The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-07-24
Appeals to Governor Stubs to
Call One.
MUSTHAVEA ASSISTANCE
Seeks Means to Enable Farmers
to Plant Crop.
DrOuth in Western Section Has
Proven Disastrous.

J. NJ. Schlicher. representative in
the last Legislature from Sheridan
county, came to Topeka today to try
to find some means whereby ms
county could aid the farmers in Sc
curing seed wheat for early fall plant
ing. The drouth destroyed the wheat
planted there this year and the far-
lners are up against stern PROPOSE
ton Mr.. Schlicher appealed to the
attorney general to interpret the OLD
seed wheat law so that the county
could loan the money to the farmers
to buy good wheat. Failing in this,
Mr.. Schlicher left at noon for Law
renee to try to get the governor TO
call a special session of the legislature
in order that a special measure might
be passed that would allow the west
ern counties that have suffered from
the drOuth to issue warrants to the
farmers on twelve months time SO
that they can buy seed wheat and
plant for next harvest
Sheridan county is not the only
county that has suffered from the
early summer drouth. All the west
ern One-third OF the state with the eX-
ception of a few counties had the
wheat crop burned up by the dry
weather An advance of a few thou
sand dollars by each county to its far
mers at this time would be worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars next
harvest. Mr.. Schlicher came here
hoping that the old seed wheat meas
ure would meet the emergency, but his
hopes were dashed by the attorney
generals ruling to the effect that the
seed wheat bill held good only for the
year in which it was enacted.
Mr.. Schlicher believes that the sit
uatiOn is important enough to warrant
"a special session of the legislature.
The western counties, he says, are IN
good condition financially. his own
county of Sheridan does not owe a
dollar. These counties could issue
12-month warrants and relieve the
situation entirely. They only need
permission by law to help themselves.
They do not ask outside aid at all.
Attorney General Dawson. who is
western Kansas man himself, was seen
after his conference with Mr..
Schncher, and made the following
statement in regard to the situation:
THE situation in which mum Der
of the counties in western Kansas ind
themselves on account of the total
failure Of a wheat crop is decidedly
grave. The farmers have no seed
wheat for the fall sowing and repeat
ed crop failures have rendered many
of them unable to borrow money to
buy seed There is an exodus by the
settlers which is threatened and in
deed many people are already moving
away Some of the counties say that
unless some means can be devised to
provide seed wheat, that the loss of
population In the counties of the far
west may run as high rs twenty-five
per cent. All sorts of suggestions are
being made to devise means to hold
the people. In one of the counties it
is proposed to vote good roads bonds
and give the farmers work building
good roads.
Another suggestion is to call the
legislature together and make an ap-
preparation as was done in 1891 and
i'm 1QO6 Aunfbar idea and one which
is perhaps subject to the least objec-
ton is to authorize the counties to
issue bonds to procure funds to be
loaned to the farmers of the drouth-
stricken counties. The rest of the
state could not object to that. The
appropriations made by the state in
1891 and 1895 were in the nature of
loans and were all paid back to the
state when the years Of bountiful har-
vests came. The state never lost any
money and the timely aid of these APP
propriations did incalcuIable good in
western Kansas"