The Washington herald., 1918-06-28
CROP OF WHEAT
In U. S. BILLION
Holland Shows crookes
Prediction Of Cereal
Z Famine Unfounded.

= w VI thTec udys dBO seNoAoi
New York business men returned
from oklshonia. bringing with them.
WONDERFUL reports of two wealth.
producing eepditfons In that state
They seemed hardly to know
whether to speak with more en-
dffusiasm OF the new development
nj rush oil producing properties IN
northern Central Oklahoma. or of
ane prospects, Of the wheat harvest
IN that State. 1t was their privilege
10 see wheat ready for the reaping
machines.
They were confident that much
of the Oklahoma yield of wheat
wpuld average at least fifty bushels
per acre. OF course. the new oil
properties are yielding larger reve-
nues than will COME from the wheat
harvest in Oklahoma, and yet II
Ahe forecast of that harvest is found
40 be correct. and IL the price is
naintained at $2.25 per bushel. then
ahe Oklahoma wheat harvest will
Yield in money about 10000. 900.
THE Washington forecasters esti-
mate that Oklahoma will produce
a4ess number bushels per acre than
came from her wheat fields last
year. and yet not much less. But
IN view of the fact that the wheat
harvest will show a very high aver
age in bushels per acre, not less
fhan thirty. and in many cases as
much as fifty. the government fore
casters may be compelled gladly to
revise their estimate.
billion Promised.
nf ....-.. a.. -,,-..;-o Df ,ba ne ftnt,-a
wheat harvest. perhaps as much as
leo 10000 bushels. almost certainly
as much as 95e.0o0,Ooo bushels. is well
,romed by the government and by our
allies. since we shall be able to sup
ply the greater part Of the needs of
tie armies in Europe with wheat. ard
SIN have left enough, with proper
economy. for our own use.
But there is another point Of view
which offers quite as gratifying
etsion as does that which pictures
forth many shiploads OF wheat cross
Ing the Atlantic to feed the armies in
Europe For from that point Of view
ptfis possible to learn what wonder
ful advances the United States has
made in the production of wheat.
! About twenty years ago, one Of
England's ablest men of science
sounded a note of warning. saying
that the. worlds wheat. productiOn
vas not keeping pace with the worlds
Increase in population.
+ Therefore. unless the ingenuity and
stsdom of men made 1t possible
greatly to increase the harvest OF
wheat, the people of the United
States would not grow enough for
home consumption. This monitor,
coming from so great man as fir
William Crookes. caused worldwide
coinment. But in the United states
II has now been demonstrated that
Ne can steadily increase our harvest
OF wheat. providing that conditions
are favorable and We are sure not
tpshave bad weather every year.
In 1850. =
In 1850. the total production of
theat in the United States was only
t0000, 900 bushels. almost al OF
Rkbeing harvested east OF the, MIS-
sissippi River. Men of capital and of
faith. between 1850 and 1860, con-
structed many railroad lines which
penetrated the virgin soil of the
vast prairies west. of the Mississippi
So also American invention was
found TO be equal to this new op-
purtunity, as Cyrus Mccormack. who
years earlier had made with his
own hands a reaping machine, DEM
oBstrated to the pioneer farmers
how valuable an accessory for their
agriculture this apparatus was.
Railroads. none of which had in
1850 reached the Pacific Coast. were
built across the prafries east of the
Rockies, and these with the reaping
apparatus made il possible so to in
crease our wheat cultivation that.
the year before the civil war began,
the United States harvested some
what in excess OF 00.e00.0 900 BUSH
els of wheat
Thus we were demonstrating to
the world that We were about to
include in our foreign commerce
wheat in addition to our exports of
cotton and tobacco.
As ID Was I'm 1890.
BY the first year of the final decade
OF the past century. our farmers,
who had been aided by railroad con-
struction and by labor-saving agri-
cultural apparatus, harvested and
marketed considerably in excess of
10000, 900 bushels of wheat And so
IL went on. until in the year 1915
the farmers harvested 1000 OOO. 90
bushels and are likely to garner as
many bushels this year. =.
Sir William Crookes was answered.
Our own energy. our own expendi-
tare Of great capital and the energy,
patience and faith Of the wonderful
army of pioneer farmers made IT pos
slble for the United States to take
afst rank among the snatieps of the
world as exporter of wheat aSI
Ia addition. science and the lead
ership Of men like James J. Hill.
Howard Elliott and others demon
strxted that the bleak climate OF the
Tar Northwest was favorzble to
wheat cultivation. 50 that Minnesota,
the Dakotas and Montana became
great wheat-raising States. Further
more. all Of these Influences COM
blned to develop splendid wheat-pro-
ducing results in Oklahoma, Kan
sss' and other partss of the South
west. especially those which were
known half century ago as the
Great American Desert. -.
Californir astonished the world a
few years after gold was. discover
"a there. by exporting wheat, and
sariier the territory, OREGON,
which included what are now the
suites of Washington and Oregon,
vas cultivating wheat and EXPORT
ng IT.
As recently as 1900. the leading
authorities in England were still
persuaded that the United States
must remain. so far as its inter-
ietional trade Is concerned, almost
.xclusively an exporter of aericul-
.ural products. principally wheat
md cotton. =
Ten years later. these same Brit
Sh authorities were astounded VIII,