Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 45, Number 309, 9 November 1920 — Page 24

PAGE TEN

Wayne County Farmers Increase ; Yield of Acres Despite Absence Of Sons in Service of Country

By WILLIAM R. SANBORN When the farmer's boy joined the colors, that step piled an added burden upon the father! It left much more work for those remaining at home to do. even in ordinary circumstances: but when the government demanded an increased acreage and more intensive cropping, the burden on aged shoulders gained additional weight. And it was not merely the added burden of work. There was the weight of loneliness; the load of anxiety; the wonder a3 to the end of it all. and if Sammy were sick or well in camp, and would he and all the rest of the boys of the neighborhood, return as they went? Think of Their Sons. And so, amid the pressing duties of the day, the hours of evening chores, and during the quiet minutes when the lamps were alight and the family could sit and talk and think, the welfare of the soldier boy was ever in mind and the vacant chair a constant reminder of the absent son and brother. Just so, too, in town and city homes, where there was life and moving crowds and something to see and to interest and soothe the troubled mind. But when the stars came out over thousands of farm homes, during those days of uncertainty and strife when two millions of our boys were over sea, who can sense the utter loneliness and the forebodings of the mothers whose sons were in the trenches, or on the ships, in ever-present danger, or who indeed might have already made the final sacrifice. Farmers Assume the Load. Owing to the demands caused by the war for almost two years before the American declaration, the farmer had been increasing his crops and live stock, so that when we finally acted it seemed as if he had already reached his limit of production. But not so. Prices of grain and live stock were advancing, our home demand was growing. We had been feeding the foreigners at the front and were now to have millions of our own soldiers to supply. Not only must the farmer redouble his efforts but every loot of ground possible must be cultivated; thus came the war gardens, a measure of thrift which promises to persist, and which was as much Sn evidence this year a when in 1917-18 we were stinting our own tables and conserving food for our allies overjicas. Call to Patriotic Duty. How clearly we all recall those early April clays in 1917. Congress was debating war measures on the- fourth, the date on which wheat at Chicago crossed the $2 line lor the first time in many years. On April fifth the International Institute or Agriculture at Rome sent out its report of a world deficiency of all grains. On that same evening Governor Goodrich of Indiana IrsiipiI a proclamation setting forth the need for increased food production, and the urgent need for its conservation here at home. The response to this message from the governor was the calling of a mass meeting for Saturday evening, April 7 at the high school auditorium. More than 400 farmers attended. Prof. Gilbert of Purdue was among the speakers, lie talked of increased acreage, of intensive cultivation, of present and. prospective needs for foodstuffs. An executive board to co-operate with the farmers was selected, of which Harry Macey of Hagerstown was chosen president. Charles W. Jordan, Joseph Helms. Walter McConaha and several other well known farmers and local citizens made up the membership. The auditorium was packed to the doors and the occasion was one ot ievensn excitement. Similar meetings were held in every county of the state, and later on throughout the entire country. Farmers Quickly Respond. The meeting at Richmond was duplicated in all the towns in the county, from time to time. Labor on the farm was being curtailed daily. The country boys were enlisting and in relatively as great numbers as in town and city. Wages were advancing everywhere. There were great encampments to be built; war vessels to be const ructd; ammunition to be provided, food to be grown and packed, millians of uniforms to be made and shoes without end were contracted for. Industry was booming, prices climbing and wages going higher from day to day, while laborers grew scarcer as the thousands quit farm and shop and office to carry the colors across. It was this condition of affairs which led the government to encourage and help the farmer to increase production by the guarantee of a minimum price for wheat, and later also of hogs. More food was needed and there were fewer available men to grow it. Also the cost of producing it was advancing daily; not merely as to hired help but as to the machinery of operation. Every article of use and wear was increasing in cost. Fertilizer took a jump, farm machinery had previously commenced to climb; in fact it is a matter of common experience that everything a farmer could use or needed made an upward swing. It cost so much more to pro--duce"anv and every crop, and there was such a pressing and world-wide demand that insisted on being satisfled and with less men to furnish the output, that the government acted to insure the greatest production possible. Guarantee Only on Two Articles. But remember that the farmer obtained but two guarantees as to minimum price at central markets, upon price at nome was udt-u .....v.. . . n.nt.l " Wheat ana nogs uuue " " t c ed. tattle, sneep, cum, none of these were included. It is also worth while to recall that ihe guaranteed minimum soon ceased to be effective for wheat and hogs brought an excess price in the open market most all of the time the regulation was in effect, and later on. For instance, May wheat in Chicago sold at $2.40 on April 19. 1917, months preceding the "guarantee, and one lay later Secretary Houston outlined ciis plan of food control. On April 23 Franklin township contributed five arm bovs to the colors and food clubs were instituted in every town in the ountv. Wheat sold at $2.80 in Chicago "on May 3. and the five cent loaf :aded from sight. Center township harvested i.ios 5,729 acres that fall. The acreage teres of wheat in 1917 and Plane sown to wheat was increased to 5,010 .n the fall of 1918. and this wa3 the.

