat on a hot stove lid will never sit on a hot stove lid again; but the trouble with the cat is that, thereafter, it will not even sit on a cold stove lid." There are many people like the cat. Doubtless many good things will come out of this situation. There will be large, permanent useful deposits. But human nature can not be entirely revolutionized. Civil- ization grows slowly "from more to more." The process is, as Tennyson expresses it, "by slow prudence, to make mild a rugged people, and through soft degrees subdue them to the useful and the good." There have been other great crises in the world's history. In Cromwell's time, the English people reached a high degree of regulation, and thought they had fixed their institutions in somewhat perfect democratic molds. But the reaction came. The principal thing which remained was the overthrow of divine rights and arbitrary rule and the firm beginnings of responsible government. So 16 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE also, France, in 1790, thought she had reached a degree of democratic perfection which, in fact, she has only approxi- mated after more than a century. In the struggle now before us, we aim at nothing selfish. We are bent on demonstrating that militarism does not pay; and that nations can not longer seek to dominate the world by force. We are embarked on the enterprise of teaching the lesson that it is not necessary to a nation's welfare and happiness that it seek to acquire such domination by might, and that the only really worthy national ambition is to have a clean national household from cellar to attic. We are determined to teach the lesson that law must rule among nations as among individuals and to establish guarantees for future peace and the prevention of a recurrence of such a calamity as this. We shall not fail. We are aligned with the free forces of the world and have back of us the conscience of civilization. I agree with the Archbishop of York that, in the ultimate analysis, there must be some power that can change the World Not hearts of the German people which alone can make them fit Going associates for free and self-governing peoples. This German plan of world empire will collapse as have other similar plans. It is not the first time that it has been tried. The Persians tried it and were halted at Marathon and Salamis. Alexander attempted it and did not even get back home. Rome sought it and was finally overwhelmed by barbarians. Napoleon played for the same stake and ended his days at St. Helena. The Kaiser in his time will learn his lesson. This old world is not going backward. It is not going the way of the Kaiser. It is going the way of Clemenceau, Lloyd George, and Woodrow Wilson. War Agriculture An Address by Raymond A. Pearson, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, at the Annual Convention of the National Wholesale Grocers' Asso- ciation at Cleveland, Ohio, June 12, 1918 THIS is a "Conservation Convention," but if you have a slo- gan I am sure it is that this shall be a win-the-war con- vention. I can not think otherwise of you gentlemen, and of your association, because I know something of your prompt- ness in offering to cooperate with the Government when we entered the war, and I know something of what you have done since, including voluntary financial sacrifices. My information has come from some of your members with whom I am acquainted, but more particularly from occa- sional conferences with your president, Mr. Whitmarsh, whose unselfish and loyal service as an individual, as presi- dent of your organization, and one of the chief officers of the Food Administration, is worthy of high commendation. Also I have read your bulletin, which is full of valuable in- formation and bristles with patriotism and reflects credit upon your secretary, Mr. Beckmann. Some day the things that have happened and are now happening will be shown up to all of us in parallel columns and then we shall have time to give more attention to and evidence more appreciation of those who have come to the front and fought for their country both in and out of the military service. There will be parallel columns telling why the different countries entered the war. Why Differ- In the case of Germany it will be selfishness first, arrogance ^Countries second, conceit third, and avarice fourth. In the case of France it will be self-defense first and defense of ideals second. In the case of Great Britain it will be honor first and defense of principles second. In the case of the United States it will be defense of ideals first and self-defense second. Another set of parallel columns will show methods of warfare. It will give such items as this: A German sub- marine stops the Belgian Prince, a defenseless boat, and orders her crew to come aboard the submarine, throw off their life preservers, and stand helpless as the submarine speeds through the water, gradually submerging while one after another of the helpless sailors is washed away. As compared with this, there will stand the record of an American fighting ship which captured a German submarine, took the crew 17 Honor List 18 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE aboard, some of whom were even rescued from the water where they had found themselves because of their own treach- ery, fed them, clothed them, and delivered them to safety. Another set of parallel columns will show what is done in captured territory. In the German column we shall have accounts of the most atrocious cruelties as compared with decency and kindness