The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-09-11

SaS whose IafmS aDut on the union
Pacific Railroad right of way.
Gentlemen:-
A condition has existed and still
exists on the farms along the right of
way of the Union Pacific Railroad,
and that is the loss and damage to
crops by fire either set by sparks from
locomotives or from lighted cigaret
or cigars unthinkingly thrown from
the window of car while passing
through this territory. During the
period of harvesting and threshing
the grain along the right of way be-
comes very dry and is ignited very
easily by sparks, or as stated above
by lighted cigar stubs and cigarettes,
which in years gone by has caused
enormous losses both to the railroads
and to the farmers. Some of this
grain is insured, some of it is paid
for by the carrier, whether respons-
ible or not, and some of it has been
destroyed by incendarism and many
other agencies over which we have
no control, and it matters little who
pays for the loss, it does not relieve
the situation in regard to the loss of
the food product that is irretrievabIy
lost and cannot be recovered and
means a great loss to the food con-
sumner of this state and others and
has great tendency toward the high
cost of living.
For illustration, on the Union Pa
cific this year there was burned ap-
proximately 1853 acres of wheat.
Some of the causes have been located
and some have not. If all the rail
roads in the wheat belt lost approx
imately the same per mile, you can
see what it means to the consumers
of bread and wheat products. I will
give you some figures that are actual
and show real condition which is de-
plorable. The 1168 acres of wheat
say at an average of eighteen bushels
per acre, taking four and one-half
bushels of wheat to make one barrel
of -four, means that 1864 barrels
were destroyed. Each barrel of flour
makes 315 fifteen ounce loaves of
bread, or total of 1,469, ,16O loaves
of bread. This at eight cents per
loaf means a loss in dollars and cents
of Silt, $3.50 In other words,
there was destroyed by fire food for
one day for 1,469, $50 people. r
My idea in giving you these figures
and calling this to your attention is
how we can best prevent the loss of
food and the loss of money to all con-
cerned. We have endeavored to so
equip our engines to prevent as far as
possible setting fire by sparks from
locomotives. We have gone to con-
siderable expense in applying double
nettings through which sparks must
pass before coming out in the air in
order that they may be broken and
will not have the body to carry fire
operated with US to great extent in
plowing fire guards and blackburn
ing each side of them in order to pre-
vent as far as possible the spread of
fire should one be started, but this
has not proven entirely a success be-
cause of high winds which cause fires
to jump guards and destroy great
deal of property.
The question now in our minds and
should be in the minds of the farmers
as well, is how best to eliminate fires
of this nature. 1t appeals to me that
the farmer without any great expense
or any loss of the use of the ground
could practically eliminate the fire
hazard by planting or sowing strip
of land seventy-five feet outside of
the right of way fence to corn, pota-
toes, beans, kafr corn, cane or allah
ia. These are all needed products on
the farm for household and stock uses
and could be raised with consider
able degree of profit to the farmer
and thus protect him from any loss by
fire, which in turn would give great
er volume of cereals to the consumer
which would ultimately aid in the re-
duction of the high cost of living.
AS you know, in the past two years
there has been a shortage of cereals,
and only by the most rigid economy
and denying ourselves the use of flour
and cereals to the greatest extent
were we able to feed our boys who
were fighting in the great War which
has recently ended. History tells US
when the supply of cereals is exhaust
ed, or approximately so, as it has
been in the past year, it requires
nearly twenty years of good crops
and good conditions to bring about a
surplus.
This will give you an idea as to the
Importance of producing the maxi
mum crop and the preservation of the
same in the years to come. I am not
writing this letter in a spirit of criti-
cism as against the farmer, but on
the other hand I am sincerely asking
your cooperation to the extent of the
preservation of the crops which you
have worked so hard to bring forth.
During the period of the war real
ize the burdens that were thrust upon
IL Z l. \