Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-07-23
Bv WALTER ED TAYLOR

IN 1910, when the homestead rush
az dry land farmers TO M0ntana's
prairie grazing country was at its
II height, q 24-year-Oid homesteader
came in from Nebraska and took
up 320-acre ranch in the rolling Dill
country east of Miles City. Unlike most
Of the hOpefuIs who took up land
around him, this young farmer had
scientific training for farming. He had
only recently received his diploma from
Iowa State agricultural college. His
name was Milburn Lincoln Wilson and
he is now assistant secretary Of agrf-
culture and political observers have
called him zone Of the six most import
ant figures in the Roosevelt admins
tratiOn."
He is one Of the presidents most
trusted advisers and no man Is more
fitted to give advice on the nations
agricultural problems, for he has made
agriculture his life work and he knows
farming from actual experience on his
own Montana wheat ranch.
Wilson was born in farm country
near Atlantic, Ia, 81 years ago and he
has always lived close to the soil. Upon
graduation from college he became a
wheat farmer in Nebraska but after
three years gave up that venture to
come to more fertile lands in Montana.
Dry land farmers were making money
when Wilson settled in Montana but
he was one of the first to realize that
planting Of the one big wheat CROP
year after year could not continue sue
cessfully; he was one of the first to
come forth with the suggestion that
Montana wheat farmers plant a variety
of crops and not place all their hopes
on wheat. Wilson used Montana as a
great laboratory during the years he
spent on his Custer county ranch; He
saw Montana's agricultural problems
as a scientist and it was not long be-
fore many farmers were seeking and
accepting his advice on farm problems.
He was appointed county agent for
Custer county and q short time later
was made head of all Montana county
agents and was employed by Montana
State college as professor of agricul- |
tural economies.
Through study of wheat farming In
Montana he made himself a world
famous authority on large scale farm
ing. He did additional studying at the
University of Wisconsin and the Uni |
versity Of Chicago but most OF his
great store Of knowledge of farming
came from personal observation in his
own state.
In 1925 he spent year In Washing
ton as an expert on farm management |
for the department Of agriculture.
GlAAnH 1A4C WQA1Q WAL W4CA Tic
United States government needed
someone to lead the country in an
unprecedented program OF wheat pro-
duction authorities came to Montana
State college to seek the advice OF
M. L. Wilson. During the war years he
taught America and the world how to /
raise wheat on q large scale and his
books on agricultural subjects became
required reading In colleges the world
c.< 1000 @ha Eya~ntQf1 ~
ment hired Wilson to direct operation
of the great 100, O00-acre grain farms
Of the Caucasus, for that region is q
semi arid terrain much like Montana.
The Montanan made q success Of his
work with the Muzjiks and brought
the Russian wheat fields into produc--
ton of millions of bushels, the greatest
harvest in the history of man.
Oddly enough, the man who had
shown the world how to produce wheat
in such quantities as it had never been
produced before was to be called upon
70 help farmers curtafl production. He
had developed what he called his do
mestic allotment plan and in 1882 news
Of the plan reached directors of the
Rockefeller foundation, which provided
funds for further study and research
on Wilson's idea.
When Franklin D. Roosevelt received
the democratic nomination for preSi-
dent he called M. L. Wilson to him in
The two men liked each other
and Wilson became a member of the
New Deals famous brain trust and his
domestic allotment plan became the
backbone of the AAA, and is a flmda-
mental Of the present agricultural
policy. Il,
He is at present head OF subsistancei
homestead projects. 80 experiment tnl
providing industrial workers Of the east
with plots OF ground upon which they
san raise a part OF their food. The .
suthOr Of The New Dealers" q recent