shown by the Allies and this country. It is too early to predict what will be in the parallel column showing the accomplishments of the war, but we are all confidently hoping it will show that Germany gets what she richly deserves — that she recognizes she is not the sole and directing partner of the Almighty, and that she will do well to rule such part of the world as the United States and the Allies will permit. As compared with this our chief hope is that our country may continue to prosper along the lines laid down by our grandfathers, and that our ideals of liberty and justice shall become even more widely and more firmly established here and, in fact, throughout the whole world. Farmers' But hard work, great sacrifices, and bitter suffering must h^L°",-^ be accepted willingly if the end we seek is to be realized. When the history is written, individuals and associations that have loyally helped throughout should be duly recog- nized. On the honor fist of these, besides the name of your association and others, I believe that the farmers of this country also will have a prominent place. Their problem is exceedingly difficult. I am here to tell you something of it and to suggest ways in which further cooperation between agriculture and business interests, your own business par- ticularly, may be developed. About half the people in this country are classified as rural and depend intimately upon agriculture. The other half depend upon agriculture to a greater extent than many of them realize. It would be interesting to show how our country is steadily developing along industrial and non- agricultural lines, with the growth of many large cities — now about 125 having a population over 50,000 — with their peculiar problems. These developments have occurred with little thought that they are limited by developments in agriculture. If one man can produce only as much as his own family must eat, then each man must be a farmer. But, thanks to our good soil, our organizing ability, and our in- ventive genius, the average farmer produces more than his family needs. Therefore every second family may be classed as nonrural or urban. Those who have been engaged in agriculture for the past 25 years have seen vast changes in their business. In 1895 corn sold as low as 25 cents per bushel; each bushel leaving the farm carried 17 cents worth of plant food or soil fertility. PEARSON: WAR AGRICULTURE 19 About the same time wheat sold at 52% cents for a bushel, and each bushel leaving the farm carried away 23 cents worth of plant food. Oats sold at 163^ cents a bushel, with each bushel carrying 10)^ cents worth of plant food. Hay sold at $8 per ton, with $5 worth of plant food in each ton. An enormous number of farmers in our country were then living by reason of the fact that they were able to steal fertility from their lands. They were using their capital for main- tenance expenses. No one knew these things better than the best farmers themselves. We did not then hear of business men, bankers, and railroad men talking of the ad- vantages of farming and advising their sons to go into that kind of work. On the contrary, the most promising sons of farmers were advised and helped to get away from the farm into law or business or medicine or anything respectable that would pay. To a large extent respectability depended on the pay. At that time there was much complaint because of over- production in agriculture and correspondingly low prices. Statistics were compiled to show, for example, that farmers did better with their corn crop, receiving much more per bushel and a larger total, when the yield was 20 bushels or less per acre than when it was, say, 28 bushels per acre. The market situation was such that unusually large crops could not well be disposed of. This may become an im- portant matter in our agriculture almost any year. For example, a certain crop in a certain State recently amounted to 18 million bushels, worth about $1.20 per bushel, or a total of 22 million dollars. In an earlier year it was 30 million bushels, worth 40 cents per bushel, or a total of 12 million dollars. It is easily seen why overproduction was feared and why it might be disastrous. During that time the educational efforts in the field of agriculture were largely along the line of more economical production. Another period in agriculture began 10 to 15 years ago, when it was found that our surplus of agricultural prod- ucts was rapidly approaching the vanishing point. Our population was increasing faster than food production. James J. Hill was one of the first to see this, and he prophesied that the Nation would go to bed hungry within 20 years if the development of agriculture did not receive better atten- tion. Prices of agricultural products increased somewhat. This gave new hope to farmers. Agriculture was looked upon with more favor and sons of farmers decided to stay in the business, and young men raised in cities looked upon agricul- ture as their future occupation with as much favor as law, business, medicine, or manufacturing. Everyone seemed to appreciate the importance of agriculture, whether engaged in it or not — it was a 100 per cent proposition! Farmers im- Changes in Agriculture A New Period in Agriculture 20 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE proved their methods. They were able to get better ma- chinery and to repair their buildings. During this period there was rapid development in the field of agricultural education and experimentation. Many problems were solved, and a vast amount of