The Washington times., 1935-04-18

inc q tour of Investigation in the
pl1ins States 1Uhere many farms
hare been rendered arid By
drought and dust storms.
By JAMES L. KILGALLEN
Copyright. 1885, by International
News Service)
GARDEN CITY, Kan, April IL
U.N.SD.-Courage of their women
folk is bracing the morale Of
many farmers in the great plains
country which has been hard hit
by recurring dust storms, drought
and crop failures.
Such a woman is Mrs. Phillip
Kaiser, 26, who, with her hus-
bafids and six-year-old son, lives
on 320-acre farm near Friend,
Kas., IS miles north of here. She
has the spirit of the pioneer
women who helped their hus-
bands settle this country in the
days of the covered wagon, and
there are many other women like
her.
With dust storm swirling yell
low particles against the window
panes of her small two-room
home, Mrs. Kaiser stood beside
an ironing board in the kitchen
and talked farm life. She smil-
ingly declared that, while times
are hard, she and her husband
intend to stick it out" in the
hope of better days. She said:
"It's a hard life but 1 don't
mind it. 1 was brought up this
way-tO endure, to make the
best of things"
FAEM DAUGHTER
Proudly she added:
I'm a farmers daughter"
Such luXurieS as the movies"
and permanent waves never enter
her mind. Her thoughts are on the
family budget.
Mrs. Kaiser's husband wasn't
home when the International
News Service correspondent called
at the farm late in the afternoon.
He, like some of the other farmers
in the region, had been forced to
go ION relief" and he was away
working on a highway. He was
forced to abandon farm work be-
cause of dust storms and other
adverse conditions. Mrs. Kaiser
said:
Hes been making $3.50 a
= week on relief. He can get Only
two days work each week"
GLOW can you get by on such
. small amount"
1--WE have to manage. I keep
q budget. / put down where
every cent goes. Every penny
goes for necessities. We get our
own eggs here on the farm. but
we must buy feed for the
chickens and the pigs"
She and her husband and boy
hardly ever see a movie" They
haven't gone to a picture show in
months. Beauty parlors? The
young farm woman laughed.
well have been on this farm
two years in August and I had
one permanent in that time"
4. Dancing? She never goes to
dances any more although they
did before they were married in
IOtis, Kan, seven years ago. Mrs.
Kaiser said:
81 am too busy working and
q trying to make ends meet. Once
In a while it all gets on my
nerves but we buck up"
WORKS HARD
Yes, she works hard-cleaning
sthe house, baking bread, doing her
\ own washing and ironing, sewing,
feeding the chickens, milking the
= cows and feeding the pigs. But
+ that was nothing-her husband
thought nothing of working 10
and IL hours a day on the farm.
Recreation? She smiled again.
: "Once a week we go to one
Of the neighbOrs and play cards."
J Somehow, she seemed quite con.
tented as she patted her son.
Eugene, on the head. Was she
-going to raise her son to be a
farmer? She replied:
II wouldn't be surprised if I
did. We're farmer folks, you
know. We always thought well
of farming"
The wind howled against the
little farmhouse as the reporter
left and great gusts of dust blew
across it. AS the writer's car
pulled away Mrs. Kaiser stood in
the doorway and waved goodby-
and smiled.
mani @@~~A-