The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 24, 1918, Page 18

Y 0L 7 74 WHAT HOOVER THINKS “Furthermore, I had also long held the view that various associations amongst producers were the founda- tions upon which better marketing must arise in the United States in the interest of both producer and con- sumer, and that, growing out of the bitter quarrels in various parts of the country, the existence of producers’ associations was being endangered.” —The Food Administrator in a Speech in New York City. Mr. Hoover evidently doesn’t agree with the anti-farmer gang that “this is no time for farmers to organize.” LAND BANK IS PROSPERING At the close of its first year of busi- ness on April 30, the Federal Farm Loan bank had an excess of ex- penses over earnings amounting to $411,954.24, but about 60 per cent of this is chargeable to loans not yet closed. “Two of the district banks already show an actual surplus, and before the end of the calendar year it is probable that a majority of them will be in the same position.” The bank’s business is done on a margin of one-half of 1 per cent, for the bonds sold yield 5 per cent.and the farmers pay 5% per cent. The contrast be- tween this margin and that which the private banking system demands in furnishing credit to farmers, doesn’t need any comment. FARM WORK FOR “CONSCIEN- TIOUS OBJECTORS” “Special provision has been made, declares the Official Bulletin for June 1, 1918, “by which objectors who are held to be sincere in their attitude, may be furloughed without pay from the government for agricultural serv- ice. These men must agree not to accept for their labor a greater sum than the pay of a private plus sub- sistence.” Examination of the ob- jector as to sincerity will be made by a board of three, and under no cir- cumstances will men otherwise qual- ified be discharged. SOLDIER INSURANCE A GREAT SUCCESS The Official Bulletin of the Wash- ington administration announces that government insurance for soldiers and sailors which organized farmers and organized labor urged at their confer- ence in St. Paul in September, 1917, and which has since been enacted into law, is a great success. 'On April 6 it had been in operation six months and during that time it had insured sol- diers, sailors and nurses to the num- ber of over 1,700,000. The grand total of the insurance carried is approxi- mately 14 billion dollars. As contrast- ed with this total, the entire life in- surance written by all other agencies 7 S s u.a '@gw % 2 // 4// 'Al: such as stock and mutual companies and fraternal orders dunng the year 1917 amounted to only six billions. The premium charged is about half of what private companies would ask. WESTERN HARVEST BEGINS North central Oklahoma began cut- _ting wheat on June 5 and the follow- ing week work extended to southern Kansas. With favorable weather. all Kansas will be busy with the harvest by July 1. The United States em- ployment service reports that Okla- homa needs 6,000 men from outside sources and Kansas 30,000. In Kan- sas each town and city has been al- lotted a quota of volunteer workers which it should furnish as needed for the harvest. Oklahoma will probably pay harvest hands from $3.50 to $4 per day with board; Kansas $4 to $5. The Kansas City employment office reports that it has heard nothing as yet of reduced fares to the harvest fields." IN THE NAME OF “EFFICIENCY” “To show how farmers of the United States are meceting the short- age of farm help a field agent of the bureau of crop estimates in a re- cent report told of seeing a farmer in Indiana driving a team of six horses hitched to a disc plow and leading three horses drawing a har- row. He was working nine horses and two modern farming implements and doing the work of several men and teams under the old system of farming.”—Office of Information, United States Department of Agri- culture. STATE LEGALIZES MUNICIPAL FUEL YARDS Mississippi has enacted a law au- thorizing the establishment and main- tenance of municipal wood and coal yards during the period of the pres- ent war and for one year'thereafter, - as a means of meeting the fuel short- age. This is said to be the first legis- lation of the kind of any state. Mu- nicipalities taking advantage of this law may provide the necessary ma- chinery, transport, sell and deliver fuel, and are authorized to use for this purpose general municipal funds, and also, with certain restrictions, to borrow money if necessary. REDUCTION IN HOG CHOLERA LOSSES “One hundred and sixty trained veterinarians of the department of agriculture are working in 33 states, in co-operation with agricultural col- leges, state authorities and local vet- erinarians, to control hog cholera. The effectiveness of their efforts and the success of modern methods of Repor Compiled From Publications of Federal Bureaus combating this disease is shown by the fact that during 1914 the hog mor- tality from disease was 7,000,000 head, as compar- ed to 3,000,000 in the year ending March, 1918, 90 per cent of the deaths be- ing due to hog cholera. The loss in 1914 was equivalent to the normal consumption of pork prod- ucts by the entire popula- tion of the United States for 37 days.”