Evening star., 1934-08-26
DROUGHT MAKES BRIDGES USE
LESS IN MIDWEST. RACCOON
RIVER AT DES MONIES, IOWA,
SHRUNK TO A RECORD LOW.

LESS IN MIDWEST. RACCOON
RIVER AT DES MONIES, IOWA,
SHRUNK TO A RECORD LOW.
"A P. Photos.
| grass country ceased to be pastoral
and became agricultural. "Soddies"
dotted the landscape. Tiny settle
ments arose overnight.
II, in the Fall Of 1893, an unpreju-
diced investigator had made a careful
study of the short-grass country, he
might have said:
This country is progressing. Right
now, of course, it is in the pioneer
stage. However, the farmers appear
to be fairly well satisfied. They have
had two short crops in recent years,
but their faith in the future Of this
country is unShaken.
"The rainfall Is somewhat heavier
than it was few years ago. There
really does seem to be some justif1-
cation for the statement that the cli-
mate is changing. One unfavorable
thing is that money can be borrowed
on mortgages altogether too easily. 1t
isn't likely to happen, but If this sec
ton ever has a real old-fashioned
drought, the holders Of mortgages on
these overvalued farms will be In a
bad way"
In July, 1894, the thing that wasn't
likely to happen" did happen-the
short-grass country was stricken by a
drought of unprecedented severity.
Day after day, for nearly fortnight,
hot winds blew from the south. Day
after day the thermometer climbed
way above the 100-degree mark. Day
after day the sky was like brass, the
air scorching.
When the hot winds ceased the
short-graSs country was in deplor-
able condition. Greeks, wells and
water holes had dried up. Cattle by
the tens Of thousands had died. What
| little was left in the way Of crops
was not worth gathering.
Relief was soon forthcoming. But
| the short-grass country had been
given q wallop from the effects of
which 1t has never recovered. The
little towns lost half to two-thirds, In
some cases, all their inhabitants.
Thousands of farms were abandoned.
1t looked for a time as though the
short-grass country would revert to
It's original condition.
Dry Farming Seed Planted.
Unfortunately, this did not hap
pen. 1t did not happen because. late
in the 1905 an agricultural John
the Baptist appeared on the scene.
He preached a new doctrine-the
gospel of dry farming" Crop rails
ing, he insisted, was not so much
matter Of how much rain there was
as of what was done with rain after
1t fell. II most of it could be kept in
the soil, close enough to the surface
to nourish the roots of growing crops,
everything would be hunky-dory.
This, he claimed, could be done.
He admitted it was harder work than
regular" farming. 1t could not be
done on horseback or seated in ma
chine. One used a hoe, bent ones
back, perspired. However, it seemed
to meet the peculiar needs Of the
short-graSS country.
More than 80 years have passed
since dry farming was introduced.
Has it been success or a failure?
Both. In years of normal rainfall it
has probably justified itself; that is,
the yields on dry-farmed land have
been somewhat greater. But in years
of subnormal rainfall results have
been disappointing.
Say what you will, there is no sub
stitute for rain. That is the lesson
that has been brought home to the
people of the West by the happenings
of 1894. On the same stage the trag-
edy of 1894 is being re-enacted. The
only difference is that the stage is
bigger and the action Of the play
more dramatic.
Great Area in Distress.
Now, as then, an area greater than
that of France and the British Isles
combined Is in dire distress. Is there
any reason to believe that this is the
last time it will be afflicted?
On the eve of President RooSevelt's
departure for Hawaii last June word
came from Washington that he was
considering a plan for bettering con-
ditions in the dry belt. The purposes
of this plan, it was said, are to mini
mize drought and help prevent winds
from stripping farmlands Of topsoil.
It provides for the planting of a
shelter belt" of trees 100 miles wide,
stretching from the Canadian line to
the Texas Panhandle, 1900 miles dis
tant. The planting Of this l00-mile- |
wide area would be in strips running
north and south. First, there would |
be a strip of trees about lis feet wide. |
Then there would be a strip Of land |
about a mile wide which could be |
used for farming. Then another strip |
of trees.
Will this plan, or some modification |
of it work?
Secretary Wallace seems to think it |
will. Charles Lathrop Peck, president |
of the American Tree Association. is
in favor of it.
Mr.. F. A. Silcox, chief forester,
had this to say. THE duststorm
which recently blanketed the country
from the DakotaS to the Atlantic sea-
board is an ominouS reminder of the
incipient desert conditions In the
Great Plains area. Man cannot change
all the forces of weather, but he can
modify his own surroundings. He can
ameliorate the effects of weather on q
large scale. just as he can around his
own home. If the surface velocity Of