| Show NEW DROUTH RIVALS THAT OF 1934 Rainfall Far Tar Short of Former Dry Periods Dakotas I Hardest est Hit Fe Federal eral Government Acts to Prevent Disa Disaster ter By WILLIAM C. C UTLEY CUTLEY a s I again the plains of the West are thirsting in a ONCE O major drouth that may surpass in destruction desolation deso lation and despair even the record drouth of the spring of 1934 Rainfall has been far less in some states this spring than in 1934 although this year there has been an absence ab sence Bence of oC the sweltering heat which accompanied the earlier drouth Worst conditions have been in the western part of the Dakotas Dakotas Da kotas eastern Montana and Wyoming in a somewhat smaller area where the corners of Kansas Colorado New Mexico and Oklahoma meet another area of about the same ame size in southeastern Missouri and over a vast region of the Southeast including generous slices dices of Alabama Tennessee Georgia the Carolinas Kentucky Virginia and Pennsylvania Over the remainder of the states be be- between tween the Alleghenies and the except for some areas about the Great Lakes and in New England poor poor pasture conditions exist The result has been to throw thousands thou sands sand of 01 farm families on the relief relief re reo lief rolls to cause more thousands to move out of ot the drouth regions into other states to drive prices of food higher and higher with dollar wheat once more returned to Chicago and other markets and to spur the federal government to swift operation of remedial agencies agen agen- cies cles Drouth Talk Displaces Politics There is little Rile talk of anything else but the drouth in the stricken plains the speculation as 81 to the chances of rain overshadow even the argumentative possibilities of politics In one of the most colorful and interesting political campaigns of ot the nations nation's history The barometer barometer ba bat rometer and the thermometers are under even closer scrutiny than primary primary pd mary returns and stray votes Prayers for tor rain by the farmers of ot the Northwest have been largely in vain with clear unclouded skies still looking down over the parched grazing lands Crops are suffering from the effects of the dust blown upon them while live stock are hungry from lack of feed teed which has been likewise damaged by the silt slit There hat has been tome some little lile rain in inthe inthe the Southwest Suu indeed indred heavy rainstorms rain rain- storms Harms the last la week welk in Tune June in Texas TUa were 10 so 0 severe revere that Iha 26 persons persona were mere drowned in the flood resulted Dozens of 01 hornet homes were INre wept swept away may alon along the banks bank of oJ Dig llis Sandy creek near San Antonio The Southwest benefited benefited ben bm little from Fran slight lish precipitation ion Jurin during ring May The Dakotas probably have been the hardest hit The governors of both states as well as Senator Nye of North Dakota regarded their sit sit- lIa warrant to ht their making a personal visit upon the President of ot the United States to make a 8 plea for money to feed live stock tock and bring relief to distressed distressed dis farming people The government government gov gov- government has undertaken to render what assistance it can cattle willbe will willbe willbo be bo moved out of the drouth lands into better pasture but there willbe will willbe willbe be no wholesale slaughter as there was last year During the month of June some of the Dakota grazing land in the worst areas received only about an inch of rainfall where 32 inches is normal Cost Is From April 1 to June 24 during the big dry of 1936 1938 North Dakota had only inches of rainfall during even the record drouth of 1934 1034 these three months saw Inches of rain South Dakota fared some better getting inches as compared to 4 4 in 1934 In Montana Mon tana tans inches of rain feU felt as compared compared compared com com- pared with In 1934 Texas Texas' rainfall rainfall rain rain- fall during the spring months was only 7 per cent of normal tty Hy ly July 1 J this lab years year's drouth it is trot estimated had land cost a damage fe of ol jO million t dollars In III the he Norl alone talon 1 farm arm families I were forced to 0 seek eck subsistence aid from tit the government In Washington a drouth emergency emergency emer emer- gency committee was set up under J. J J W W. Tapp to make arrangements for tor the tle purchase and processing of ofa a million head of cattle which would perish if U the tho drouth contin continued Led although it was predicted that v G there would be some rain within a afew afew afew few days A survey of conditions in the drouth area complied compiled by Harry L L. L Hopkins and the revealed that hundreds of family heads would have to be transferred to the relief rolls immediately Their cattle had been sold and end in most cases they had already piled up what Mr Hop Hop- Hopkins Hopkins kins kits called mountains of debt Reporting Importing about results of the dry spring of 1934 and other drouth periods periods pe pe- clods Hopkins said during the six months before belore last December 15 more than persons had been forced to leave their homes in the dust bowl and migrate to Cali Call fornia fortis Third Drouth In Six Years Most of 01 the Great Plains area faces its third major drouth In six years said Hopkins Some of the regions particularly those in th the central and western Dakotas have had low Jow crop yields since 1930 In practically all of 01 the areas the severe drouth of 1934 intensified the v. v 77 m tw ae p Y a n What 1934 Drouth Did to Once Rich Grazing Lands distressing rural economic conditions conditions condi condi- which have been accumulating ing over a period of years The extent of wind erosion and crop damages has varied widely in indifferent indifferent indifferent different sections of the stricken area a area arca a few normal rainfall over a long period have escaped soil and crop ravages altogether This is true of sections of the Red RIver Ulver