The St. Joseph observer. [volume] (St. Joseph, Mo.) 1906-1932, 1917-05-05
KANSAS FOR THE
BIG FOOD DRIVE.

womcns organizations and farmers or
ganizations--acc to reports. ~
| don't believe there is an active farmer
in the state who is not going the limit
in planting this year." said President
Henry j. Waters. of the agricultural
college, president also of the state de-
fense council THE interest and ac-
tivty are statewide and are going to
get results" The state council is lay
ing plans for a permanent organiza-
tion that if necessary, can continue its
work for years. Chancellor Frank
| Strong, of the state university, pointed
out that the war is more than likely to
last or years. perhaps 4 years more
This food drive for the next 80 days is
to be only the opening campaign of a
long series. A finance committee to
raise S25,000 to he secured and used
as was the $4,000 raised by the seed
wheat club in the fall of 1913, was ap-
pointed by President Waters. A tele-
gram was received from Haskell coun-
| ty stating that there was little seed
available there, and that a succession
of crop failures had put IL beyond the
power of the local baI kers to handle
the situation. This council is going
to need money, and perhaps quite a
sum of money" said Senator Carey. "I
believe that is of the things we will
have to take up right now. l propose
raising it by Observation-Disclosures the
money, of course, with the understand
ing that those receiving help, will pay
it back If they get a crop" Carey
said he had the LIST 81 900 for the loan
fund. f. r. Hayes. of the Hayes Feed
company, North Topeka will lend /, 900
bushels of seed for western Kansas, to
be used in the same way as the cash
| Senator Carey has put up. Public
subscriptions will not be asked, the
financial committee appointed a few
minutes later decided, but the COM
mittee will so to work among the
business men of the state to raise the
necessary amount without making
public appeal at this time. Governor
Capper is chairman of the committee
on finance. The importance of strong
county organizations able to cope with
any local situation that might arise,
was emphasized by President Waters,
Chancellor Strong, Senator Carey, Ed
win Taylor-Taylor declared the sit
uation was so much more serious than
was realized that a special session of
the legislature ought to be called.
In some ways the state is much bet
ter off than had been reported, ac-
cording to the report compiled by
Dean Jardine and j. c. Mohler, secre-
tary of the council, from the question:
aire sent out last week to get seed, la
Dor and crop conditions generally. The
state, as a whole, is we'll supplied with
seed, altho it is unevenly distributed,
according to the more than 5000 re-
nj hxr T,h Ia,
all cultivated land, except in the far
southwestern counties, is expected to
have crops this spring The railroad
and agricultural experts on the coun-
Gil thought the reports on this line
were little too optimistic, altho ad-
mitting that every nerve is being
strained by the Kansas people to get
miXimum possible yield this season.
More than that, with less than a doz-
en- exceptions, local correspondents re-
ported little need Of outside aid at this
time. In most counties the local bank
ers and farmers themselves are able to
take care Of the financial end of the
crop planting campaign, the replies as
summarized showed. The Jardine-
Mohler report presented to the council
summarized the present crop situation
as follows: Practically all cultivated
land will be put into crops, the excep-
tions being where the farmers are
preparing to summer fallow in the
western counties to plant to winter
wheat the coming fall, which if not
carried to the extreme, is thoroly ad-
visable. From every county outside
the oil and mining districts, a large
majority of the reports show sufficient
labor for spring work. In the oil and
mining districts the farmers are be-
ing outbid. Tho the present local sup
ply of labor may put in the crops, it
may not be able to raise and harvest
them. The demand for city helpers
on the farms seems to be lacking. No
general need of any sort of aid is In
dicated. Each county seems TO feel
mighty self-sufficicnt, occasionally 2
or replies from a county will call for
horse feed, money for seed or harvest
hands. Reports indicate an ample
supply Of horse power. The replies af-
ford no basis for estimating the total
number Of tractors or the number idle
in the different counties. Apparently
In the counties where much Of the
land is seeded in the fall most Of the
tractors are now idle but will be need
ed later for plOwing and threshing.
4N' bllt 9ttill0 hlSIDStl 10 lOdH u lIdC-
tor or to rent II unless the owner can
operate it, ana the owner expectstO be
busy at home. No especially new
crops are advocated. Corn kafir,
milo, feterita, cane, etc, are the favor
ties, Beans, cowpeas, potatoes, millet
AMI alfalfa are occasionally mentioned.
Corn is as frequently suggested as the
sorghums even in the western counties.
They seem to want a money crop and
to lack both funds and disposition to
buy cattle to consume forage. How
over, the very general mention OF the
sorghums probably points to an in
creased acreage of these crops if suffi-
cient seed can be had. Also Of barley.
a large majority Of the replies from
practically every county show an sin-
tentiOn to cultivate all the land pos
| sibie. In the western counties this
can hardly mean all the abandoned
wheat land; In the eastern counties il
| probably does. From 80 counties the
| reports show clearly a generally sat
| isfactory condition, all seeds consider
ed. From 10 counties more or less Of
shortage is indicated. 40 counties,
widely scattered over the state, mem
tion shortage Of kafir, milo, feterita
%, [. A..