Plentywood herald., 1934-05-24
GETTING DOWN TO
s'BRASS TACkS"
A ZERO HOUR
BY TOM NOODLE

Inc upper MISSOURI country /!
having zero hour today. It Is pit
fully worried over crop conditions
That brave spirit which has so Ions
and 50 we'll sustained 1t In a perioc
of adversely droOps a little. For -four
crop seasons The Herald has person
ally seen it demonstrated. It Is as
brave and inspiring q thing as this
writer has ever been privileged to
witness II is a heritage. 1t comes
10 us from men and women whc
braved a prairie wilderness blithely
and knew no obstacles their energy
and their native resourcefulness
| could not conquer. We must not lose
II now. for apparently more than
ever we need Its splendid sustaining
influence. n Is only chastened. It will
rise again triumphant no matter what
the Developments OF the next few
weeks. Experiences like these should
bring lis all closer together and they
Will II Ia time to forget everything
except that We are Westerners That
| Is a proud aristocracy OF the Spirit.
Then too. We are neighbors, western
nelghbors. We ever do all that we
can for ourselves. We grin at adver-
sfty and We hang tough" In times
like these. They create an entirely
new set of human values They are
the sort OF values that sustain men
and women in every crisis OF life.
After all they are the enduring val
| u-s. for life's strongest friendships
spring from adversely They are big
ger than petty differences or petty
things. They are born OK understand
Ing OF mutual problems
In the first place 1t is too early yet
to give up and anyhow that Is
thing we do not do in this country.
Timely rains may still come within
The next three weeks and completely
change the picture OF today. For the
first time that The Herald can recall
re are suffering here now from some
thing akin to sympathetic sickness
The story OF dFouth and crop disast-
er il general all over the western
crop belt Yet even today there ID
rainbow In th sky Missouri, Iowa
Indiana, Kansas. got good rains last
week ending drouth OF rs days
which threatened to destroy the On
tire 1884 grain crop. Moisture hegets
moisture. This precipitation makes
things look much better In much OF
the drputh stricken area. With time
ly rains much OF the present cropI
will be revived and feed crops. which |
are all important, will be assured 1t |
Is not too Late yet to plant corn. A !
busheI OF corn will SOW, ordinarily, |
about eight acres. 1t will make good |
fodder and feed. MeanT4me It Isl
heartening to know that this season
the cOuntry's corn acreage will be by
far the largest in Its history. There
are other feed crops which can bel
planted until well along in June that
win maks good feed. And In Wash
ing1on tbs most sympathetic nation
al administration we have ever had
closely watches the situation and is
even now moving to relieve it. Nal
one Is going to be allowed to starve.
We shall all be taken care Of Our
own position. as Of today, whatever
anxiety ii may occasion, is much
better than that OF large sections 9f
the middle west We must live
through 1T and we will. And Ii we
finally suffer another complete crop
reverse 80 far as the cash grain crops
are concerned we shall be taken
care m And good crops will come
again, and grass will grow and our
normal measure OF prosperity Will
-eturn-
The situation is one to be faced
This zero hour will
ASS We shall buck up, because we
must. and we shall do the best we
an for ourselves which is most Inn
,Ortant- In this time and under these
conditions there is no man who can
4fford not to take thought for his
ieighboT. Out there on those prair-
es there are pittfuiiy anxious peO-
lie That anxiety is written In Ger.
ain pitiful WitfulneSs in their faces
hat no keen observer may miss You
md would be low too, II We watched
planted fields where seed is not
terminating, eEcured In the farml
lome the depressing influence or thei
lust storm. worried over grasshopp-l
RS, saw cattle and horses UNDER
Feight at time when they should
e enjoying the first swoet nourish-
ng grass OF the greatest natural
pastures In the world. 1t ID
time to be most kind and under :
landing 1t is time to give the c
nxious neighbOr slap on the back 9
nd the friendly assurance there Ii Q
n honest interest 1t is 4 time, too, G
remember that z4-hour rain and /
% inch OF moisture would complete \
7 change the rather desolate picture
I today a
1t 10 a time. also. for something y
iore- 1t Is a time to plan to meet Il
ny conditions which may arise as b
eSOurcefuAy as we may. There ia
ILL an opportunity to grow many n
1inEs in a garden. They will be v
ecded next winter. They must be ii
LOred- IL worst comes to worst we a
Duh better afford to slaughter our
lnge beef here and keep it stored "
s6ner than send much or /, to mar II
ets which may be giutted with nm ti
cried beef sacrificed because OF the q
sed situation. Don't lose hope. In n
ANY ways We are better off than in
re summer Of 1881, that few here ie
III ever forget. There are still some pl
lsn payments coming to our farm a
y On he wheat allotment. In many 70