THE

number of acres harvested" in 1919, less the percentage abandonedwhich was not large. ' , " - ' And now as to corn, the price of which was not guaranteed.' In 1917 Center township gathered 4,100 acres of this cereal and in the epring of 1919 planted 6,500 acres, as the township assessor's books show. There was also an increased acreage sown to oats and every hog possible was grown, although we . ourselves were doomed to many meatless days; which days were as carefully observed on the farms, as elsewhere. VVayne's Increased Production. We cite Center as an example and criterion of what was done, propora'tely, in all townships. There were 34,950 acres of wheat harvested in Wayne county in 1918 against 41,000 acres in 1919. The increase in our corn acreage showed, too, that much additional land had been broken up In 1918, in which year Wayne county devoted a total of 148,325 acres to our five principal crops: corn, oats, wheat, rye and tame hay. This acreage showed a gain of 16,725 acres as compared with the government crop census in 1910. Liberty Bonds and Red Cross That the farmers were liberal Investors in Liberty bonds, every country banker and postmaster proclaims. The farm children have their share of thrift stamps to this da, and only pressing need has tempted a farmer to sell a single bond. ' Indeed, as a Richmond banker tells us, farmers are still buying these bonds and every safety vault in town holds many of them for their farm friends. It is the universal testimony, too, that the great bulk of farmers everywhere donated their share, and often more, to the Red Cross, and every country church and community had its Red Cross section, anu a meetingplace where the women and girls of the farm homes "did their bit" toward ameliorating the woes of a warstricken world. Nor did the Armistice end it all. The fighting ceased, but there was still hunger and desolation in many lands. Today, two years later, there are still many hungry ones to be fed; many wounds to heal; many of the duties of the Ciood Samaritan to be performed. In all of this the American farmer has done and is continuing to do his part, and nowhere is this truer than of the farmers of Indiana, and of Wayne county. WAR GARDEN PLANS GF CITY'S SCHOOLS MODEL FOR NATION School children or this city made Richmond famous throughout the Cnited States in 1918, as the 100 percent' war garden town. In the spring ol'. 1917 the war garden movement was j started here, by Superintendent O. T. Giles. One year later every school i child in Richmond was working in a garden, an attainment enjoyed, so far as is known, by no other city in this country. Not only was the spirit and organization of service efficient, but the quantity of products raised was extremely great. Such attention was attracted by the children's market, which was held at the market house every Friday afternoon, that the Uniied States government asked for data on the successful operation of the venture. Purdue university sent W. E. Lommel, garden expert, to this city to investigate the children's plan of marketing; a direct outgrowth of the successful war gardening. In March 1917, local citizens realizing the necessity of producing more food, met for discussion in the rooms of the Commercial club. Scarcity of food was feared, and demand for concerted best action proved the main factor in bringing together this group. Employ E. F. Murphy. A decision was reached to employ E. F. Murphy to conduct a war garden campaign. Mr. Murphy began his work here in April 1917, as head of the civic war garden committee. His duties were to supervise the garden work through schools with the children, and give helpful aid and advise for work by adults During the first year there were ap-

proximately 1,200 gardens producing 1 to the value of gardening as a patriofood valued at close to $5,000. Wil-'tic effort of wartime and an undertakliam J. Bobbins, then mayor of Rich- ine worth while at all times.

