The Goodland republic., 1907-02-08

WICHITA EAGLE TALKS WEST
ERN KANSAS.
shows the FaHacy Of the Predictions
OF the Weather Bureau About
the West


Two or LLlEEE weeks 1-E5Q q lA1 pain
was sent out from Washington which
seemed to be OF such a nature as 10
discourage the brave settlers in west
ern Kansas, western Oklahoma and /
Panhandle.
It made the positive statement that
settlement OF western Kansas would /
not increase the rainfall, and that 4
while more rain had fallen in that /
section the past two years, the dry /
seasons would surely return and the
farmers would be compelled to desert /
their farms or starye-
This IS certainly a very discouraging
statement II the names OF men con-
nected with the weather bureau had
not been given we would have sup
posed the statement had originated
with some cattle baron Along in the
sixties we had the word OF the cattle
men that the ffty-mile wide strip OF
land in the southern part Of Kansas
opened to settlement could never be
anything but a cattle range on account
OF drouths. The drouths and hot
winds were here all right but now
that fifty-mile strip is the most pro-
ductive part Of the earth
The cattle barons were backed by
some weather bureau men in the state
ment that all OF that part Of the Indi-
an territory west Of the Arkansas river
was a drouthy desert that never could
be more than q very poor cattle range
Look at the population and productive
farms Of that section Of former Indian
territory west Of the Big Arkansas
river today. Its wonderful prOduc-
ton and development is all contained
in that one wOrd-OklahOma-
These statements are historical
facts, but they are only preliminary
to what we are going to say about
these weather men We are going to
show that their conclusions as to
western Kansas are entirely Illogical,
and when we have finished every in
telligent farmer and business man in
western Kansas, Oklahoma and the
Panhandle Of Texas viii be for the
Eagle and against 'Old Probabfli-
ties" We are not going to show that.
some OF the statements OF these wealth
er bureau men are not right, but that
their conclusions as to western kan
sas are wrong
These weather bureau men may be
right when they say that the settle
the natural rainfall, but they are all
wrong when they say that settlement
does not eliminate the droUth cOndi-
tons In the early settlement Of the
trans-MissOuri river country, people
said the rains in this section came
from the SHOWS in the Rocky noun
tains. But when somebody thought
to ask where the snow came from,
the editor Of this paper answered that
the snow and the rains in southern
Kansas come from the Gulf OF Mexi-
co. The Gulf OF Mexico has been
sending its moisture to this section
ever since and before this section was
called the Great American Desert
This mist from the ocean has been
coming to Oklahoma, to western Kan
sas and to the Panhandle ever since
there was a Gulf Of Mexico. It was
burned up by the hot winds OF these
desert lands or vanished into ether,
or fell in clOud-bursts, making the
gullies and dry creeks raging rivers.
Then why has that part Of the great
desert now comprising this section Of
Kansas and Oklahoma become a gar
den instead OF a desert, and why will
this garden Of the world enlarge and
take in western Kansas, western Ok
IahOma and Panhandle, and eventu-
ally a part Of Colorado and New Mexi-
co? We viii tell you When the
brave people who settled this section
Of Kansas and Oklahoma came and
trees the moisture began to accumu-
late in the ground, instead Of running
of and making rivers Of the dry
creeks In q very short time the
ground lost its burned, sooty appear
ance, and gradually the brassy sky
came so seldom as to be almost for
gotten. Moisture was accommodating
There was not more moisture, but it
came and it stayed. There may not
have been more rains but they were
better distributed, but the moist air
that reaches vegetation or falls in
dew is never measured by the weather
bureau.
There is a spirit in the wilderness
that moves its arm and cries Desc
lationi DesOlaiOn!" to scare men
away. 1t scared some from southern
Kansas; it scared many from Okla
hOma. and now 1t has scared the
weather bureau out Of western Kan
sas. 1t is trying to scare the people
out Of Beaver county, Oklahoma and
the Panhandle Of Texas. There viii
be some that will stand pat" and re-
fuse to run away. These causes that
have developed southern Kansas and
Oklahoma admonishes US to make the
prediction that not only western Kan
sas but western Oklahoma and Pan
handle viii soon become a land OF
prosperous people and happy homes. |
The Eagle is high on its perch that all
the world may hear, and it viii con-
unue 70 scream for western Kansas,
western Oklahoma and Panhandle.