Denton Record-Chronicle from Denton, Texas • Page 11

Sunday, Juris 24, 1953 I PAGE SUSVBH GOING INTO FOURTH YEAR Texas Experiencing Worst Drought In History By RAYMOND HOLBROOK Associated Press Staff Drought-desperate Texas faVm- ers and ranchers this week set up a holier for help that roared to Washington and sent Secretary of Agriculture Benson on an inspection tour of the state's devastated areas. Texas has been hit by the worst drought in its histo'ry. It's a drought that is going into its fourth year, a drought that has created a new "dust bowl," piled blowing topsoil deep across highways and railroad tracks, sucked ponds, lakes and streams dry, and' stunted and killed crops before they could finish sprouting. It's a drought that has made rangeland glasses as dry as excelsior and forced ranchers to dispose of their cattle at ruinous prices. Country bankers say they have reached the "end of their rope" extending credit and storekeepers have windows fal of goods their customers can no longer buy.

Sweeping more than 900 miles down the length of Texas from the northern border of the Panhandle to Brownsville and nearly 450 miles across at its widest points, the draught now grips 128 counties in th.2 western part of the state and er compasses mere than half the Is id area of Texas. Starting in the high Panhandle- provides nutrients. This Texas drought has burned a different pattern in the state than did the great drought of the mid 30's. Then it was the Panhandle- High Plains area that was the 'dust bowl." Though suffering from lack of rainfall, the northernmost pa'rt of the state has experienced far less soil erosion than it did two decades ago because of better farming and soil conservation practices in The Central and South High Plains area where irrigation by pumping from underground has been developed, Strata is one of the few green spots in the entire state today. The wrath of the drought has been directed at the area around Plains, Brownfield, Tahoka, Seminole, Lamesa, Gail and Big Spring near the point where the southeast corner of New Mexico bites into Texas.

In that sector, the powdety topsoil has turned crop lands into sand dunes, blinding duststoms have covered highways so deeply with sand that bulldozers have been needed to keep the roads open, trains have been stopped while sand was shoveled off the tracks, and wind is howling here and there past the symbol oi rjie drought's might--the empty farmhouse. How do the people manage to evaporation takes water out of stock tanks faster than cattle do. With stock ponds dry, many ranchers are sinking new wells for windmills to provide water for their stock. 'The prolonged drought has reduced the Rio Grande to a trickle this Brownsville and all the the way to Rich Valley pi iins r'rea the drought has burned stay with the land after three years path westward into the vast i of drought? With many it's a matter of guts and credit. Asked for details of his crop failures, one drought-woVn farmer in this devastated area replied "if you wrote me and my story up in the paper, I couldn't get any more credit at the grocery store." The crop failures of this area are reflected in other parts of the state.

D. E. Jackson and son, who operate 10,000 acres of land in the critic ranges of far West Texas the rugged Big Bend country ard southward across the rolling si country to the inter garden" area and the lo Rio Grande Valley. covers an area comparable in size to the New England and Atlantic Coast states lying north- of a line drawn from Toledo, G'. to Washington, D.

C. And if a drought of equal inten- si were to hit that northeatern re don, Washington would be pi wiping its municipal water from pi-idles left in what had been the Pc-omac, and the New York Cen- would have crews out shovel- in-; sand off its tracks so the Twentieth Century Limited could get through. Farmers of Pennsylvania would be entering their fourth crop and dairymen in New England would be spraying their shriveled grass with molasses to tempt their cows to eat the only available fodder. That's what they are doing now in the parched rangelands around Maria in the Big Bend country. Ranchers, including Floyd Henderson, M.

D. Bryant and Bill Shurley. have shipped in truck tanks and railroad cars full of black strap molasses. They have sprayed the molasses on the dry Coastal Bend and Rio Grande Valley usually get 1,000 bales of cot- ion. This year they expect to harvest 150 bales.

In Kleberg County, Dr. J. K. Northway said he will harvest nothing this year from 300 acres planted to flax and 1,800 acres planted to grains. On Texas AI year without harvesting a College's farm near Kingsville.

500 acres in grain sorghums have been a total loss. Non-irrigated wheat on the North High Plains has been virtually a failure this year. Around Lamesa cotton is the main crop but they haven't made a cotton crop in three years. Farmers hope to giant gfcain crops but they must have rain before July 15 to do that. Intense early summer heat has added to the misery of the drought and helped dry up remaining sur- region which depends on the river for irrigation water.

Several times this summer the Rio Grande has stopped flowing. Laredo has had to obtain its water by pumping from puddles left in the river bed. The rain gauge at Big Spring tells the story of the drought and the crop failures. The last month in which normal rainfall fell was in September of 1950. During the- past three months only .19 of an inch was received, compared to the normal of 3.83 inches for that quarter.

In 1951 only 10.1 inches and during 1952 only 8.45 inches fell compared to the annual normal of 18.21 inches. During the first six months of this year 2.30 inches has fallen to date compared to the normal of 8.22 inches. Frank Reynolds, farm editor of the Big Spring Herald who lived at Dalhart on the North Plains during the 1930's says that the current "dust bowl" on the South Plains is far worse than the one of two decades ago. The drought is forcing farmers either to leave the land or seek part-time employment in town, he reports. Riding the ranges with the drought has been another calamity --falling cattle prices.

