The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-10-26
men ARE COMING.
Settlers Are FIoeking to West
ern Kansas.
Big Wheat Crop Stimulates the
Movement.
MUCH LAND is SOLD.
Spectators Dispose of Holdings
to Farmers.
Lieut.. Governor Hanna Tells
How Values Have Expanded.

| Hill City, Kan, Oct 26.-Every day
sees home-seekers coming into this, Gra-
ham county. In fact, almost every
train brings them In, and land is rapidly
changing hands.
The land which is being taken up is
largely owned by non-residents, who, as
rule, have purchased it as specula-
ton. The farmers who are here are not
Offering their farms for sale. Occasion
ally one sells but he Immediately turns
around and buys cheaper land. Hardly
anyone is leaving the county but new
| homeseekers are coming in daily.
Lieutenant Governor D. ]. Hanna is
selling SO much land that he is paying
no attention to politics.
! Il haven't been away from home since
the special session of the legislature
closed the last of June" he said today.
'and I don't know when 1 will leave 1
can't afford to dabble in politics just
now-my business is entirely too good
Mr.. Hanna counts it a poor day when
! he fails to sell at least one farm. Last
week he sold land to the amount of
$21. 900, and the demand is increasing
right along and land is going up rap
idly.
+ Just to show how land values have
| increased L will tell you about one quar-
ter section that I have handled four
times in the last six years." said Mr..
Hanna. First L bought it myself for
$400, and some time afterwards sold It
for $500 which 1 thought was doing
pretty well. An eastern speculator
bought it, and he put it into my hands
to sell again. Finally I sold it for ST.
200. and the other day I sold it again
for 81, 900. This time it was purchased
by an actual settler and it won't be on
the market any more.
The men who have been farming their
land the past year are not offering it
for sale unless they can get a compara-
lively big price for it Then sf they sell
they know where they can turn around
and buy other land just as good but
which has not been broken for perhaps
about half what they sold their own for
Much of the land is held by eastern in
vestors and it is this that is charging
hands.
The wheat acreage of northwestern
Kansas will not be nearly as great this
fall as it was year ago, and this pro-
! bably holds good over the state. Then,
| too, what Is sown in the northwest is
not as well put in as it was last year.
The chief reason for this is a Lack of
help to get the work done.
The statement sounds ''fishy," but 1t
is an actual fact that this years wheat
crop was so big that it was impossible
in many instances to get 1t of the fields
in time to put in another crop. It al
most paralyzed both the farmers and
the railroads. Shocks of wheat are still
standing in the fields which ought to
| nave been plowed weeks ago and again
sown. 1t has been impossible to hire
enough men to get the grain stacked.
Farmers thought themselves lucky IL
they got it bound. Hundreds of acres
of wheat lay in bundles on the ground
for weeks after it was cut because har-
hon de mot he 70 ef1C Col<
or stack it.
T. M. Born, who lives near Morland
in the west part of Graham county,
plowed, sowed and harvested 230 acres
of wheat without a bit of help. It was
| threshed this week and yielded him g.
200 bushels or 261z bushels to the acre.
The only work about producing it which
he did not do himself was the threshing.
1t is worth little above so cents a
bushel today here, or about $1,000.
Much of the wheat that is sown this
fall is drilled right into the stubble
without plowing. This used to DS con-
sidered all right for every other year.
but the farmers have now learned that
it pays to do their farming thoroughly
whenever possible. This fall however.
it is impossible It has been impossible
to get the plowing done, and it is nee
essary either to put the wheat in with
out blowing or not put it in at all. SO
many farmers are drilling it without
plowing.
result in a largely increased corn acre
age next year. Nearly all of the land
which is not sown to wheat will be put
into corn. This has not been looked upon
as a corn country, but this year there
is big crop of corn on the $4,000 acres
planted in Graham county. There are
also big crops of Kafffr corn. sorghum
and alfalfa, which are used for feed.
Barley is also staple crop of the short
grass country and yields from 80 to so
bushels to the acre.
The largest wheat yield yet reported
in Graham county is that on the farm
of Joseph Anderson in the northwest
part of the county, where eighteen acres
have just threshed out ffty-two bushels
to the acre.
The average yield for the county is
! now estimated at little over twenty
five bushels to the acre. 1t is turning
out better than anticipated earlier IN
the year. A large amount yields better
than thirty-five bushels, while very lit
tie falls down as low as twenty bushels.
The acreage for Granam county was
81. .O00 On a basis of twenty five bush
els per acre, this means 2,175,090 Bushels
for the county. or 300 bush els for every
person in the county
The greater part of the wheat win not
test better than No. 8, however. There
is considerable No. wheat, and prac-
tically all of 1t would have been 50.
!. had 1t been possible to harvest 1t in
good shape. The greater part of it lay
on the ground or in the shCck until IL
bIeached or sprouted, which brings the
test down Notwithstanding the weight.
The lack Of harvest hands cost GraEsm
county alone an average of five cents
La bushe1 in the deterioration of the
quaIity of the wheat
The car shortage is still a serious
matter here 1t is estimated that only