Evening star., 1936-08-09
BY ARTHUR CAPPER.

THE Biblical reference to the
seven lean years" indicated
that drought is in no sense
Il new phenomenon in the expe-
rience of mankind and that so long
as the earth is inhabited droughts
are likely to continue to bring their
Affections. One never should lose
sight of the fact that in between the
weather catastrophes are periods of
abundant rainfall and benign tenn
peratures that compensate for the
losses and the discomfort of dry
periods.
Drought always is oversensational-
lied in discussion and in the press.
That is natural. 1t is impossible for
the best and most thorough investi-
CATION to get the complete picture.
The localities which are most severely
afflicted are the centers of interest
and the public is prone to accept con-
ditions there as representative of every
point in the territory involved.
Nearly always the opinion becomes
general that the drought Is much more
serious than it actually is. Those not
intimately acquainted with actual con-
ditions are likely to leap to the con-
clusion that devastation and crop
live stock damage is complete or
nearly so over an entire State OF
even a great region comprising sew
eral States. AS a matter of fact,
drought doesn't work out that way
very often. 1t can exist in one portion
of State, for instance, while an
other section of the same State has
adequate moisture. Even in territorial
units as small as counties, right in
the middle of general drought re-
gion, local rains can and do occur,
giving a few farmers crops while
their neighbors produce little or moth
ing.
Crops Able to Recover
Another factor, often lost sight of
during drought excitement, Is the
enormous recuperative ability of crops
Often, when the damage appears abb
solute to an outsider or a casual OBJ
server, the coming of moisture will
result in an almost unbelievable re-
covery. That certainly is true of the
native vegetation and to consider
able degree of crops, like the grain
sorghums, which are adapted to meet
dry conditions. Some of these grain
sorghums are known as the crops that
wait for rain"
1t Is far from my intent to minimize
the losses suffered by agriculture in
periods of drought, or the suffering
of human beings and live stock under
those conditions. Both are terrible
and the victims merit the sympathy
and the help of the entire Nation. But
neither can I condone the statements
of alarmists that the farm belt or any
region of it has been destroyed, is re-
turning to or approaching a desert
condition or that the farming indus
try in afflicted regions is wiped out
or will be extinguished. Those state
ments are not supported by facts or
experience. They can be refuted by
history.
Certain regions of the plains terri
tory of this country are more or less
commonly referred to as the drought
belt. That is misnomer. There is
no drought belt in the United States.
An examination of weather records
which cover long periods, and of evi-
dence given by examination of tree
rings and other data, reveals that the
so-called drought belt has its ups and
downs in weather just like any other
region; that periods of fairly ample
precipitation follow those in which
rainfall is below normal.
Area Of Limited Rainfall.
Certain sections of the plains coun-
try constitute a region that might
more properly be called the limited
rainfall belt of the United States. 1t
extends from the Dakotas, Montana
and Western Minnesota southwark to
the Panhandles of Oklahoma and
Texas. Less rain falls there than in
regions farther west or to the east.
That region also extends northward
through parts of the prairie provinces
of Canada. There are scientific rea-
sons why this is so.
Because of this limitation in what can
be termed normal or average rainfall,
drought conditions are more likely to
occur in this region than elsewhere;
probably that is the reason it Is loose
ly referred to as the drought belt. AS
a matter Of fact, however, cycles OF
very wet years with above-normal
precipitation occur in this region and
bountiful crops naturally result.
There is more or less loose talk
about changes in the climate being
responsible for present drought condi-
tions and also in regard to the cutting
of forests, the plowing up of the land
the failure to build ponds and lakes to
catch and hold moisture.
A look into history will. I think