niond, rendered valuable aid in furnishing teams and labor for plowing vacant lots, without expense to the gardener. In this manner 40 lots were placed iu workable condition. Plots of ground and lots growing nothing but weeds were offered to any one wishing to cultivate garden produce. Records show that 900 calls were received by the garden committee from persons requesting ground for gardens. Practically all of the people were supplied. About 1.010 telephoue calls were received from gardeners wishing information on garden cultivation. Some Amusing Incidents. Many people irno had never given a second thought to the ways and means by which they were supplied with food, resolved to help win the war by planting a war garden. The ignorance of some was amnsing, but the patriotic impulse which led them to the idea was noble. Records are still available of the man who having been told that potatoes had to be planted deep used a post hole digger. After three weeks, inquiries made by the man about the trouble with his garden, disclosed that he had planted them a foot deep. Another man hearing that dirt would put out the eyes of potatoes wrapped each one in tissue paper before planting. These facie are now on record, and form a part of the chapters that could be written of the earnestness with which local citizens entered unreservedly into the spirit of winning the war by war gardens. Civic Gardener Murphy estimated that there was about one garden in Richmond for every 10 people. So thick were they stuck in every corner of this city and suburbs, that he was unable at one time to find a vacant piece of ground five feet wide when he went in search of such a piece for a potato ridge. Credits for practical gardening were given by Garfield school to 20 of its pupils. Ground adjoining the school on the north was divided into 20 plats, and was cultivated by 20 students of the school, under Murphy's

