The Plymouth Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1878-1901, 1901-07-18
ENORMOUS SHORTAGE
Crops in Southwest Ruined by Parch-
ing Winds.

VI Coming OOhi Oi oCu4Oo plO NdllOu
throughout the corn belt of the
country the last ten days, with
all average temperature of 100
over the states of Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and
Illinois. At the same time, there
has been an absence of moisture,
and hot winds have burned up
the hay and oats crops in the
southwest, and are daily damag-
ing corn. Each day farmers
have looked for relief in the
shape of rain, but none has come,
and there are at present no indi-
cations of any, although there
were reports late last night of
rains along the Texas Pacific
road in the southwest.
Clouds come into the sky, and
by their indications of rain glad
den the hearts of farmers for a
short time, but the clouds soon
pass away, and the hot sun
burns up the forage and con-
tinues its destruction of crops.
In the southwest the coarse
grain crops and hay have been
cut down more than half, and
pastures have been burned up
to such an extent that unless
there is speedy relief in the way
of good wetting down Kansas
farmers will be forced to feed
their sp' endid wheat crop, which
is secured. to their stock, as
they will have little else.
Reports sent in from that
state are sensational. The claim
is made that Kansas will not
have over $4,000, 600 bushels of
corn. This looks bad if true, as
the area planted was over 5000,
600 acres. and means only six
bushels to the acre. In 1894,
which was marked by similar
drought, Kansas raised $4,000,
900 bushels. Its best record was
247, 900, 900 bushels in 1896.
The crop of the corn belt is
short over 100, 900, 900 bushels
from 1900. The shortage in the
hay crop has advanced prices in
Kansas City to famine figures,
$50 per ton. Corn there yester-
day was up to 80 cents, and Kan
sas City grain men were buying
corn here and at Duluth for ship
ment to that city, taking LAO, 600
bushels here. Their prices were
the highest in the country, but
stock feeders wanted it regard
less of prices. Texas is buying
corn and oats here and shipping
to that state for seed, as crops
in that state have been failures.
Every day increases the dam
age to crops. There has not
been a great deal of damage in
Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois, so
far, but Missouri has suffered
badly, and in some sections is in
the same condition as Kansas.
The situation is critical and
everything depends upon rain,
in fact, the business prosperity
of the west and southwest de-
ponds upon that.
The wheat trade, which had
been in the dumps for a month,
was awakened yesterday by un-
favorable crop reports from Rus
STA and France and fears that the
hot weather of the southwest had
extended into the northwest,
where the spring wheat crop is
in a critical condition. The rush of
shorts to buy sent the price up
over 3 cents and wheat touched
65s cents for September,
All grains are now selling at
over a cent pound, with coarse
grains at the highest figures in
years, aside from corn. which
touched 60 cents during Phillips
manipulation in May.
Traders are asking, "What has
become of Phillips, who was so
bullish on corn recently" He
has not been in the market to any
extent since the close of the May
corn deal, but his house has been
an active buyer of wheatand corn
for two days.
Everything the farmer raises