Evening star., 1936-03-29
BY JOHN H. CLINE.

THOUSANDS of Washingtonians
fiocked to the banks of the Po-
tomac during the food to
= watch the roaring. yellow
waters sweep down to the sea.
To some 1t was nothing more than a
thrilling. If awesome, spectacle. Others
saw in 1t an impressive demonstration
of the destructive power of natural
forces temporarily out of control. But
to the understanding observer the RAM
paging river was merely the more COL
orful chapter of a long-continued
story.
Out in the prairie region great
clouds of dust swept across farm and
town alike, spelling ruin to farmer and
business man.
In New England big storage dams
popped like corks under the pressure
of the floods.
The Monongahela, the Susauehanna
and the Ohio Rivers joined the Poto-
mac in spreading waste and destruc-
ton among half dozen States.
A major disaster, certainly, but only
one incident in the history of Amer
ica's self-destruction.
Careless Farming Is Cause.
Floods and dust storms, although
they capture the popular Imagination.
are only spectacular demonstrations Of
the results of insidious soil erosion in
virtually every State Of the Union.
Careless farming and timber-cutting,
beginning in the East and spreading
westward. has brought this country
dangerously close to economic ruin.
Figures on the damage resulting
from years of careless treatment of
the soil and forests are appalling.
Some 5O,000,000 acres of once fertile
farm land are hopeleSsly eroded. AS
many more have been so badly dam
aged they are virtually worthless. At
least 100000, 900 additional acres have
been seriously affected and erosion
has begun in 100,000,000 more. In
round numbers, about 300,000,0 900
acres of American farm land, repre-
senting by far the greater part Of
the total acreage under cultivation,
have been ruined or damaged by need
less erosion. The annual loss in
terms of soil fertility alone is some
thing like $400,000,0O0. This figure
does not take into account such in
cidental losses as silt-fllled reservoirs
stream beds and rivers, damaged roads
and abandoned dwellings. Nor does
it include the staggering losses in the
West, where the cattle, the sheep
and then the wheat farmer have killed
the prairie grass and exposed the soil
to the winds that sweep ceaselessly
across the plains and the ravages of
the water.
100000 Tons Washed Away.
The recent floods, according to
rough estimates, washed 250,000,0 900
tons of soil from the fields, a third Of
it being carried out Of the mouths
of the rivers and the balance de-
posted in their channels. To this
must be added the destruction Of
bridges, roads and homes swept away,
live stock drowned, and even loss of
human life. The damage to business
houses and industries must be con-
sidered along with the loss Of soil
washed away by the food.
According to erosion experts, how
ever, the real danger to the soil struc-
ture of the country arises from the
havoc wrought by the little waters"
the ordinary rains and the thousands
of tiny creeks and ponds scattered
over the countryside. Their work is
not spectacular, but every year they
wash away some three billion tons
of rich topsoil from the fields and
pastures of the Nation.
The loss of three billion tons of soil
every year, compared with the quar-.
ter-billion tons washed away by the
recent flood, is difficult to comprehend.
H. H. Bennett, chief of the Soil Con-
servation Service, has pointed out that
to haul its equivalent from our fields
and dump 1t into our oceans and val
leys would require the simultaneous
loading Of q feet Of trucks running
5000 abreast. every minute throughout