The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-06-19
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ATION
BU REAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Director.
washinstor, D. G.
TAKE THE RISK OUT OF
FARMING.
'washinstor, D. G.

FARMING.
washington, d. c., June 1.-THE
insur.ng of crops not only against fire
and hail, but also against drouth. in
Sect pests and plant diseases, so that
when a farmer plants a crop he will
be assured of a certain financial re-
turn per acre, is a project which is
now engaging the attention of experts
in and out of the government.
Crop insurance, as explained by its
opponents, would be of the utmost
importance, not only to farmers. but
to the entire business and financial
world. Nearly every farming section
of the United States has a money
crop" upon which the entire prosper
ity of that section depends. In Kan
sas, they watch the wheat crop as a
mother watches a sick child. Not
only the farmers, but the bankers, the
merchants. and in some degree, almost
every other business and financial in
terest. is dependent upon the wheat
crop. In the South, everyone's hope
of an easy winter and a new car
hinges on how the cotton grows; in
the Middle West King Corn is the ar
bitter of all destinies; and in the North
west hope wanes or wakes with the
apple yield.
When a money crop fails in a coun-
fers directly and the whole country
suffers indirectly. 1t is not the loss
of a given amount of wheat or cotton,
which, perhaps could not be prevent
ed, that does the harm. The most
serious result is that the hard-hit
farmers are crippled in their next
years operations. And they are I'M
able to meet their obligations. Thus
the bankers and merchants suffer
These scenes of crop failure, scattered
all over the country. are unsound
spots in the business texture OF the
country; they affect business every
where.
There is no reason why these strick-
en- sections should thus suffer, and
cause the rest of the country to suf-
fer. The individual farmers and bus
mess men affected cannot stand the
loss, but the country as whole can
stand it. and the country as a whole
should stand the burden.
Grain crops are now generally in
sured against hail, and in some sec
lions they are insured against fire.
But the farmer has no protection
against the ravages OF the Hessian fly,
for example, or against the smut, and
none against drouth or floods.
The experts say that protection by
insurance against all of these things
is thoroughly practicable. Indeed,
there is scarcely anything which can
not be safely insured, If the insuring
organization is strong enough. Lloyds
q
host of other things, the hands of mu-
sicians, singers voices, and the sex of
unborn children, has proved that.
During the war strong demand
sprang up for government crop insur-
ance. Farmers were being called up
on by the government to plant every
possible acre in certain selected
crops.
IF 1 am to risk everything 1 have
In extending my operations" said the
farmer to the government, You must
insure me against loss" MANY letters
in this tenor reached the Department
of Agriculture, senators and congress-
men. The experts say that if the war
had continued another year. the gov
eminent would have been compelled
TO offer crop insurance in order to get
out of the farmers the foodstuffs
needed.
But with the ending of the war
came strong reaction against gov
eminent enterprises, and less i'm
mediate need for this particular en-
terprise. Congressman King of I'LL
nois has long been an advocate of
government crop insurance, and has
repeatedly introduced bills providing
for Bureau of Crop Insurance in
the Department of Agriculture. But
Secretary Houston, who always keeps
keen political ear to the ground.
heard the rumble of the approaching
reaction against governmental enter
pFise, and did not advocate the meas
ure. 1t never got beyond committee
room.
'Nonetheless, some of the experts
say that crop insurance is properly
government function. 1t would be ex-
pensive, they admit, and this expense
could best be reduced by one big or
ganization serving the whole country.
Naturally, the larger the territory
served, the more losses in one section
e. =
gains in others.
Again, crop insurance, like boiler
insurance and health insurance, would
be dependent upon expert inspection
for its success, and this expert in
spection, which would improve meth
DDS of agriculture would perhaps be
the most valuable feature of the
thing. Thus, it would be impossible
to insure a man against his own igno-
rance He could not be paid insur-
ance on a wheat crop destroyed by
smut which he might have prevented
by treating the seed before planting
But there should be an inspector who
would see that the wheat was treated
properly before the insurance was
written. Such a corps of inspectors
could easily be put into the field by
the department OF agriculture, which
already has an organization Of trained
dSElcuiturlStS TeAcn1ng into almost
every county in the United States. For
private company to build up such
an organization would be a tremen-
dous undertaking. There are others
however, who believe that our great
insurance companies should under
take the work, and think that this
method would be better than the
''paterna1istic" one of having the gov
eminent insure the crops.
Comprehensive crop insurance was
offered about two years ago by three
companies In the west, and was not a
complete success. They insured
against drouth. among other things.
and when a big drouth came along,
they were unable to pay out. The ex-
perts say that bad management was
responsible for this partial failure, In
the first place. the companies should
have limited the amount of risks they
would take in any given section. say