The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-25
Board Of Agriculture Has Not
Heard of Any.
Sensational Statements Made in
Chicago About Kansas Crops.
DONE BY SPECTATORS
False RumOrs Made to Influence
Grain Market.
indications Are That Corn Is
Doing Wslls

1t is believed that sensational reports
of damage to Kansas corn by hot winds
have been sent out to Chicago and east
ern papers for the purpose of influence
ing speculation on the grain market.
The price of corn has responded to
these rumors. and has been advancing
rapidly on the exchange for the past 4s
hours.
]. c. Mohler. assistant secretary of the
state board OF agriculture. said today:
I'VE have received no reports indicating
that there has been any great damage
by hot winds so far. Our reports have
been scattering. however, and have in
dicated that corn is doing exceedingly
well in most places"
Thomas B. Baldwin. one Of four spe-
cial agents employed by the bureau of
statistics, United States department of
agriculture, returned Friday from a
trip Of some days through the Kansas
corn belt, and is now on his way to
Washington to make his report on corn
conditions in the state. He will report
Kansas corn to be doing well. with no
indications so far of injury by hot winds.
Baldwin stopped in Topeka on his
way to Washington, and conferred FRI
day with the officers of the board Of
agriculture here. He would not give
out any information for publication. He
said:
"The first publication of my report
must come through the department of
agriculture. 1 am not allowed to give
4 out anything in advance of the publica-
tion of the report on August 10.'
Mr.. Baldwin admitted. however, that
! he believed Kansas corn to be doing very
| well.
A letter received today from George
IT1r, sofC q 11.e,v.r rrf
the state board of agriculture, says of
the corn situation:
Early corn is tasseled and in good
state to stand dry siege. The medium
planted is well advanced and about
ready to tassel, therefore is in bad con-
dition for a hot spell, and fully so per
cent of our corn is of this planting. The
corn planted since the flood stands about
21e feet high, and is making wonder
full growth. The ground in these fields
is in prime condition and the corn VIII
Withstand dry weather, in my judgment,
at least two weeks.
"Our new wheat is testing on the av
erage of SO and 60 pounds and E<liiiers
are jubilant over the quality. The Clay
county wheat crop will be about four
bushels short of my expectations on the
average. Believe about 16 bushels per
acre viii catch our average yield Red
rust played havoc with our oats; they
are very light weight and will yield SO
bushels per acre average.
Under the head of Corn Crop is
Near Ruin" Chicago paper prints the
following dispatch from Topeka:
Topeka kas., July 23.-Cool wealth
er and slight rains this morning have
temporarily saved the corn crop OF
Kansas from destruction, but even so.
the crop is greatly damaged. 1t is es-
timated that half crop on an aver
age is all that can be expected.
Most of the damage has been done
in the v--inity of Pratt: There has
r.e.ff, hor for cfN sol = ma
the corn crop is ruined, but, FORUM
ately, wheat is the staple of that Sec
tion. The thermometer registered 1O9
there Wednesday afternoon and thresh-
ing was delayed, as the laborers were
unable to stand the extreme heat.
Wheat, however, will average twenty,
bushels to the acre.
Hutchinson Wellington, Alma, Abi~
1ene, Florence and other places in the
central portion of the state report to-
night that careful examination of the
cornfields late this afternoon revealed
the fact that the corn has been badly
fired in spots. The leaves of the early
product are beginning to shrivel badly
and cannot make anything much bet
ter than fodder"
A similar dispatch to the same | per
appears under a Kansas City datc line-
The effect of such dispatches on the
corn market is shown by the following
extract from the Chicago News:
"The corn market was set ablaze by
and Oklahoma yesterday and prices
shot up over cent amid the excitement
attending the speculative business of
the morning. For an hour or so the buy
, ing pressure was enormous. Houses
with western connections were heavily
. loaded down with orders on that side
of the market. Local bull leaders, en-
couraged by the sudden turn of AFFAIRS
added freely to their lines. while shorts
fairly stampeded the pit in their efforts >
to cover A large aggregate of short
/ sales was covered on stop-loss orders
The buying was heaviest in the more
distant futures, the theory being that
they were cheapest if the crop was hurt.
The advance continued in force until
the market had reached sic for Septem-
ber, 5O3sc for December and 5O12c for
May"
The Chicago Tribune says in its mar
ket report:
Corn led the grain market yesterday
in point of activity. interest, and ad-
vance The September sold up to 5lc
and the May to 5015c, closing prices be-
ing 11kc to nc over the final quotations
of Wednesday. Hot winds and conse-
ouent buying on both short and long ac-
count were about the only things In the
market Not only was the local trade
in much larger volume, but orders III
commission house hands on country ac-
count made a decidedly better showing.
Kansas City papers had, 1T was claimed,
special advices from Newton, Hutchln-
son, Larned and other points where
l Temperatures were reported as high AZ
112 Dispatches from parts OF Okla
homa claimed that corn was burning
I'D. At Mcpherson. KAN, the tempera-
. ture at noon was reported 109."