RICHMOND 'PALLADIUM AND

supervision. Over 50 applications for these gaidens were received, but the space did not permit of such a large number. High school gave credits to about 220 of its students., So interested did school teachers become in the garden project that high school instructors organized a class to run for eight weeks, in which time they hoped to gain insight into the mysteries of "backyard gardening." This class met twice each week, and was conducted by E. F. Murphy. He also gave stereopticon lectures in the high school auditorium, showing gardens and garden work from points all over the United States. A logical outcome of the large amounts of produce raised by school children of Richmond, was the forming of a junior market. It became absolutely necessary to market the huge crops harvested, and this city was the first in this state to forsee the need of selling quantities of this garden truck in public, and prepare for it. Lincoln, Neb., was the only other city in the United States with, a school market. Wins National Recognition. Experts from Purdue university were so pleased with the success of the plan that after inspection they decided to inaugurate Junior markets in cities all over the state. Richmond won the national reputation of having more war gardens in proportion to its population, and the best method of marketing the results of its spring garden drive, then any other city in the country. Girls of the city schools attended each market with heaps of bakery goods for sale. Prizes given pupils of city schools for their displays at the market house on June 14, 1918, went to the following persons: Vegetable exhibit Miss Alice Lemon, first price, $1.50; Morris Green, second prize, $1.00; Tracy Evans, third prize, 75 cents; Elizabeth McCormick, fourth prize, 50 cents. Root crop Morris Cottingham, first prize, 75 cents; Earl Carr, second price, 50 cents, and John Jones, third price, 25 cents. Miscellaneous Martha Falmer, first prize, $1.00; Robert Hough, second prize 75 cents, and Bernice Spaulding, third prize, 50 cents. Fruit Merle Triistlethwaite. first prize, 50 cents, and Marion Hodgin, second prize, 5 cents. Yeast bread Alice Lemon, first prize. $1.50, and Elizabeth MeCormiek, second prize, $1.00. Quick bread Elizabeth MeCormiek, first prize, 75 cents, and Martha Plummer. second prize, 50 cents. Murtins -Edith Ficnning, first price, 75 cents, and Alice Klausmeycr, second prize, 50 cents. Cookies Gladys Simpson, first prize, 75 cents, and Iris Cook, second prize. 50 cents. Ca!e or gingerbread Martha Plummer, first prize, $1.50, and Alice Lemon, second prize, $1.00. While many of these prizes went to contestants showing baked goods, the whole display was the outcome of the drives and urgings in behalf of war gardens. Other Prize Offers. Prizes of $25 each from several local banks, offered to gardeners who produced the maximum from a given amount of space, anil the announcement of Albert 1. Gayle, president of the First National bank, and chairman of the Commercial club's committer to difpct gardening, that he would give $150 in prizes for the best city gardens, served as added stimulus to productive gardening. Of this Ward offered by Mr. Gayle, Mr. and Mrs. Charles. R. Stoddard, 731 South Seventh street, won the first prize, a beautiful slver loving cup. Silver and gold medals were purchased from the $15o fund, and awarded to manv local citizens. E. T. Firth. 21 South Sixteenth street, attracted much local attention when he exhibited a lettuce plant measuring four feet six inches in circumference, at a local store. It was a product of his war garden. For ground that could not be plowed by a team, a tractor was donated for use by the International Harvester company, and for small lots, a plowdonated by the McConaha company was used. Donates Five Acres. Walter Fulghum donated five acres of ground on his farm west of the city to be used by persons not able to "secure a lot. This ground was plowed for use by Mr. Fulghum, free of charge. The united spirit of Richmond was behind the war garden movement. As a factor in education the war garden and its successor, 'the victory garden, established themselves in a wav that will prove a permanent inI fluenco. in American life. Through the schools millions of children awakened They were taught that nature is a generous giver that requires only to be encouraged. They were impressed with the importance of food production and trained into an army of practical producers. The national benefit from such teaching and training were so farreaching in their effects that no doubt exists of the lasting force in engendered in the Jives of the future men and women of America. Two Aims Sounht. In the development of school gardeners, two ideas were given consideration. An immediate increase in food production went hand in hand with the educational value of the work. It was not expected, of course, that all school children would become immediate producers, but it was certain that the great volume of work undertaken in the schools would be of appreciable worth in swelling the total of wartime food production and of even greater importance in creating a vast army of future citizens trained to intelligent application of the principles of thrift, industry, service, patriotism, and reseponsibility. From the start the United States school garden army allied itself with the national war garden commission for the conduct of the work for which it had been organized. This affiliation covered not only food production through gardening but also the work of food conservation through home canning and drying. One of the first requisites of the newly formed army was that its membership should be reached with technical instructions so compiled as to be authoritative and so presented as to be easily understood. To accomplish this the United States school garden army utilized the publications of the national war garden commission. In response to official request, these were furnished by the commission in sufficient quantities for circulation among the schools of America. The commission's book, "War Vegetable Gardening," was made the standard book of instructions and it reach? e every school in the land, through J

SUN - TELEGRAM. - RICHMOND,

the machinery of the United States school garden army. In similar way the commission's book on canning and drying, was distributed and given official recognition in the educational world. Officials in charge of the war garden enterprises expressed their gratification at the success of the garden movement among the school children of America. The interest thus awakened and the practical knowledge thus acquired by the young gardeners, they regarded as one of the most important national benefits of the war, and one which will be ot. immeasurable worth in its influence oif. American citizenship. Violation of Belgium's Neutrality by Germany Belgium is so situated that its owner, if a powerful state, might endanger the safety of England, France, or Germany, and dominate the Rhine and the English Channel. Largely because of this a special treaty, signed April 19, 1839, by Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, as well as Belgium, guaranteed that Belgium should "form an independent and perpetually neutral state. . ft shall be bound to observe such neutrality toward all other states." - On Aug. 9, 1879, Prussia reaffirmed its "fixed determination to respect the neutrality of Belgium so long as the same shall be respected by France," and agreed with Great Britain "for the (joint) defense of the, same" in case it should be violated by France. Despite these guaranties Germany made military plans to attack France by way of Belgium, and after 1906 began to construct startegic railways to the Belgian frontier, and the fears of the Belgians as well as of the French were aroused. But the German chancellor, when questioned in the ReichI stag, reiterated Germany's determina tion to abide by her solemn promise, and positive assurances were given the Belgian government, as late as 1913, that Germany would respect the neutrality she had guaranteed.