knowledge was made avail- able. About 25 years ago a friend of mine went to a State university to get all the information he could about dairy- ing. He got all that was offered in four lectures. To-day he could hardly get it in four years. At the close of the Civil War a young man returned to the college he was attending when he enlisted and with the determination to get all the science offered. He got it in three months. To-day he could not get it in 30 years. One of the greatest instruments for improving agriculture during these years was the Federal Department of Agriculture, with its experts on every phase of agriculture, its close touch and cooperation with agricultural colleges in all the States, and its great number of publications. But the old surplus was not restored. Our population was increasing too rapidly. The excess value of our agri- cultural exports over our agricultural imports was about 450 million dollars per year 18 years ago. It was about 350 million dollars 8 years ago. It was about 300 million dollars 6 years ago. In 1914 the value of our agricultural exports exceeded the value of our agricultural imports by only 207 million dollars. In 1915, with the war demand from Europe, the difference was 600 million dollars, but in 1916 it fell to 370 million dollars. In 1917, with our stimulation of pro- duction and conservation, it was about 575 million dollars, about the same as in 1901. Between 1900 and 1915 our production of meats per capita of population fell from 248 pounds to 212 pounds, and at the same time the production of milk per capita of population How Meat fell from 95.6 gallons to 75.5 gallons. Meat and dairy prod- and Milk uctg f urn j sn about 37 per cent of the food used on the Ameri- can table. In the same period cereals, supplying 31 per cent of our food, declined from 43.9 bushels to 40.2 bushels per capita of population. Of course, we had to save ourselves by cutting down our exports. In 1900 we were exporting about 500,000 live cattle per year. In 1914 the number was 18,000, and in 1915 less than 6,000. Fresh beef exported annually at the beginning of the century amounted to about 300 million pounds per year. In 1914 it was less than 7 million pounds. The war demand increased the amount to 230 million pounds in 1916, but there was a falling off to about 200 million pounds in 1917. The total exports of beef and beef products, fresh, canned, cured, oleo oil, etc., was more than 700 million pounds in 1901, but only 151 million pounds in 1914, and, with the European war demand, the Declined PEARSON: WAR AGRICULTURE 21 largest annual exports have amounted to only 457 million pounds up to and including 1917. The estimated total for 1918 is 502 million pounds, which is less than any year from 1901 to 1908. We are making a great effort now to export pork products, but our record in 1916 shows the same quantity exported as in 19Q1, namely, 1,462 million pounds. Between these two years the exports of total pork products fell as low as 707 million pounds in 1910. The estimated total for 1918 is 1,504 million pounds. Cheese exports now also are greatly stimulated because of the food situation in the countries of the Allies, but the amount exported in 1917 was practically the same as our average exports 25 years ago — 66 million pounds. Less than half as much will go out in this year, 1918. Four years ago the cheese exports were less than 3 million pounds. Our heavy imports of cheese have greatly decreased. As to wheat and flour, these exports also have fallen greatly. In 1917, with the sacrifice which we made during the first three months we were in the war, we exported only as much as we sent out in 1903, 203 million bushels of wheat (including flour reduced to wheat). In this year, 1918, we will send out only about 132 million bushels (and about 30 million bushels of this will have been imported) . Five times between 1901 and 1917 our wheat exports (including flour) fell below 100 million bushels, and one year it was below 50 million bushels. With our record-breaking crop and the strong de- mands from Europe, we exported 333 million bushels in 1915, but the exports fell to 243 million bushels in 1916, and to 204 million in 1917. Exports of corn (including corn meal) also have fallen off greatly. In 1900 they were about 200 million bushels, in 1910 about 50 million bushels, the same in 1915, 40 million bushels in 1916, and 66 million bushels in 1917. We have now entered a third period in agriculture which was formally recognized 14 months ago when we entered the war. We were facing a crisis in agriculture at the time. It is a period of increasing production to meet war demands. The need of increasing food production has been strongly empha- sized for three purposes: To help feed our Allies, to provide for our increased population, and to meet the increased demands for food which come with increasing industrial activities throughout this country. Food production in the countries of the allies is greatly decreased. In France the total cereal production has been reduced nearly 50 per cent, cattle have been reduced 16 per cent, sheep 35 per cent, and hogs 40 per cent. Meat con- sumption in France is reduced 36 per cent, with three meatless days per week. There are many restrictions on the diet. Our Wheal Exports War Production 22 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE Dangers of Food Shortage What this Nation is Doing State Colleges and Federal Department The French High Commissioner tells us that in France they may make ice cream, but they