Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-03-28
KANSAS WHEAT-By Frederic J. Haskin

WASHINGTON, d. c. March 21-Out
w in Kansas they are happy. The big
w gest wheat crop in the history of the
state the biggest wheat crop ever produced
by any one state in the union, in fact one of
the biggest rops of anything ever produced
anywhere, is spreading it's tender green
across the Kansas prairie
Everybody out in Kansas talks about the
wheat, thinks about the wheat and prays for
the wheat. And their prayers this year seem
to be answered. All the experts here in
Washington agree that the Kansas wheat crop
is enjoying almost ideal conditions. The
weather sharp says that the weather could
not be improved upon. The snow-cover
which is so necessary to the welfare Of win
ter wheat, as been excellent. And warm,
stimulating spring is in prospect. Nothing
can really hurt that wheat crop except a
drought along in May and June and every
one in Kansas knows that no such drought is
going to occur.
To the people of Kansas the wheat crop is
always the chief concern of life. A good
wheat crop means wealth, good business,
more f1ivTers, and above all, more fame for
the great state of Kansas, which has an al
most fanatical press agent in every true Kan
san. IT the wheat croC prospers, the area Of
grin on Kansas faces spreads just as visibly
as the sprouting wheat spreads across the
prairie. If the Hessian fly or the wheat
smut CT a drought Comes along 10 LuT6dLCu
the life of the wheat the JOY is taken out OF
Kansas life, and the Kansas face lengthena
like a sunfower stalk in the spring.
The intensity of the Kansas intel est in the
Kansas wheat Crop'has radiated into all parts
of the United States. There is no one so
benighted but knows that they raise wheat
in Kansas. 1t is to Kansas that the college
boys all go in June looking for jobs, Kansas
has made a reputation for the Way 1t feeds
them and makes them work It will need a
lot of them this year. 1t is estimated that
$4,000 extra men will be required to harvest
this wheat crop, which means that Kansas
alone will be able to handle large part OF
the unemployment problem for a while.
Kansas had had bumper wheat crops be-
fore this the fame of which has gone all over
the world. And it has had crop failures
which have been even more spectacular that
some of the successes. But this wheat crop
for variety of reasons, takes place as one
of the most dramatic events in Kansas his
tory.
The 1917 wheat crop as everyone knows,
was abnormally light. In response to the
pleas of the food administration the Kansas
farmers made great efforts for the 1918 crop.
1t was good, but not bumper. And all the
world was still short of wheat. That you
will remember, was the time of Wheatless
days and Nheatless meals, and queer-lOoking
bread and cake, when you had to buy pound
of something else with every pound of wheat
-four.
The Kansas farmers determined that the
great state of Kansas should do all the one
state could to relieve this world shortage of
wheat And the Kansans claim-and there
is good deal of evidence to support their
claim-that pure patriotism was their only
motive. Congress had passed the law by
which the government guarantees the farm
er a price that means &bout two dollars for
him on every bushel But at that time two
dollars looked like very small price for
the 1913 wheat crop. Everyone believed
that the war would continue for years, and
the farmers believed that if the government
had left wheat prices uncontrolled they
could have gotten d great deal more than
two dollars and twenty cents a bushel for
their wheat Besides that they, claim that
corn looked to be a much more profitable
crop than wheat, according to all signs at
that time. Nevertheless they planted wheat
because wheat was what the world needed
and wheat waG what Hoover demanded they
should plant.
The crop was planted under tremendous
difficulties The preceding summer the crop
had been gathered only by calling or the city
and town folk for volunteers, and by using
women and children; anG the planting of the
new crop was almost as desperate al under
taking, What little 'dbor available de-
manded enormous wages, and was very hard
to keep. About that time the average farm
er was treating his aired ma with much /
that the city people we're displaying toward
their maids and cooks One farmer kept
his hired nan by letting him have the family
car to play with every Sunday afternoon, an
other was appeased hr- an agreement to the
effect that he should always have pie for dim
ner The average farm hand was getting
fifty or sixty dollars month in addition to
his board and room, and that is about twice
what it cost to keep d hand before the war.
And the cost of labor was not the only
thing that had gone up Seed was very eX-
pensive, so that if the farmer lost his crop
he lost good deal larger investment than
usual. Machinery was way up in price
and the scarcity of labor made the use of
more machinery necessary. All in all. it was
mighty expensive and difficult crop to plant,
and the little old two dollars and twenty
cents which the government had promised the
farmer did not look so large when he
fected that he might have gotten three dol
lars or more in an open market, and that