Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1915-04-30

The above picture suggests a
problem which is worrying a good
many Inland Empire farmers as they
look over their flourishing grain
fields. Present weather conditions
throughout Eastern Washington and
the shortage of moisture to date,
point to another dry harvest season,
unless the rain fall between now and
then is considerably above the nor
NAL, or average, for the past 20
years. These farmers cannot forget
the loss of 800 separators by smut
explosions last fall and the accom-
panying grain fires. They remem-
Der that the insurance companies
cancelled their policies and refused
to insure the separators and that, as
result, many thresher men pulled
in their machines and will not be
looking for business next fall.
Will the number of separators
available be reduced to such an ex-
tent as to make it impossible to
handle the increased acreage which
now promises to yield an abundant
crop? This is a pertinent question.
The situation developed last fall
was so serious that the State Col
lege made a careful investigation of
the explosions and issued report
from which the following extracts
are taken:
Throughout that portion of ter
ritory occupied by Whitman and
portions of neighboring counties
there occurred numerous fires, or
what were com monty termed explo-
sions, in threshing separators.
These increased in frequency as the
threshing season got under way I'M
til it was no uncommon thing to
have a report of six to eight of these
fires per day. The nature of the
fires, that is, their sudden and al
most explosive character caused
them to be termed explosions and
w
alent belief that they were due TO
incendarism. These fires increased
in frequency and destructiveness I'M
til near the end of the threshing
season, about September l. They
usually appeared to originate in the
threshing separator at, or just back
of, the cylinder, and within two or
three seconds the entire separator
would be mass of flames, so hot
that it prevented the approach of
workmen and very soon resulted in
the complete destruction of the ma
chine, the fire usually spreading to
the straw pile and frequently to the
threshed grain in the surrounding
fields. In number of cases work
men were seriously injured. usual
ly by fire, though in few cases by
the force of the explosion.
when these fires occurred, of
course, it necessitated the immediate
purchase of a new separator at
cost of from $1,000 to $500. Con-
sentative estimates place the num-
Der of these fires, or so-called explo-
sions, for this district, during the
past season, at very close to 800.
Calculating loss of machinery, loss
of both threshed and unthreshed
grain, loss of time and injury to
men. the total would doubtless con-
siderably exceed half a million dol
lars for the season.
1T has been the habit of prac-
tically all machine owners to carry
insurance on their outfits. With the
occurrence of fires during the season
in question practically all insurance
companies either cancelled their in
surance or refused to insure new ma
chimes when purchased for work in
this region, thus inflicting a heavier
loss than otherwise on machine
owners
The results of the investigation
are summarized as follows:
Summarizing the findings of the
Investigations thus far, it is quite
evident that, within the district