Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 September 1917 — STATE COUNCIL OF DEFENSE [ARTICLE]

STATE COUNCIL OF DEFENSE

Will Endeavor to Place the State on a War Footing. Indianapolis, Sejrtenrber 25. — Every county in the state will be visited this week by a squad of four representative business and professional' men. who have placed patriotism first |n their daily program for the four days, beginning today. They will check up the activities of county conucils to date, and arrange that omissions be supplied without delay, in order that Indiana, may carry her share of the burden of successfully prosecuting the war - with Germany. ..More than 100 were present as volunteers for ,the work, ready to give their time gratuitously and pav their own expenses, at the state house September 20 when the teams were organized and the schedule of meetings and assignments worked out. ' The team to visit Jasper county will be composed of L. C. Embree of Princeton, Edgar ? Durre of Evansville, Frederick Feick of Garrett , and John S, Buczhowski of South Bend, and the meeting willbe held at the Jasper county court house at 2 o’clock p. pi. dn Friday, September 28. E. P. Honan —ofßensselaer is a member of one of the teams and with Thomas H. Adams of Vincennes, C. A. Bookwaiter of Indianapolis and C. N. Neizer of Fort Wayne will make the cities of Au- ( burn, Angola, Lagrange and AlChambers of commerce secretaries of the state will solicit comfort fund amount to |2 for

every soldier that has entered federal service from Indiana. Each county will be asked to contribute prorata. The plan was proposed by John Northway of Columbus, president of the secretaries’ state association and indorsed by the state council of defense, which authorized Mr. Northway and his organization to proceed with the execution of their plan. The United States military authorities also approve the idea and ih? Indiana men in the ranks are thus.'assured of many comforts that might not otherwise be available. Asa J. Smith of Wabash will visit the .high schools of Indiana in cities of 16.0C0 or more population, explaining to instructors and pupils the significance and purpose of the United States Boys’ Working Reserve. Mr. Smith’s employment for this work was on the recommendation of Isaac D. Straus, federal state director. The reserve has the sympathetic support and co-op-eration of the Indiana school authorities who have designed every public school building a place of enrollment. Prof. G. I. Christie of the committee on food production and conservation will employ fifteen agents for a period of eight weeks in an effort to locate and secure Indiana's share of the bushels of seed corn wanted for the 1918 crop by the United States Depart ment of Agriculture. Mr. Christie also is promoting the formation of better live stock clubs, in co-opera-tion with the banks of the state, and is meeting with much encouragenient.

Announcement was made at the meeting of the appointment of Prof. W. S; Bittner of Indiana university as. a member of the council's food committee.- succeeding Prof. Frank Stockton, who resigned because of leaving the state. Prof. Bittner is connected with the department of economics in the university faculty. Dairy farmers have appealed to the state -council for assistance in maintaining their herds against the increasing cost of feed and the high prices offered for beef cattle, and the food production and conservation committee will endeavor to work out ab solution of their probjlem. < I Other state councils will be asked !to consider the resolutions adopted by the Indiana Council of Defense, ! exempting dental students from I conscj-iptiop and rendering them i eligible to eommissions in the reserve corps, on motion of Charles Fox. author of the resolution, A committee will endeavor to prevent unfair discrimination between railroad mines and mines supplying the public, in the equitable distribution of coal cars. It was charged that mines supplying railroad demands have cars six days a week, while others get but half that service. Organizations that assisted in the first campaign to enroll women of the state in the Hoover food organization will be maintained in order that they may help in the big drive that begins October 14. Dr. Harry E. Barnard, Hoover representative in Indiana, reports Indiana fifth among

the states in the total of returns, but that the Indiana showing K at that was far from satisfactory. The campaign of education amopg the women, by means of which it is intended to convince them that the economies contemplated are not for their own direct, personal benefit, but in order that there may be accumulated a surplus of foodstuffs for shipment to our allies abroad, will, be continued in an intensive manner. Dr. Barnard says. Approval of the new ' text-book bn voluntary War measures, was given by the Indiana state boa r d of education September 21. The board will publish and distribute 35,000 of the books, the study of which, becomes mandatory in high schools.