Show Take the Risk Out of Farming By Dy Frederic J. J Haskin T The e insuring of crops not only against fire and hail but also against drought Insect pests and plant diseases diseases dis dis- eases so that when a farmer plants a crop he wl will be assured of a certain financial return per acre is a project which is now engaging the attention of at experts In and out of the govern I govern govern- ment Crop insurance as explained by its exponents would be of the utmost importance not only to farmers but buto butto butto to o the entire business ana nna financial world Nearly Nearl every farming section of the United States has a money crop rop upon which the prosperity pros- pros of that section depends In Kansas they watch the crop as asa asa asa a mother watches a SiCK Not only the farmers but the bankers the he merchants and In some degree almost every other business and financial fi financial financial fi- fi Interest Is dependent upon the he wheat crop In the south everyone's everyone's everyne's every- every ones one's hope of an easy winter and a anew anew anew new car hinges on how the cotton grows in the middle west King Corn Cornis Corns is s the arbiter of all destinies and in Inthe inthe the he northwest hope wanes or waxes with the apple yield When a money crop fails tails in a county county coun- coun ty y or a state that county or state suffers directly and the whole country country coun- coun try ry suffers Indirectly It Is not the loss oss of a given a amount or wheat or cotton otton which perhaps could not be prevented that does the tho harm The most serious result is that the hard- hard hit lit farmers are crippled in their next years year's ears ear's operations And they are unable un un- able ble to meet their obligations Thus I Ithe the he bankers and merchants suffer sutter These scenes of crop crall failure scattered all 11 over the country are unsound spots pots In the business texture of the I country they affect business every- every where There Is no reason wh why these strIcken sections should thus suffer and cause the rest of the country to suffer utter The individual farmers and business men affected cannot stand the he loss but the country as a whole can stand it and the country as a whole should bear the burden Grain crops are now generally In Insured insured insured in- in against destruction by hail hall and andin andin in in n some sections they are insured against fire But the farmer has no protection against the ravages of the hessian fly for example or against I the smut and none against drouth or floods The experts say that protection by insurance against all of these things t is thoroughly practicable Indeed there is scarcely anything which cannot cannot cannot can can- not be safely insured if the Insuring organization Is strong enough Lloyds Lloyd's of London which insures among a host of other things the hands lands of musicians singers' singers voices and the sex of unborn children has hast proved that During the war a strong demand sprang up for government crop in In- In Farmers were being called upon by t the e government to plant every possible acre in certain selected crops If If I am to risk everything I have in extending my operations said the farmer to the government you must insure me against loss Many letters in this tenor reached the department department department de de- of agriculture senators and congressmen The experts say I that if the war had continued another year the government would have been compelled to offer crop Insurance insurance insurance ance In order to get out of the farmers farmers farmers farm farm- ers the foodstuffs It needed But with the ending of the war came a strong reaction against government government government gov gov- enterprises and a less ImmedIate Immediate immediate Im Im- ImI im- I mediate need for tor the particular en en- Congressman King of Illinois Illinois Illinois Illi Illi- nois has long been an advocate of government crop insurance and has repeatedly introduced bills providing I Ifor In the 1 I for a bureau of crop insurance department of agriculture But Secretary Sec Sec- 1 rotary Houston who always keeps k eps a keen political ear to the ground heard the rumble of the approaching approach approach- ing reaction against government enterprise enterprise enterprise en en- and did no not advocate te the measure It never got beyond a com corn I room None the less some of the experts I say that crop insurance Is properly a government function It would be expensive they admit and this expense expense expense ex ex- pense could best be reduced by one big organization serving the whole country Naturally the larger the territory served the more losses in one section would tend to be counterbalanced counterbalanced counterbalanced counter counter- balanced by gains in others Again crop Insurance like boiler insurance and health Insurance would be dependent upon expert inspection Inspection in inspection In- In for its success and this expert ex- ex expert expert ex ex- pert inspection which would Improve methods of agriculture would perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps be the most valuable feature of the thing Thus it would be impossible impossible sible to Insure a man against his own Ignorance He could not be paid insurance in insurance insurance in- in on a wheat crop destroyed b by smut which he might have prevented prevented prevented pre pre- vented by treating the seed before before planting But there should be an In InSpector Inspector inspector In- In who would see that the wheat was treated properly before the insurance was written Such a crop of Inspectors could easily be put Into the field by the department of agriculture which already has an organization organization organization or or- of trained agriculturists reaching into almost every very co county nty In Inthe inthe the United Unfed ed States For a private company to build up such an organ 1 would be a tremendous under under- taking There are others however who believe that our great insurance j companies should undertake the work and think that this method would be better than the paternalistic paternalistic paternal on one of Qt b having the government Insure the crops I Comprehensive crop insurance was offered about two years ago by three companies In the west and was not a comp complete ete success They insured against drought among other things and when a big drought came along they were unable to pay out The experts say that bad management management management man man- was responsible for this partial partial partial par par- failure In t the e first place the companies should have limited the amount of risks they would take in any given section say the experts In the second place they the selling of policies to local bankers bank bank- ers em These bankers being more concerned about the financial conditions conditions conditions condi condi- in their own sections than about the prosperity of the insurance companies com corn panics sold drought insurance after I Ithe the drought had started This was was was' like insuring a house against fire after after af after af- af ter It was In flames Crop insurance as a state function has also been tried In the Dakotas Montana Nebraska and Oklahoma the state governments offer to insure farmers against loss by hail bail As private private private vate co co- offer the same insurance Insurance Insurance ance in these regions and canvass s for policies s while the state governments governments govern govern- ments do not the state insurance has not as yet been taken Nevertheless Nevertheless Nevertheless Never Never- in at least one of these states the insurance commissioner Is convinced convinced con con- vinced that this state crop insurance could safely be extended to afford I protection against drought bugs I diseases and floods as well as against hall hail Crop insurance seems clearly to be bea a thing needed In this country and andone andone andone one which either private capital or orthe orthe orthe the government must offer |