four inches long and eight inches in diameter were projected at the throwing of an electric switch so that a veritable rainfall of them would come hurtling down upon the enemy a mile or more away. The manufacture of such projectors as well as of the trench mortars of various kinds, became one of the most important phases of the tremendous task of the Department of Munitions.

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CHAPTER XXIV

FIGHTING THE WAR ON AMERICAN FARMS

O factor was more vital in winning the World War for American democracy than the American farm. Long before the United States entered the war, it was recognized throughout the world that food would win the war. Without American wheat, corn, livestock and other foodstuffs the British, French, Belgian and Italian Armies would have succumbed. The civilian populations of these nations would have demanded peace upon any terms.

It was the administrative genius of an American, Herbert C. Hoover, that led the food army of America in this world crisis. Calm in the midst of panics, with a foresight and judgment that commanded the admiration of the civilized world, he marshalled the forces of food production, food conservation and food distribution in an array that supplied the fighting and civilian elements struggling against German autocracy until victory crowned the gigantic effort.

Back of Hoover rallied American farmers, farmers' wives and farmers' children, with a loyalty and an energy unparalleled in any time and any clime. Responsive to every suggestion, they were as truly a part of democracy's army as the soldiers who fought in the front line. Their loyalty was sanctified by the presence of their sons and their neighbors' sons upon the battlefields of France. The world owes a debt to the American farmer, a debt that future generations will freely acknowledge.

On August 10, 1917, the Congress of the United States passed the Food and Fuel Control Act. The Provision of the Act outlining its scope reads as follows:

That by reason of the existence of a state of war it is essential to the national security and defense, for the successful prosecution of the war, and for the support and maintenance of the army and navy, to secure an adequate supply and equitable distribution, and to facilitate the move

ment of foods, feeds, fuel, including fuel oil and natural gas, and fertilizer and fertilizer ingredients, tools, utensils, implements, machinery and equipment required for the actual production of foods, feeds, and fuel, hereafter in this Act called necessaries; to prevent, locally or generally, scarcity, monopolization, hoarding, injurious speculation, manipulations and private controls, affecting such supply, distribution, and movement; and to establish and maintain governmental control of such necessaries during the war. For such purposes the instrumentalities, means, methods, powers, authorities, duties, obligations and prohibitions, hereinafter set forth, are created, established, conferred and prescribed. The President is authorized to make such regulations and issue such orders as are essential effectively to carry out the provisions of this Act.

The method by which this law undertook to control food and fuel was by the establishment of a system of licenses. By the control of licenses of dealers and by acting as a purchasing agent of food supplies it found itself possessed of great power. When America entered the war the most urgent need was not men and munitions but food and ships. America itself was already suffering from the scarcity of food, but it now became necessary to supply food, not only to itself but to its allies.

A serious situation was presented. The American food situation had become serious before the war began. Food production had not kept pace with the growth of the population. Indeed, the relative volume of agricultural industry had been steadily declining and the export of foodstuffs decreasing for many years. The main cause of this was the tendency of Americans to abandon agriculture and concentrate in cities. This naturally led to a shortage of farm labor.

When the war began the movement from the farm to the city was accelerated by the high wages offered by munition manufacturers. Indeed, in portions of the country one could see the abandoned farms. Prices were steadily growing higher. The shortage of labor and the high prices led many farmers to kill and sell their stock, even their breeding stock, and while our exports of foodstuffs increased about the beginning of the year 1917, our granaries and larders were barer than they had been for many years. To some extent also middlemen and speculators added to the danger by imposing upon the consumers unreasonably high prices.

In Europe the able-bodied men among the Allies were on

A U. S. Signal Corps officer experimenting with telephone apparatus left behind by the enemy in his hurried retreat from the St. Mihiel sector; Essey, Meurthe et Moselle, September 19, 1918.

THE FAMOUS HINDENBURG LINE FROM THE AIR

A remarkable aerial photograph of this noted stronghold which can be seen zigzagging off into the distance.

U.S. Official Photograph.

This line of defenses with its reserve and communication trenches clearly to be seen in the rear, heavily armed and fortified, was considered impregnable by the Germans until it was smashed by the Allies in the great final offensive which ended the war.