Evening star., 1935-04-25

A vast program to make America
safe for the farmer and agriculture
safe for America had been planned
today by Undersecretary of Agricul-
ture Tugwell as his billion-dollar part
in the expenditure Of the admins
tration's four -billion-dollar sesame to
recovery.
Tugwell is awaiting signal from the
President to open his spending CAM
paign on fighting dust storms and
curbing costly soil erosion, rehabili-
tating economically desperate farm
families, lengthening the extent Of
rural electriflcation and draining and
irrigating millions Of acres OF now
useless land.
Possibility that some projects In the
Tugweu program may go beyond the
intent Of the work-relief act Is q
bogey-man the administrators of the
law expect to disregard until such
time as a definite order against them
might come from the Office of Con-
treller General McCarl.
Moving Families Criticized.
In danger of such ruling is the
plan to move as many as possible of
the 10000 families now living on
submarginal land to new farms in
more productive areas. Critics have
pointed out that this sort OF rural
rehabilitation Is really relief and not
work relief.
The first item on Tugwell's pro-
gram is s350.Ooo,0o for soil erosion
prevention, forestation, reforestation
and flood control all of which go hand
in hand in the battle to prevent the
farmers land from blowing and wash
ing away. There Is no fear in the
Undersecretary's heart that this work
will be outlawed. Cooperating with
him on 1t will be the c. c. c., with
$500, 900 900 for two years conserva-
ton activity.
The annual loss from wind erosion
(duststorms) sheet erosion and gully
or water erosion is put at 322 ,000, 900
tons Of organic matter, with a net
loss Of 222,000,000 tons. Already the
topsoii has been blown or washed
away from 125,O00,00O acres of once
fertile land, and another 100.000,000
acres is in the process of being strip
ped. A 1884 survey shows only 359,-
100000 acres in the country are arabic.
Double Damage Done.
According to the Agriculture De-
partment's Soil Erosion Service, this
costly destruction not only elimin-
ates the farmers source of support,
but also silts up canals and reser-
voirs, shadows navigable streams, over
lays good soil with infertile material.
Inadequate protective covering on the
land. the experts declare, permits water
to run unrestrainedly into streams,
instead of sinking into the ground,
and is thus responsible in large meas
ure for damaging floods.
When the country was young,
farmers could desert wornout lands
and push westward into a new and
fertile territory. But rapid increase
in population has put halt to this.
Resultant inability to abandon use
less farms, the Department Of Agri-
culture states, brings an economic
crisis. Department figures reveal that
today 35,OOO,OOO acres have been
destroyed by gully erosion alone. This
is an area equal to Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut COM
bined. or $4,000 farms of 16O acres
each.
DR.. Tugwell and H. C. Bennett,
head of the Soil Erosion Service, are
ready to put 100000 men to work at
once on wide front in this fight to
keep the land where it is. These
men, expected to be guided at the
scene Of action by a corps of 800
young college graduates, will terrace
areas endangered by erosion, put up
check dams to halt gully erosion pillow
wide sections in contours and raise
as wind-barriers.
To Aid Where Possible.
Where possible, the service will aid
farmers in strip-cropping and the
will cooperate in planting
an adequate cover Of grass as bal
last for the soil.
A major part Of the soil-saving
campaign Is forestration, which is
looked upon not only as an aid for
the farmer but big consideration in
putting industry back on its feet. In
1929 the forest wood products of the
United States were valued at $4,000
100000 Forest industries employed
100000 workers, who collected
81 500 ,000, 900 in salaries and wages
every year.
The Department of Commerce to-
day reports that in February of this
year employment in the forest prod
ucts industries, which included the
furniture. sawmill and turpentine
businesses, was little over half of its
depression average. The Gov
ernment expects to open up forests
through road development and con-
struction and save valuable timber
through control of insects and out
breaks Of tree disease-all activities
that will provide labor for men now
on the dolA