—Office of Information, U. S. De- partment of Agriculture. FEDERAL FARM LOANS The federal farm loan board- paid out $13,988,619 to farmers during April. The grand total of the loans made up to April 30 is $91,951,886. Of this amount the St. Paul district has taken more than any other, having a total of $15,424,000. The -Spokane dis- trict is next with $14,229,785. FREIGHT RATES INCREASED In an order effective June 25 by the United States railroad administra- tion, charges on commodities are ad- vanced 25 per cent, except for those in which there is heavy movement. The livestock rate is advanced 25 per cent but not more than 7 cents per 100 pounds; grain flour and other mill products 25 per cent, but not more than 6 cents per 100 pounds; cotton 15 cents per 100 pounds; sugar 25 per cent. The increase on iron ore on the other hand is' only 1% cents per 100 pounds, on coal from % of a cent to 2% cents per 100 pounds, and on brick, cement .and plaster 2 cents per 100 pounds. How to Get a Stand of Alfalfa Brookings, S. D Editor Nonpartlsan Leader: About 10 years ago at a gathermg of farmers at the state college at Brookings, one of the talks was on seed corn. It so impressed me with its sound and. practical methods of saving and testing seed corn:that as ' far as possible I have followed these methods in farming operations ever since, and to my great financial ad- vantage. Since that time I have never failed in having a sure stand of corn. I can never forget the speaker. He was a little, sawed off chap, dressed like us farmers, and would have pass- ed off as one of us in a crowd. But Great Caesar, how he ‘¢ould talk corn. A cyclone. Yes, a hurricane, and all in farmer language too. Today. in In the heart of the corn belt is Iowa. The figures in the picture are a banker and a state editor. The banker is unfriendly to the League, but we’'ll print his picture anyhow. reading The South Dakota Farmer I ran on te an article “How to Get a Stand of Alfalfa,” written by my “Cyclone Seed Corn man,” none other than Professor P. O. Holden of Iowa Agricultural college. I find that as he grows older he is losing none of his good sense. He says in part: “Ma- nure in the fall. Disc thoroughly and plow in early spring. Cultivate the ground each week. Kill every weed. Leave a firm seed bed. Apply three to five tons ground lime rock per acre, if lime is needed. Sow 10 to 12 pounds seed per acre during July without nurse crop. Inoculate séed if neces- sary. Don’t sow on wet, soggy or sour ground.” I wish to say amen, to all Mr. Hol- den says. My alfalfa experience of 14 years enables me to vouch for the truth of every word. I have, however, gone a little farther than Mr. Holden’s article suggests and I have found that I can follow his plan and still have a . 100 per cent nurse crop grow along with the alfalfa. I follow his plan up to about May 10 to 15 when this al- falfa field is in just the condition I like my corn field when I expect a bumper crop of corn. So I just plant this alfalfa field to corn, using two or three kernels in each hill. Now while Mr. Holden is cultivating to kill weeds, I am doing the same stunt not only to kill weeds but to raise a bumper corn crop. I manage to complete about four cultivations of the corn by July 1, the last two times though, very, very shallow, so as to leave a seed bed solid as suggested by Mr. Holden. - Now my corn is clean, stands 20 inches high, ground is level and soil compact, just as Holden recom- mends. Instead of sowing 12 pounds of alfalfa seed per acre, I use a press drill, made to go between the corn rows and sow seven pounds per acre, or four pounds” - per acre each way if I want to be 100 per cent sure of a stand. Last year was the fifth that I have followed this method; and I have never failed to get a good stand without either inocula- tion or lime. FRANK SHERWIN. | WOOL FOR A REGIMENT OFF A KANSAS FARM P ' | i: is fall and they have given up their wool for their country. -