Farme'rs and ranchers who bought cows before the price drop are caught--they can't afford to sell at current prices because the proceeds would not cover the indebtedness against they haven't been able to raise feed, and they can't afford to buy feed. The case of Andy Alexander of offers of $160 a pair. A few later he went back and could get offers of only $100 a pailr. Alexander estimated that his cash losses from sales have been between $4,000 and $5,000. "The profit is already all gone," he says.

"It's a matter now of trying to hold as long as I can in hopes of a recovery." A West Texas rancher summed up his problem more briefly. "My trouble" he said "is that I have Eisenhower calves on Truman cows." Hundreds of thousands of head of cattle have been shipped out of Texas to other states for pastures. Hundreds of thousands have been sold simply because the farmer or rancher didn't have the money to feed. Many ranchers have cut their herds to just foundation stock. One government official has estimated that in 40 counties in Texas cattle raising has virtually disappeared.

At Big Spring, farmers have brought thehr cattle to the local auction only to have them go through the ring without getting a single bid. This week choice beef on the hoof slumped to a new low of IB cents a pound at Dallas with some lower grades down to 5 cents a pound. There have been reports of some Texas cattle going for as low as two and three cents a pound in sacrifice sales. The drop in prices has been reflected in Texas retail stores. This week Fott Worth butchers were offering hamburger for 12 cents a pound; T-bone baby beef steaks at 39 cents; sirloins at 33 cents and rump roast at 35 cents.

President Eisenhower, following a request from Gov. Shivers, this weekend designated parts of Texas as a "major disa-ter area" Texas congressmen a been plumping in Washington for more lib'eral credit, lower cost feed, some form of price supports for cattle, and a slaughter program to reduce the number of cattle in the state. Rep. Ken Kegan of Midland this week urged that the government, buy two million head of Southwestern cattle at 10 to 12 cents a pound to help bolster prices. He said that easier credit or lower price feed alone would not help.

Some cattlemen want more credit and cheaper feed to keep their herds going until the price situation improves. Arch Benge, 73, San Angelo ranchman, is against a slaughter program. Bengo has shipped 1,150 head of cattle to pasture in Oklahoma and now has only 150 head on his Texas ranch. For his West Texas cattle Benge is having to pay $33 a ton for hay cattle. It worked List year but some South Texas ranchers report that because of the long drought, the prickly pear nov; has become so dehydrated that it is no longer edible.

The cattle industry is not the only one hit by the drought, The U. S. Department of Agriculture this week reported that the spring pig crop is tiie lowest of any on record in Texas. The dairyman is having his troubles too. R.

H. Barnett of Valley Mills, west of Waco in Central Texas, tells about the lot of a dairyman in drought-stricken Texas. "In the past year the price of milk has dropped $1.6 a hundred pounds. Alfalfa last year, cost me $1 a bale and now it costs a bale." "Eggs are now selling for 85 cents a dozen. But in this 100 degree weather, my hens won't Isy.

They won't even get out of the shade and scratch. The only thing I can do is pray for rain." The farmer, the cattleman, and the dairyman all have one thing in common because of the drought --they are having to put out more money to keep going than they can take in. They have to have credit. At a i'our-county meeting of farmers, ranchers and business men in Stanton this week, bankers Robert Currie of Big Spring and Jim Tom of Stanford declared that banks have extended credit as far and $90 a ton for cake. "But they're not going as they can.

to kill! "The government can help solve my cows and sheep. They'll starve this matter by arranging some to death before I will let the gov- longterrn Tom said. "The eminent step in and shoot them," he said. Even prickly pear, cactus that thrives when all other vegetation has died is no longer an emergency feed. By burning off the stickers, the cactus can.

be eaten by farmer just needs more time. They can work it out as they have before. This has happened before in this country and we've come out of it, if we are given a little leeway." Tom's faith in the Western Texas State Highway Commissioners Visit Denton Two members of the State High- Commission, Marshall Fomand Robert J. Potts, briefly inspected the Highway 77 project south of Denton and visited County Judge Jack Gray here Friday. The visit and inspection were unofficial and unannounced.

was highly pleased that they were interested enough in our Highway 77 program to come to Denton," commented Judge Gray. "Especially so soon after our Denton County delegation was in Austin, pushing the project." A Denton County 22-member delegation went to Austin last Tuesday and received the Highway Commission's approval to postpone the Denton north businesssj route. Judge Gray assured the commission that Denton County is ready to purchase additional right-of- way necessary to complete 77 as a four-lane highway through the entire county. Potts and Fomby were accompanied to Denton by Frank Cawthon, Dallas, district engineer for the State Highway The commission members told Gray they were visiting in this section of the state and decided to drive "over to Denton County." SUSHEY'S Quality Mtrchcftditt Prictd. country is the same faith that the weathered West Texas rancher ex- presed when he aid "tain't nothin' with this country that Vain can't fix." Elroy in Central Texas is typical.

He and his brothe'r-in-law run around 550 head of cattle. He carried over a lot of high priced cows when he said will bring cow only one-third of then: original cost. Recently he took a string of cow-calf pairs to Auction and passed over Don't Neglect Piles and Coionic Troubles GAS or ELECTRIC, ServeT gives you your GAS or ELECTRIC Only ServeljjrveS you your GASor- Only Servtffgj ves your' choice." 7 GAS or Only gives. your GAStr LECTRIQ MODELS! Only. gives you your GAS or ELECTRIC MODELS! Only Serve! giVes you your tobas grass which the cattle usual- i face water.

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