The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1936-06-26
CHRISTOPHER
Continued from Page u

positive must be done at once. II
was pointed out that unless some
thing was done there would be not
only no grain crop, but no hay
crop as well, and all the ranges
would be stripped.
The proposal was brought for
ward that the county commission
ers should at once provide gopher
poison, and that the spreading Of
the poison be declared an emer-
gency WPA project, and the WPA
workers be put to work mixing and
spreading this poison thruout the
county. The meeting then elected
Alfred Jensen, Torval Christensen,
and Gonius Laurisen as a commit
tee of three to take the necessary
steps to realize the proposal.
The committee went into action
at once, and secured a special
meeting of the Board of County
Commissioners today, Friday, with
all members , and Clerk and Re-
corder Niels Madsen, present, to
consider the situation. The Board,
with County Agent Peterson, met
with the committee, when the COM
mittee informed the Board official
ly of the seriousness of the situa-
ton, and made the proposal en-
dOrsed at the Dagmar mass meet
ing, namely: that emergency be
declared, and that combating the
grasshopper menace be made
WPA project.
The Board after some discus
sions acquiesced to the proposal, if
it could be done. L. S. Olson, the
local WPA administrator, was
called before the Board of County
Commissioners, but he did not |
seem to know what could be done,
OF how to proceed in the matter,
and was quite doubtful about the |
feasibility of the proposal. How
ever, the committee was convinced
that something could be done, so
it dug into its pockets and called
State WPA Administrator Joseph
Parker, at Helena, by phone.
Administrator Parker at once
agreed to declare the situation an
emergency and make the grass
hopper determination campaign
WPA project. and also furnish the
bran as soon as he could get it.
But Administrator Parker advised,
there is not enough bran in the
United States to meet the emer-
gency poison requirements of the
several grasshOpper campaigns
that are being launched under the
auspices of the WPA in several
parts of the western states, and
that he had on Thursday after
noon wired the President to lift
the embargo on Canadian bran, in
order to secure the necessary bran.
With this assurance the commit
tee again turned to the county
There is a certain {
amount of prepared grasshopper i
poison stored in divers places over I
the county, which the commission s
ers ordered gathered at DagmaI {
at once in anticipation of starting
the campaign in that territory i'm
as that seemed to be 9
The worst infested part Of the t
county now.
But County Administrator L. S. I
Olson was still in doubt as to his t
to use WPA workers for '
his project, as he had not received v
my orders or authorization yet, 7
md he hardly dared to act until h
he authority had arrived. Here
he proposal threatened to fail.
7onius Laurisen for the commit
zee, explained, "there is no time
o be lost. Every moment counts.
t seems to me that what Parker
aid should be sufficient authority
n 2 case of this kind" But the
Board and Olson hesitated. The
ommittee proposed that Admin
traitor Parker he called again.
Sut the Board hesitated and prac-
ically declined to act. Whereupon
he committee again guaranteed
he telephone fec, and rustled the
money to pay the same. The
Ioard and Olson then called Park
r again, who gave the Board and
county, Administrator L. S. Olson,
o their surprise, the instructions
o proceed Immediately as a WPA
reject, using all available WPA
vorkers whether they had worked
ut their hour quota for the month
r not.
After these orders came thru, q
ranks to the insistence of the q
armers committee, the Board Of
ounty Commissioners decided the
.lephone calls were proper public