Benton County Calls for Conscription of Labor
A wartime committee resolves to force 'able-bodied' unemployed men into the harvest fields as part of the broader national effort.
The Central War-Food Committee of Benton County has issued a resolution targeting men who 'term themselves to be laborers, but who are not.' Citing the need to eliminate those who 'loaf and live off their fellow laborers,' the committee resolved that all unemployed, able-bodied men be conscripted and put to work to meet the nation's needs during the crisis. Additionally, the committee urged citizens to show their loyalty by purchasing war bonds bearing 3.5% interest.
“all unemployed, able bodied men be conscripted and put to work, where they will be made to produce a share of our nation’s needs.”
This reflects the intense civic pressure placed on individual autonomy during WWI, where labor shortages were framed as moral failures. The language of 'loafers' and 'conscription' for agricultural work mirrors contemporary debates about labor policy and the expectation of productivity during economic crises.
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