Evening star., 1934-07-25
SURPLUS PROBLEM
ENDEDBYDROUGHT.
Farmer Faces Even Greater
Reliance on u. S. for
Dry Spell Aid.
epMlal 1lapateh q The sta.

KANSAS CRY. Mo. July IS tSA.
EAJ-The food surplus. crux of she
fam problem and bugaboo Of Ameri-
can statesmen ever since the World
whr, IA no more. II has melted away
I'm the rays Of q merciless sun until
men IN this bread basket Of America
are talking Of food shortage rather
than oyerSupply.
The experts hereabouts say II iz too
early TO calculate fully the effects Of
the drought, but II already has pro-
dIced destruction beside which such
things as q Mississippi food or San
Francisco earthquake are picayune.
Also IT is pretty generally agreed that
10 has gone far enough TO knock the
whole agricultural policy Of the Roose-
welt administration into cooked hat
Instead OF seeking ways to limit
acreage and curtail production, as all
national administrations from the
time OF Warren O. Harding have
done. the task Of the immediate fI-
ture is likely TO be one Of finding
enough grain. and meat. and vege-
tables to feed the American people,
including the necessity OF supplying
food TO many Of the farmers them
selves.
Watches Sky and Treasury.
TN present day farmer, IN fact.
while he scans with one eye the
shimmering heavenly dome In quest
OF a cloud, watches with the other eye
the United States Treasury. II an
all-seeing Providence sends rain he
viii be very glad, but otherwise ne
feels sure the new deal will provide.
Droughts, OF course, are nothing
new. There have been many years
in the past when large regions have
been burned out. The forced removal
OF large numbers Of cattle from one
section of the country TO another be-
cause of the destruction OF pasturage
and shortage of water has occurred
frequently. The difference this year
is that the drought embraces virtually
the whole dry farming region from
the Canadian border on the north TO
Texas on the south and from the
Rocky Mountains east to Illinois. II
is not merely the failure Of wheat
crop or a corn crop. 1t includes meat
and vegetables and dairy products as
well.
Take this valley of the Kaw River.
winding westward from Missouri into
the heart of Kansas. It Is region
largely Of truck farming, which Of
itself normally provides enough po-
tatoes and canned vegetables-peas
beans, corn and tomatoes-to supply
New York City Today its usually
lush vines are burned to a crisp and
its crop for this season is irretrievably
lost. Multiply this by the great num-
Der Of like prosperous farm regions in
the valleys OF the Mississippi and the
Missouri Rivers and their tributaries
and some idea OF the possible loss
may be derived.
Cattle Rush Just Begun
Equally revealing are the droves Of
emaciated cattle that are crowding
the stockyards to be sold at anywhere
from 81 to SIS a head. Fifty thou
sand of them came to the Kansas City
market alone last week and the rush
has Just begun. A survey completed
by county extension agents in Mis-
souri, last week indicated that at least
250,000 cattle in that State are en-
dangered by the shortage Of feed and
water. and conditions In the great
stock feeding regions Of Eastern
Kansas are at least as bad. More
than half the farmers in the vicinity
of Kansas City now are buying and
hauling water, some Of them for sew
eral miles. for their animals, and in
some places water is not to be had at
any price.
II rains come within the next few
days, the greater part of the stock,
and particularly the finer breeding
animals, may be saved There still
win be time to plant soy beans, Win
ter barley and other quick-growing
forage crops to provide Winter feed
ing. But II the drought continues into
August 1t is certain to result in such
denuding Of the ranges as the
Nation never before has experienced.
Years may be required to replace the
herds.
Water for the time being has be-
come leading cash crop. One hears
of farmers padlocking their pump
handles when they 60 TO bed at night.
Kansas City, Kans beginning Satur-
day, opened eight fire hydrants for
free distribution Of water to farmers,
and all day long the tank wagons
come and 60 in a steady stream. On
the farm of James Tod, at Maple
HILL Is miles from Kansas City. water
Is being hauled for 500 head of cat
tie. Springs and water holes and
most of the wells have gone dry.
Prices at Unparalleled Low.
The battle of the stockmen is to
keep their cattle of the market. Be-
cause Of the glut of lean animals,