Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-03-24
EDITORIAL PAGE
HASKIN LETTER
KANSAS WHEAT
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN

Washington, March 21.-Out in Kansas
they are happy. The biggest 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 crops 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 shark
says that the weather could not be i'm
proved upon. The snow cover, which Is
so necessary to the welfare of winter
wheat, has been excellent. And a warm,
stimulating spring is in prospect. Moth
ing can really hurt that wheat crop ex-
cept 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 hfe
A good crop means wealth, good business.
more flivvers, and, above all, more fame
| for the great state of Kansas, which has
an almost fanatical press agent IN every
true Kansan If the wheat crop pros
pers. the area of grin on Kansas faces
| spreads Just as visibly as the sprouting
wheat spreads across the prairie. Ii the
| Hessian fly or the wheat smut or a
drought comes along to threaten the ne
of the wheat, the JOY is taken out OF
Kansas life. and the Kansas face length
ems like sunflower stalk i'll the spring.
| The intensity of the Kansas interest IN
the Kansas wheat crop has radiated INTO
| sill parts of the United tSates. Ihere 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 look
| ing for Jobs. Kansas has made repu-
| tation for the way it feeds them and
| makes them work 1t will need lot OF
| them this. year. 1t is estimated that 49,
| coo extra men will be required to harvest
| this wheat crop. which means that Nan
| sas alone will be able to handle a large
| part of the unemployment problem Tor
while.
| Kansas has had bumper wheat crops
! before this. the fame of which has gone
| all over the world And it has had crop
| failures which have been even more spec
| tacular than some of the successes. bu'
| this wheat crop. for variety of reasons,
| takes place as one of the most dramatic
! events in Kansas history.
| The 1917 wheat crop, as every one
/ knows, was abnormally light In re-
sponse to the pleas of the food admins
/ tration the Kansas farmers made great
| efforts for the 1918 crop. 1t was good,
! but not bumper. And all the world
vas still short of wheat. That. you Will
remember, was the time of wheatlesS
| days and wheatless meals and queer
| looking bread and cake, when you mad 10
| buy a pound of something else with every
| pound of wheat flour.
The Kansas farmers determined that
the great state of Kansas should do al!
! that one state could do to relieve this
world shortage of wheat. And the Ran
sans claim-apd there is a good deal of
evidence to support their ciaim-that
| pure patriotism was their only motive
! Congress had passed the law by which
| the government guarantees the farmer Il
| price that means about 81 for him for
| every bushe. But at that time s. looked
| like very small price for the 1919
wheat crop, Every enc 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 Il great deal more than
$40 bushel for their wheat Besides
| that, they claim that corn looked to be
| q much more profitable crop than wheat,
| according to all signs at that time.
| Nevertheless, they planted wheat be-
| cause wheat was what the world needed,
and wheat was what Hoover demanded
they should plant
The crop was planted under tremen-
dous difficulties. The preceding sum
mer the crop had been gathered only by
calling on the city and town folk for vol
| unteers and by using women and chill
dren; and the planting of the new crop
/ was almost as desperate an undertaking.
| What little labor was available demanded
| enormous wages and was very hard to
keep. About that time the average farm
er was treating his hired man with
much the same studied diplomacy and
| consideration that the city people were
displaying toward their maids and cooks
/ One farmer kept his hired man by letting
him have the family car to play with
| every Sunday afternoon; another was ap-
pessed by an agreement to the effect that
! be should always have pie for dinner
| The average farm hand was getting so
| or $50 month in addition to his board
| and ROOM and that is about twice what
! il cost TO keep hand before the war.
And the cost of labor was not the only
| thing that had gone up. Seed was very
expensive, so that if the farmer lost his
crop he lost good deal larger invest
ment than usual. Machinery was way up
in price, and the scarcity of labor made