New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-01-27
Tile HOE OF NEBRASK 4.

The wrptchcL condition or The dronfl-s STRICKEN
region ~ Nebraska was imprcssivcly described
in the letter from correspondent ut Lincoln
which we published on Friday. Numerous re-
ports Of distress and appeals for relief have
hitherto come from various trust worthy sources
and have met with generous response. But IT
is doubtful II people here in the East have gen
orally any adequate appreciation OF the extent
and completeness Of the ruin which has come
upon their Western kinsmcn. Half dozen large
and popnlous counties III Southwestern Nebraska
have literally been transformed from gardens
into deserts Where w'rc the finest corn
fields I'm the Union the very buffalo grass Is
dying Not only wells and springs and brooks
but large rivers have entirely dried up. What
once were busy towns are now half deserted
The whole country is being dcpopulaicd. 10y
migration and by death. faster than II was set
tied Even the prairie dogs and other wild
creatures are fleeing from the inhospitable
waste.
No wonls can express too strongly the urgent
need OF help The disaster has not come sud
denly like storm or fire or food, upon people
who have reserve Of means 10 fall back upon
II Is the elimination OF five years Of progressive
ruln. I'm which harvests have failed. savings
have been used up, and debts and mortgages
have been incurred. The people have no money,
and little or nothing which they can sell or
pledge To raise 1t. They are literally paupcrizcd
Families that a few years ago were well fed.
well clad, well housed. on profitable farms. are
now homeless wanderers struggling painfully
eastward toward some more favored region
Others. who cannot even get away are living
ON horsenesh and weeds and fouler food. Some
have actually starved to death, and some have
sought IN suicide escape from an end less sud
den but more painful. Never was there more
urgent need Of food and clothing or Of means
with which to procure them Generous-llearted
people In the East can make no mistake in send
ing gifts to that unhappy region.
The cause Of the ruin and the means by which
prosperity can be restored. are equally evident
For years that was land Of plenty. The eli
mate was bcnefcent. the soil fertile. the crops
abundant almost beyond belief. In 1890 came a
change. There blighting drouth. and the
years crops were destroyed. But men looked
for better things next year. drew on their re-
serves. and planted the fields again. But their
hopes were dashed All the next year. and the
next. and the next passed with scarcely a fake
Of winters snow or drop Of summers rain to
Stake the universal thirst of Mother Earth. Still
a change must come at length. But 1894 was
even hotter and, If possible, dryer than its
predecessors Winds like the breath Of fur
mace shrivellcd and burned every living plant,
and made the whole land sterile as the pave
mcnt Of a city street. This year, Of course, or
next. the lOnged-f0r change may come. and
rain and dew bring back all the old wealth Of
verdurc. Or there may be yet a dozen years Of
utter drouth. Which, man can tell. But
what seems certain Is that II will never again
be wise TO trust the cdpricious climate Of those
plains; or not until the art Of man has in a
That may perhaps be done by some vast work
Of forest-plantng But before that work Is done
something else Is necessary, and that Is artificial
irrigation. That has elsewhere changed deserts
into gardens. aud that alone seems able 10 make
agriculture certainly profitable on the Nebraska
plains. For Its accomplishment, the State must
look TO itself and not to the Federal Govern.
meni or TO any outside agency. As a matter Of
benchcence TO its people, the State could per-
form no better work than a general system Of
irrigation throughout the counties subject TO
drOuth. AZ matter Of business. Il could do
nothing that would In the long run prove more
profitable. AS u matter OF necessity, 1t appar-
emily must 10 1t, or have the "Great American
Desert made stern reality. 1t ought not to
require another such lesson as the present to
convince men Of that fact And hand in hand
with the work Of immediate relief should 60 the