The Washington herald., 1918-04-12
LARGE WHEAT
CROP EXPECTED
Holland Says Reports from
Northwestern States
Are Favorable.

Good news came from New York
this morning respecting the promise
OF the wheat harvest in the North
west The information Is based upon
many reports from the wheat grow
ing States In the Northwest which
have been received by John H. Rich.
who IL the Federal reserve agent at
Minneapolis, for the Ninth district.
IL other parts Of the country are
able to furnish Information as graft
flying a. that which comes from the
Northwest the wheat harvest in the
United States Is to be next summer,
much greater than It was in 1917. a.
though Of course there must always
be allowance for possible unfavorable
weather conditions. In the first place
wheat cultivation In the entire dis
trict has begun from fifteen to thirty
days earlier than is usually the case.
Wheat seeding has been in progress
over. all of North and South Dakota
as well as, Montana. In Minnesota
the farmers are doing a great work.
for the wheat planting Is so ad-
vanced that about 10 per cent Is al
ready in the ground.
Increased Acreage Planted.
Montana. that marvel Of the states
of the Northwest. great in mineral
production and likely to be even great
er In agricultural production. is to
have a winter wheat acreage 8 per
cent greater than last year and the
increase in spring wheat Is so great
that II the weather be favorable
Montana will add next summer
greatly to her prestige as a wheat
Producing State.
The farmers of the Northwest ap-
pear to be more interested In wheat
culture this year than ever before, and
that Is made evident by the fact that
many farmers who have not grown
wheat for years are now planting as
much as forty acres Of wheat in addi-
ton to their other farming work. The
Dakotas are. IL the weather proves
satisfactory. to harvest a great in
crease in winter wheat. there being an
increase in wheat cultivation as COM
pared to last year of forty per cent.
Throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin
it has been discovered that farmers
in sections which for ten years or
more have been exclusively occupied
in the cultivation of other grains. are
this year planting wheat. So extended
is this activity that 1t was said by the
officers OF a Minnesota bank, Our
farmers are getting tired of war bread
and have therefore put in ten to forty
acres of wheat this year" Reports Of
this kind make it clear that partly
from their own good understanding of
the situation and partly from the I'M
pulses that have been exerted by the
Washington authorities as well as Cne
State authorities, the chances are eN-
cellent that a very large wheat harvest
tSill be sarnered in the wheat growing
states of the Northwest this fall IL
there is no setback due to weather
conditions. There appears to be no
great apprehension of a scarcity of
labor. Information of this kind should
6e1 gratifying to Mr.. Hoover and 10
: the Washington authorities. for it Is
wheat in the form of flour. that the
Government is anxious to secure IN
order to furnish our own armies and
our allies in France and Italy with an
adequate supply of this food.
A Change of Opinion.
No longer is there comment re-
Fpecting the Secretary of the Navy.
JUsephus Daniels, similar to that
which was frequently heard for 4
year or two after he became head of
the Navy Department Instead of
that i'm the financial district and in
business circles. the view is COM
monty held that Secretary Daniels is
entitled to all the credit that is pos
sible to give. because his direction of
the Navy Department since We en-
tered the war has been, on the whole.
beyond criticism. In this respect
Secretary Daniels experience resem-
bles that which was the lot of one
of his predecessors and a great pre-
decessor, Gideon Welles Of Hartford.
Conn, who was Secretary of the Navy
in President Lincoln's administration.
When MIR. Welles became Secretary
of the Navy and for a year after he
pletely lost sight of or else. il there
were comments, these were not en-
tirely favorable to him. The great
war governor of Massachusetts,, John
\. Andrew. was free in his criticism,
finding it impossible to make any
Roadway. he said. in his approaches
to the Navy Department. Gradually
there began to be understanding that
this quiet. unassuming man, who
never sought the publicity, who re-
Trained always from taking any part
in the friction which occasionally
broke out in Lincoln's cabinet. had
perfected out of almost nothing an
effective navy and that. as a result
of his achievement. he had been able
so thoroughly to blockade the ports
of the Southern Confederacy as al
most completely to shut off trade
between the confederate states, and
Europe. especially in cotton. After
the war was ended II was recognized
that Secretary welles' service had
been fully as important as that per-
formed by the Federal army. TODAY
he Il recognized as one Of the ablest
Of all those who ever held the office
of Secretary Of the Navy. That is
believed viii be the recognition of
the future for Secretary Daniels.
Got Past BY Accident.
And yet it was almost by accident
that Mr.. Daniels became Secretary
of the Navy. When Gov. Woodrow
Wilson. OF New Jersey, was max
ing up his Presidential Cabinet he
sent for Senator Overman. of North
Carolina, so that he might consult
with him. And he said to the SEN
ator that North Carolina was a
great and important State well
worthy of recognition by cabinet
appointment. Thereupon he asked
the Senator who there was in North
Carolina who, in his opinion, would
be worthy Of a cabinet office, and
the Senator in reply instantly
named Josephus Daniels.
The President elect. after reflect
ing a moment. said that he would
appoint Mr.. Daniels Postmast ster
General But q few days later the
North Carolina Senator was again