The War on Rot: Kennewick's Fruit Crisis
As WWI labor shortages threaten the local harvest, an editorial demands federal intervention to preserve the region's fruit.
Governor Ernest Lister has warned that fruit waste in this state must be stopped—evaporators must be built. Any food conservation program which ignores the vast fruit tonnage of this state is an economic blunder. But who will build them? The fruit grower, already struggling with the labor shortage caused by boys going to the colors, cannot do it alone. If the government operates the railroads and cannot furnish transportation, it is up to the government to act on the alternative: preservation plants. Without immediate authority to save the crop, Congress will still be debating the question after the fruit has rotted under the trees.
“A flag in the button hole is all right, but blisters and callouses on the palm are the highest insignia of patriotism the home-stayer can wear.”
This 1917 editorial highlights the fragility of an export-dependent economy during global instability. Today, Kennewick's agricultural sector remains similarly vulnerable to labor fluctuations and supply chain disruptions, echoing the century-old struggle between small-scale production and national-level logistics.
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