The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-07-02
BACK AT COBURN.
Secretary Wilson Takes Up
Fight by Proxy.
NJ. A. Carleton, His Hired Man,
Writes a Letter.
SAYS WILSON Is RIGHT
SAYS WILSON is RIGHT
Six Years Ahead of Kansas in
Wheat Investigations.
Mr.. COburn Decides 1t Isn't
Worth Fussing About.

- last II hdS COIilG. OH6 OI 0eCIG-
tary James Wilson's aide de camps
man who claims Kansas as his home
has undertaken the job of defending
Secretary Wilson, and thrusting a dart
under the hide of Secretary F. d. CO.
burn.
1t was announced some days ago from
Washington that Secretary Wilson had
his entire department at work hunting
for some place to attack Coburn, in
punishment for Coburn's audacIty III
laughing at the half baked information
eXpounded by the United States depart
ment of agriculture concerning Kansas.
M. A. Carleton. who bears the title of
Cerealist for the Grain Investigations
or the Bureau of Plant Industry of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture OF Washington, D. c." is the man
delegated by Wilson to start the anvil
| chorus. Mr.. Wilson has cleverly select
ed Mr.. Carleton because Mr.. Carleton is
a former Kansas man.
Not only has Mr.. Carleton. on his Of
flcial letter head of the United States
department of agriculture sent a nine
page typewritten communication to the
State Journal, but he sent a copy of
the same to Mr.. Coburn himself. in
forming him that war was declared or
words to that effect, which, it must be
admitted, " as the fair and, decent thing
for him to do.
Mr.. Coburn said this morning: 1T
seems 20 me that a great many words
have been used in this communication
but think it isn't necessary for me
to pay any attention to it. have no
reply to make
Mr.. Carleton's letter indicates that
the United States department of agri-
culture is sore and irritated over what
Mr.. Coburn has said. and that it is in
clined to be fu5sy. Mr.. Carleton insists
that Secretary Wilson knew, all the
time, that Kansas was raising lots OF
Turkey wheat at the time the experi-
ments were made by Mr.. Wilson at
Ames, Iowa. Then Mr.. Carleton pro-
ceeds to explain what Mr.. Wilson meant
in his celebrated letter The following
is Mr.. Carleton's open letter:
Mr.. Carleton's Letter.
Some time ago when the green bug
was performing it's damage on small
of agriculture wrote a letter to =. d
Coburn, secretary of the Kansas state
board of agriculture, giving some of his
experience at the Iowa experiment sta
ton in trials of Turkey winter wheat
in comparison with other varieties and
called attention to the unusually good
stooling qualities of the Turkey wheat,
which enables it always to mature
very. good crop in spite of a deficient
stand, that even though the green
bug might have damaged the wheat ma
terially in some localities, the fact that
this particular winter wheat was grown
would make possible very much larger
crop of wheat than would result II
other ordinary varieties were in cultfva-
ton. Instead of giving any serious con-
Sideration to this important fact, not at
all generally known among wheat grow
ers in the west, because of certain al.
legged lack of knowledge shown in the
letter of the secretary of agriculture, II
was given to the press, and all kinds
of adverse comment allowed to be made
upon it although the secretary did not,
as falsely stated in eastern papers, ask
that this letter should be published Abb
surd comments and misleading state
Iaxr hoe ca N-t6
in connection with the letter that the
writer without any knowledge on the
part of the secretary of agriculture that
he is doing so, wishes TO make the toi-
lowing comments:
Absolutely erroneous differences have
been drawn from this letter and widely
ted. The writer Is. and has
been since 1876 resident of Kansas and
has spent fifteen years in field expert
ments with grain. a large part Of which
time was spent in Kansas. IF. there
fore there is one thing above another
that he could claim to know 1t Is the
deyelopment of the wheat industry Of
that state and he is fully prepared at
any time to back up thoroughly the ac-
statements with regard 70
this particular matter of the history OF
Turkey wheat in Kansas.
Introduced 35 Years Ago in Kansas.
l. Turkey wheat. or more properly
,rimean wheat was originally f1fro-
luced into Kansas by the Mennonitcs
1t least th1rty-nVe years ago ~ 5r
nany years however. this fact was
-eally not known to the Kansas peo-
Die in general. and it was only in iso-
ated localities like the region about
and Newton, that this
wheat was grown to any considerable
sxtent.
2 Even up to about 1887 Kansas
lad not become generally known as
lard winter wheat state, and as late
Is the period between 1887 and 1890,
,yer large part of the west and
northwest. Turkey winter was then al
most wholly unknown, though in this
anne region 1t is now practically the
,nly winter wheat grown. This Is
positive statement. for the writer lived
n this particular region at that time.
g. Even today Kansas is not en-
irely a hard winter wheat state,
hough it is of course true that much
he larger part of the wheat is of that
lass In almost all the eastern third
f the state Turkey wheat is not now,
md never can be, grown because of
is nonadaptability to that region. On
he other hand In the extreme western
portion of the state II will uniformly
all in seasons of extreme drouth, dur
ng which period durum wheat must
,e sown.
4. The combined output of Turkey
Wheat in the states of Oklahoma, Colo
ado Nebraska and Iowa is now with
nut much doubt greater than that of
Kansas, so that after all Kansas does
lot produce even the larger part OF
he hard winter wheat of the middle
vest.
Says Kansas Was Slow
s. Good things are occasionally intro
Luced into certain localities by the
---------- - - -