valley in North Dakota part of 01 southeastern South Dakota and to some extent southeastern south eastern Nebraska In other o regions such as OJ the he north Texas Tua plaint plain he said laid wind erosion hat hll damaged aged as aJ much as a. 90 per cent of the Site land Some of oJ the he Ian land lands ii i. damaged dam dam- aged so JO badly that if il is i. doubtful lul whether he it il will ever eier be able to So 0 sup tup- port por crops in the future Hopkins declared de de- Glared thai dual much of oJ Ille crop land in sandy loam areas arra should be converted concerted into permanent grass land Drastic reductions In ill the herds of cattle in some of the states have resulted from reduction of pastureland pasture pastureland pastureland land by three In the Dakotas Da Da- kotas kolas Minnesota Montana and Wyoming officials estimated that families would have to be added to the relief rolls It was 4 r Masks like these were not uncommon In the Southwest during the dust storms which followed the long dry spell of 1935 I planned to carry the work relief program program pro pro- gram until December 1 and as far tar beyond that date as the weather would permit at an average wage of 44 a month Compensation for use of farmers' farmers teams team would bring the average to about 60 a month Three Government Programs Officials of the federal gOvernment government govern govern- ment meat say to the farmers that the Great Plains can be prevented from becoming a desert if U proper precautions precautions are taken Science has not yet devised a way to make it rain but the government now has under way a program of ot three divisions division to provide provide pro pro- vide for the storage of ot what mois mois- s I soil ero ero- ture turf exists exist and to prevent sion first of the hl three divisions it Is the This Thil Jot doer soil oil ion commotion program not refer trIer to 10 the he entire substitute e AAA program prO but bul only to that thai part par of 01 i it actually oc ii is J toil soil con t io proper This means the stork and lid the educational program undertaken by bf byrle bythe the soil sod erosion sen service ice of 01 the Depart Depart- ment of 01 Agriculture ta Attempts are being made to restore restore restore re- re store vegetation on thousands of acres of plowed fields on the theory that such vegetation will combat erosion and conserve moisture Nine contour contour furrowing demonstration stations have been set up in the West This furrowing consists of the development of small terraces with closed ends These are supposed supposed sup sup- posed to conserve the rain In many regions the is assisting assisting assist assist- ing the soil conservation service Inthe in inthe inthe the undertaking It is believed that if the farmers can be taught to put vegetation on part of their land and to furrow correctly the campaign will be successful in eliminating most drouth disasters To make possible the storage of water for use in times of drouth the reclamation service of 01 the Department Depart ment of the Interior has under way waya a series of dam and irrigation projects projects in the western states Some lesser projects of 01 this nature have been on the WP A schedule These projects are of ambitious scope and wide range At the top of 01 the list are such enormous and expensive ones as the giant Fort Peck and Grand Coulee dams and at the bottom are numerous small streams which have been dammed at comparatively lower costs although although al al- al though their costs have been attacked at tacked from time to time in many cases as wasteful boondoggling Officials believe that eventually water ater from from- behind behind thC the the large dams will make possible the use of much land that is 19 now unproductive and that the smaller dams will help in relieving the situation situ atlon generally Resettlement Program In a third division of ot the program the resettlement administration under un un- un- un der Professor Protessor Tugwell has underway under underway underway way a schedule of purchase purchase pur pur- chase of lands to convert con can vert veil them into pasture in combat combat- ting Under this plan it is proposed to buy acres of the land at 2 an acre it has already made some little progress The program is divided into two parts one of 01 which In Involves In six projects in the Plains states embracing acres The other part includes the purchase purchase pur pur- chase of 01 acres of Indian grazing land on the Rio Grande watershed of New Mexico The conception o ot 01 the resettlement lemen program includes include the 11 noting mating of 01 families to 10 better land lund at a a co cost of 01 that's a family It 11 also alto comprises comprises for lor the par pur chose chase of 01 land and lur ero ero lion sion non and the plains plain land of 01 There was a fourth division of the federal governments government's battle against t the drouth menace the 0 shelter-belt shelter program but this program pro pro- gram has been dropped due large largely y to opposition which labeled it im practical Approximately had already been spent pent The idea was to Plant a belt o of f to trees s l miles mUes m wide and more tha than n 1000 miles long stretching fro from m the Canadian border across th the e Great Plains to Texas Its pr proponents proponents pro pro- a contended that such a shel ter belt would break the erosion erosion- causing winds and the conserve some o of f moisture The weather bureau burea u says that it t would have rainfall a itself However no confess effect o on n congress s refused 1 to appropriate the funds fund s needed General for the project and Coin Comp p McCarl recently r reo e tired ruled that the President coin could d not Use we of drouth relief funds for the purpose under McCarl did protest permit the USe of 01 smaller sum a Some me shelter belt shelter belt strips along 1300 a Such mile a line Une have hue been planted strip consists of a row of trees tree narrow to miK up a half haU mile long O e Western Union |