may not put in it sugar, cream, or flour. In Great Britain strenuous efforts are being made to sustain the food supply, but there to a large extent, as in France to a less extent, they have always depended upon imports of food, and the imports are interfered with seriously. The United Kingdom produces about d l /i million tons of grain and im- ports 10^2 million tons; total requirements are about 17 million tons. A large part of this is consumed by animals which produce milk and meat, but serious attention is being given to the suggestion that the number of animals must be severely reduced so as to make the food they consume avail- able for people. We are reminded of what happened in Russia when the food supply became short and how a shortage of food affected the surrender of Roumania and the collapse of a wing of the Italian army. Those of us who are engaged in food production and food manipulation and handling may well believe that "food will win the war" and guide ourselves accordingly. Three days after Congress declared a state of war existed between Germany and this Nation, the Secretary of Agriculture presided over a conference in St. Louis where questions relat- ing to food production were carefully considered and policies were formulated. This conference and a similar but smaller one in California were attended by agricultural leaders from all the States. The recommendations of this conference have been supported in the main by congressional action, including emergency appropriations. The farmers have responded splendidly. During the year 1917 live stock of all kinds increased in number. The number of acres of six leading food crops was increased from 202 million in 1916 to 226 million in 1917, 12 per cent, while the production of these same crops in- creased from 5 billion to 6 billion bushels, 20 per cent. Farm- ers made this record, which apparently they are maintaining and exceeding in the present year, in spite of many difficulties. The cost of labor increased in some sections 100 per cent. They found it difficult to secure fertilizers. There was a shortage of good seed. There was a shortage of transporta- tion, having the effect of a serious overproduction of certain crops. These difficulties have been handled vigorously by farmers themselves. They have been assisted from different sources, including especially State colleges of agriculture and the Federal Department of Agriculture. Steps have been taken to find all unemployed labor and put it to work. The Federal Seed Stocks Committee is doing a vast work in finding the PEARSON: WAR AGRICULTURE 23 best seed possible and making it available where it is most needed at cost prices. More complete information than ever before is being given to farmers concerning agricultural production along special lines in different parts of the country. Never in our history have there been waged more campaigns against destructive diseases and insects affecting both animals and plants. Better methods of production are being encour- aged in every way possible. There is now located in practically every agricultural county of the country an expert known as a county agricultural agent or a demonstration agent, whose business it is to advise farmers. In many counties a similar woman agent is serving in the interest of food production and conservation in which women are interested. The situation demands of the farmers of the country four things in particular in reference to production: 1. To maintain and strengthen good methods of farming. WhatFarm- This is to assure as large or larger production next year and e £ s , f. D in later years as may be required. 2. To produce as much as possible of the food and feed needed in the locality where it is to be used. This is to relieve transportation. 3. To produce a surplus of exportable grains. This is for the benefit of the Allies. 4. To avoid producing more of perishable products than can be cared for. This is to prevent unnecessary losses. Your help is needed in several ways. First. There should be an active campaign in every busi- Cooperation ness community to find men employed in stores, offices, and %h .ien p . , ill i • j- i jP armers and manufacturing pfants who have been trained in farm work Business and who can be spared to assist on the farms during the peak Men of the load. In harvest season in some sections of the country almost every able-bodied man who is not in military service should be on the farm. The additional food that one addi- tional helper may save is an important item to ourselves and the Allies. Second. In some sections the assistance of business men is needed to help the public to see that some increased prices of agricultural products— eggs, for instance — are legitimate. Because of misunderstanding there have been boycotts and much harm has resulted. Third. Wholesale grocers through their own efforts and their correspondents can accomplish much toward inducing the public to consume food produced at home or near by. It is just as unreasonable for canned peas to be shipped both ways across the country as for coal to be so shipped. The cross hauling of food products should be reduced to the lowest possible amount. We are making good progress in eating 24 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE Standards Simplify Food Production Workers Behind the Scenes things produced in the locality, but much more needs to be done along this line. Also farmers need to be encouraged to produce more articles that can be consumed in their locality. This relates particularly to