The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 28, 1918, Page 8

e ] SNSRI S R ok LA o e ” “ that unless this big new step is taken, “hay brought from South America. ‘calamities’ for American farmers. The Need and Precedent for Baer’s B1ll Sections of the United States Where Food Production Is Menaced Through Drought—What Australia Did Under Similar Conditions 3 BY A. B. GILBERT HE farmer in almost every section of the United States lives under the fear that his crop, or maybe his whole farm investment, will disappear through some adverse condi- tion. In one section it is frost; in another exces- sive cold; in another plant and animal pests; in another drought. In addition to the unfair market control; in addition to the exactments of the money lenders, in addition to what might be called normal stock and crop losses the American farmer must expect every few years an abnormal loss of one kind or another. He must meet these losses single handed, for our scheme of politics and business life has been such that no general steps can be taken to help the farmer out of such calamities. These calamities are general—that is they are not due to poor individual farming. They consti- tute a state and national loss while the only actual solution we have is: “Let the banker foreclose at a frac- tion of the real value. What becomes of the farmer is a matter of no special importance.” A measure bhefore the lower house of congress—the Baer bill—provides for the appropriation of $50,000,000 as a special aid to farmers who have suf- fered from crop calamities this last season. Why is it needed? " Because in the last year thousands of good American farmers have suffered total or nearly total losses, and our methods of farm financing are so miserable these thousands of farmers will turn their properties over to the bankers and seek other employment. All that these farmers need is an extension of credit on good security, sufficient to finance operations for the coming vear. Just at this time we need every farmer on the land. (The government is even excusing men from the draft that they may remain on the farm.) For in spite of all we can do, next year’s food supply is going to be short. Credit extension to the needy farmers will yield handsome returns to the na- tion., This is true at any time, but war conditions make it so obvious that few can fail to see it. A many sections are in dire straits, and as yet we have done nothing to aid these sections. Coming at a time when even farming sections suffering only normal losses are hard hit by the high cost of farming supplies and by manipulated markets, the conditions in the affected sections are almost beyond belief. In not less than four different, sec- tions, special assistance of some kind is necessary. If you have a map of Texas, glance over it from Dickens county in the Northwestern part to Galves- ton on the Gulf. The eye covers an immense tract of territory, for Texas is larger than the German Empire or France. One hundred and nine counties on either side of this line from northwest to south- east are stricken with drought. Except for little THE ROOTS OF ALL EVIL farm operations. Thousands of them have herds to carry over without a spear ‘of hay on their own lands. A wide-awake farmer writing from Andes, Montana; on December 20 last says: “In fact every man who can, even by sacrificing to the uttermost, get enough to.get away. on, {s leaving. Within a four-mile square in my vicinity 12 men have gone or are preparing to go, to work at anything but farming. On every side are sales, leases—anything to get away. The best on every side’ are leaving.” These sales and foreclosures and farmers leav- ing for other employments in this great wheat territory, will put a serious crimp in the nation’s food supply next year, unless the government acts quickly to stay the destructive pro- cess. Kansas and Nebraska lost heavily on winter wheat, but “heavily” is too mild a word—they were practically cleaned out of this crop. Kansas planted 9,000,000 acres and abandoned two-thirds; Nebraska put 2,985,000 acres to winter wheat and lost .four- fifths. Colorado planted 9,000,000 acres to winter wheat and lost 50 per cent. In cost of planting alone ($6 per acre) the farm losses in these states were: - Kansas $36,000,000 Nebraska $14,032,000 Colorado $27,000,000 Nearly all this abandoned wheat land was plowed in the spring and put to other crops—chiefly corn. In the fall, the corn was damaged by early frost. A conservative estimate places the Kansas corn loss this year at $135,000,000. On corn and winter wheat alone, therefore, the Kansas farmers have lost $171,000,000. THE CORN SITUATION IS A SERIOUS ONE The corn acreage this year has been unusual, and the government estimate of over 3,000,000,000 -bushels looks prosperous, but as the following table shows, in 12 important states the aver- age of good corn is less than 60 per cent. Maturity of 1917 Corn Crop At Time of Killing Frost WHAT AUSTRALIA DID Matardd shisi MUK TO ASSIST FARMERS State per cent per cent percent ‘Ohio .66 30 15 In 1914 a large part of the best Indiana 55 27 18 farming district of Australia was hit Illinois 48 - 32 20 by a severe drought, but in Australia Michigan 11 42 47 the farmer does not fight such calami- Wisconsin 14 43 43 ties single handed. There the farmer Minnesota 22 - 42 36 and working man run the government, ; Iowa 45 "o 25 30 and the mighty hand of society reaches —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris. Missouri 80 15 5 out with aid to the stricken parts— A " . .. North Dakota 10 35 55 not with charity such as we show 7There are roots that the farmers must dig out of the American political field, if South Dakota 5 A 2 when a San Francisco burns, or a that field is to grow crops of good government. These roots lie deep. It is no easy Nebraska 86 15’ s Dayton is ‘visited with a flood—but Job to get rid of them. It won’t do to dig up a part and let the rest remain, Kansa 81 15 § 4' with effective business methods. for if even a small part of the root is‘lef_t it grows and sprouts and overruns the a8 Tk LT P First of all the stock was transport- field. Good government can not be grown on a political field where these roots Average 57 0% on 16 ed by the state railways to the state remain. Usual average 4 forest lands not affected by the for the U. 8. 95 4 1 drought. Ships were chartered and 50,000 tons of freak patches here and there where odd showers The northern states of this group, as this table Then the gov- ernment railways brought in feed and water for the work animals on the farms. But the aid did not stop with this. The government got the local bankers and merchants together and arranged to have them make advances to the farmers for farm operations and living expenses until the next crop. " The result was: The banks did not foreclose; the farmers remained on their farms, and the next year this drought-stricken section produced a wonderful crop. The farmers lost money, of course, but they made up their losses in the following good season. When the bumper crop of 1915 came, the government arranged to transport the surplus to Europe without the interference of speculators, but that is another story. How sensible, business-like, and really simple such methods of handling farm calamities are! Is there any reason why America " can not be just as sensible? Nineteen seventeen has been a year of junusual Not one, but, fell—two miles at the most in extent—these 109 counties out of a total of 253 in Texas are like the Sahara desert. Vegetation has withered and water disappeared except in the rivers coming from the mountain snows. The drought extends into Okla- homa somewhat also. The remainder of Texas enjoys good crops. The present drought section will raise good crops in the years to come, but un- less the hand of the state or government reaches . out with aid now, many of the present farmers will not be there to plant, cultivate and harvest. FARMERS LEAVE LAND IN SOME REGIONS The spring wheat crop in eastern Montana and western North Dakota failed this year.. Thy was ‘poor the year before also. g ers in this section Were onthe as bank credit i the coming sea from the government crop bulletin shows, suffered severely. In the others certain sections had severe losses—more important losses, really, because corn is the major crop. Farmers in these sections must turn their soft, undeveloped corn into silage, feed it to their own stock, or sell it on the market at’a miserable figure. On January 10, 1918, the Minne- ' apolis market quoted No. 3 yellow corn at $1.65 to $1.70,'and other.grades as low as 80 cents.- Indiana, according to a recent statement of the secretary of agriculture has no seed corn. In the fall dealers at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported that they were get- ting only 25 per cent of good corn. These corn belt states are not in the extreme con- dition of the drought stricken parts of Texas and Oklahoma or of eastern Montana and western North Dakota, but a large percentage of their farmers need more aid than they can get from the banks, if they are to stay on their farms, not to mention producing the largest possible crops. :The high (Continued on page 21)- ¥