V

Richmond An Assurance of

LND TUESDAY, NOV. 9, 1920.

Food Conservation Women Learn Hoover , said, "Food will .- win the War" and in no time plans were under way to organize food conservation in every state. Not one but all women, in every part of the country, responded to the call to conserve and, backed by the thoroughness and efficiency of the American woman, the movement was pushed ahead until it became one of the most conspicuous factors in the fight for victory. If the war had lasted longer the worth and efficiency of the organization would have been more fully revealed. In. Indiana Dr. H. E. Barnard, federal food administrator, was at the head of the movement. The first divisions under him were the county councils of defense. Miss M. E. B. Calbertson was chairman of the woman's ection of the Wayne county council of defense. Conservation Work. Among other branches under the council of defense were the conservation divisions. The food clubs were one of the outstanding organizations. They were entirely an Indiana movement originated by Dr. Barnard. Miss Elsie Marshall, chairman of food administration for Wayne county, had charge of the formation of the food clubs in this county. This, however, did not mark the beginning of the conservation drive. A thorough canvass which did not miss a single home in Wayne county was made with pledge cards to sign and window cards. Miss Nina Short, home demonstration agent for Wayne county, assisted by Miss Elsie Marshall, Miss Bertha Larsh, and Miss Electa Henley, gave intructions and canning demonstrations throughout the county and dis

icto'ry

Two years ago our Brave Boys were crowned victors by peace This year we join in celebration for the Boys, Living and Dead, who fought so bravely for us

BREAD

Was a big factor in

BUTTER KRUST BREAD .

Are big factors as food in this peacetime Your Favorite Grocer Has Both of These Breads

Necessary; to Use Substitutes

tributed the leaflets sent out from Indianapolis. Then the food clubs were organized. There were between 20 and 30 clubs started, one in ecah of the 15 townships, 8 in Wayne township, and many in the city wards. Each club had its chairman and helpers. Demonstrations in cooking and canning were given to the club and women were instructed in the use of substitutes and recipes distributed to them. One of the most famed of the war recipes was the "Marshall bread" which was acclaimed "the only digestible war bread." Mrs. Elbert Walker Shirk wa vice chairman of the food clubs and a splendid organizer and tireless worker. Three of the clubs, one of them a colored club, are still in existence under different names. Throughout the war women learned how to use substitutes so that wheat could be saved and shipped abroad for the use of the soldiers. All the time the newspapers were publishing illustrated canning instructions and recipes which taught how to conserve and can the much needed foodstuffs. Enough could never be said for the' part played by the school teachers in the conservation program. Through-, out the county they taught conserva- j lion to rne cniiaren ana gave demonstrations in cooking and canning besides offering every encouragement in the war garden movement. Increase Production. i Food conservation alone was not enough in itself but there had to be increased food production as well. Mrs. D. W. Scott, chairman of Food Production headed the work in Wayne county. As in all other drives, the women in the townships responded wonderfully to the call for increased food production. Hoeing clubs were

nd Peace

helping win the war

and GOLDEN CREAM BREAD

Bakin Quaity and Purity

organized which did much to relievemen from the fields and help other women with their gardens. Gardens were started in town and In the country on a larger scale than ever before. Even the children had gardens. So -much foodstuff never was produced before in Wayne county. There was a call for sorghum and farmers raised sorghum in such large quantities that several mills were put up for grinding the cane. Food production supplemented the work of the food clubs and home economics in that it instructed the women in the raising of the products which they were instructed in- canning, consent ing and substituting. Poultry and bees we're also raised in larger quantities under the direction of the food production division. While a great deal of gardening was done in town the burden of food production fell upon the women of the township. The work was greatly assisted by the 14-minute women who made speeches in behalf of conservation and production than on any other subjects. C. E. Hutchens, one of the six state food inspectors under Dr. Barnard said that Wayne county was one of the first and one of the best organized of all the counties which was a tribute paid not to Wayne county but to the women.

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