sections which are habitually importing food products that they can raise as well as not. Fourth. Particularly the public should be encouraged to use food products that are both good and cheap. At the present time this includes dairy products. The dairy in- dustry has suffered severely because of the reduced consump- tion of milk and milk products. When the dairy industry suffers agriculture suffers, and in the end this means a smaller production of field crops, and, therefore, higher prices for them. Last spring the grocers of this country, under the leadership of President Whitmarsh and Mr. Lichty, gave much assistance in encouraging the larger use of potatoes, which were very abundant and cheap. Another spring, similar action may be needed to help dispose of some other crop, and thus we will save the less perishable products to be stored or exported. Fifth. With the extension of recognized standards for food products, the whole subject of food production and de- livery is being simplified and stabilized. I do not refer to legal standards so much as to commercial standards. The time should come when distributors of food may deal more directly with producers through the aid of established stand- ards, and thus eliminate some expensive handling and sort- ing that seems to be unavoidable at the present time. Sixth. In the interest of our national development at all times and in the interest of war efficiency just now, our agri- culture must be well maintained. It should be remembered that the agricultural unit is a small unit. There are six million farms in this country, each an individual unit. It is to the interest of persons who do not live on farms, even more than to the interest of those who do live on farms, that production shall be kept up. This means that all people, not farmers alone, but those who live in cities as well as the farmers, are interested in experimental and educational activities along agricultural lines as conducted by the Federal Government and the States. These efforts should be liberally supported. Losses amounting to millions of dollars, which must come indirectly from the pockets of the public, can be greatly re- duced oftentimes by trifling expenditures. This thought is sufficiently well recognized by many public men, editors, and statesmen, but it needs to be impressed upon others. In conclusion I want to say that the work of farmers and the work of wholesale grocers in this war is alike, in that the better it is done the less attention it will attract — there is nothing spectacular about it; we are workers behind the scenes. PEARSON: WAR AGRICULTURE 25 And let me say that farmers desire to cooperate with you not only in the ways I have indicated, and which relate to agricultural work, but also in similar ways relating to the welfare of your own industry in so far as this contributes to the national welfare. If there are questions on which they need to be better informed, the information should be suit- ably arranged and given to them through some of the many channels of communication that are available. We have just read in the newspapers that the King of We Must Austria wrote to the King of Roumania that this is a time jfnnti when kings should stick together. A true statement. We want them to stick together in all cases where they stand against humanity and justice — and to fall together. We know that their fate rests with our own Nation. If the great principles we now uphold are to endure, we too must stick together — our Army and Navy, wholesale grocers, farmers, laborers, and all loyal groups and individuals, which should include the whole Nation. We must sympathize with each other and help each other and uphold our leaders. Then the years we have enjoyed as an independent people, the tears that have been shed, and the blood that has been spilled, shall not have been in vain. Together War Banking and Farming Saying "Boo" to Germany An Un- precedented Task An address by Clarence Ousley, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, before the Virginia Bankers' Association at Old Point Comfort, Va., June 21, 1918. A YEAR AGO business men were sounding the slogan "Business as usual," by which they expressed the hope that the greatest war in history could be conducted without serious interruption of business. There were those who seemed to think that in some mysterious way the Government or the Congress or the President or the Army and Navy, or some power at Washington, could destroy the mightiest war machine ever constructed with only slight increases of taxes, with no change in daily habit, with no diminution of peace-time profits, with no inconvenience in living, and with the loss of only a few of the more adventurous youths who were willing to give their bodies for the glory of adventure. A large num- ber of our people entertained the rather confident hope that by lending the Allies a little money, supplying them with food, and making a military display on this side the Germans would be frightened into submission. Indeed, some were so conceited as to imagine that all that was necessary to end the war was for the mighty United States to say "Boo!" Thoughtful men now realize how vain were such expecta- tions. Far-seeing men believe that we have just begun to fight, and wise men realize that the only safe policy is for us to assume that the struggle will be long and bitter. It is vain to ask how long the war will last, for such questioning tempts us to guess, and when we go to guessing our self-in- terest causes us to guess the best and so to take some chance in effort or sacrifice. All that we know is that we must win, and we actually invite disaster if we do not proceed every day and every hour to lay all that we have at the feet of the Government, for unless we win we will have nothing that is worth keeping. In view of what has happened during the last few weeks, the man who now falters or hesitates or grum- bles is a sorry grouch or a dangerous gambler or a contempti- ble coward or a hateful profiteer, or he is a fool and should not be at large. We now know, what we were a long time in realizing, that if we permit England, France, Italy, and Bel- gium to succumb the final contest will be ours alone. The task that confronts us is as different from anything we ever contemplated or prepared for, as the midnight of bar- barism differs from the noonday of civilization. Indeed, we are called back from the twentieth century to the dark ages — and farther, for we are battling with purposes as bold as 26 OUSLEY: WAR BANKING AND FARMING 27 the Egyptian and the Babylonian conquests and as unblush- ing as black piracy, and we are at grips with lusts as primal as the passions of the cave men. Germany's reversion to the savage type was not more surprising than it would be if to- morrow morning a group of the most powerful, best devel- oped, and most enterprising States of this Union were to rise up with gun and torch and begin to burn and kill with the fixed purpose of seizing all our possessions and enslaving the entire population. Only a maniac could have conceived such an enterprise, and only a brutish nature would have attempted it, but unhappily so large a number of the German people are infected with the mania and the brutishness that they are moving with an almost irresistible momentum as an insensate and hypnotized host under the will of a cabal that for 50 years has planned the conquest of the world. It would be unthinkable if it were not a fact. It is a deadly challenge to the free peoples of the earth, and they must submit or they must roll back the murdering, ravaging hordes, and with one mighty blow shatter forever the idol of autocracy which shames the intelligence and mocks the morality of its wor- shipers. But it is no easy task. It may take years and it will take many lives and much treasure, but without victory treasure is trash and life is bondage. Bad as all war is, this war is so bad, so wicked, and so vast that we must begin to think about it in elemental concepts. It is the breaking up of the foundations of the great deep of customary thought and habit; it is chaos come again. It is of"war not to be reckoned in terms and figures which ordinarily ex- press values, possessions, and resources. We can not compute its cost in terms of capital and credit, for, if we attempt that, we will despair at its very hugeness. We must think of it in terms of men, guns, metal, powder, food, and raiment, and we must resolve to endure as long as we can make the earth produce food and raiment, and when we think in such terms we will realize that with our Allies we have more resources than the Central Powers can command, that we can endure for unnumbered years, and therefore that we will win or that we will drag the German beast with us in death to the judg- ment bar of God. I have no responsibility for military activities, and have no knowledge of military plans, beyond what any intelligent citizen can gather from official statements and newspaper publications, but it is worth saying that the United States is meeting the war issue in a manner creditable to the patriot- ism and to the efficiency of our people. The pessimists have been too gloomy and the optimists have been too hopeful. Between these two extremes the Government and the great Moving body of the people are moving steadily and surely in the ^ iea dily mobilization of a victorious army, navy, and other military victory factors. Within twelve months we multiplied our military Materials 28 THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE equipment tenfold. There is not an industry or an individual in the world who could have done so much in the expansion of a private undertaking. There is not a bank in the United States or a factory or a store that in 12 months could have expanded its activities by 10 times in buildings, stock, equip- ment, expert management, and skilled labor. But after all, our greatest achievement to war ends has been agricultural production. There has been more or less diffi- culty, with occasional breakdown, in mining, in manufactur- ing, and in transportation, due to the sudden and severe strain of war upon normal equipment, but there has been no break- down in agriculture. It seems providential that a little more than half a century ago the Congress of the United States created the Department of Agriculture, and a system of land- grant colleges for teaching agriculture, mechanic arts, and military science. The succeeding acts, multiplying their functions, increasing their funds, and correlating them into one great cooperative educational agency, constitute a body of statesmanship less spectacular but more fruitful of human comfort, and happily more potential in the present crisis, than any single or collective body of statesmanship in the history of the Republic, or possibly in the history of the race. No nation, except Germany, was prepared for the war that broke in 1914, and no department of the American Govern- ment was prepared at the moment of our entrance into the Great Work war except the Department of Agriculture, because the De-