At Last, Rain

Over most of the U. S. the weather made front-page news last week. A violent storm in Maine washed away seedlings and demolished fruit trees. A deluge after long rains ruined much cotton around Augusta. Ga. A snowstorm whipped the Idaho highlands. A severe frost struck the district around Lancaster, Ohio. A hail storm near Marathon, Tex. pelted to death 1,000 sheep.

Greatest weather news of the week, however, was the torrential rains which fell upon the drought-parched North Central States. A 3-in. precipitation was estimated by college agronomists to be worth $50,000,000 to desperate farmers. General Midwestern rains prevented utter agricultural disaster but came weeks too late to do any lasting good. On his red-splotched drought map. Relief Administrator Hopkins blocked in 46 more stricken counties in Minnesota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada. Texas. ''The drought area," said he, "no doubt will spread, even though there is more rain.''

The monthly crop report of the Department of Agriculture was released three days early to give relief officials a clearer picture of the catastrophe. On the basis of June 1 estimates the U. S. would have its shortest wheat crop since 1893, not more than 500,000,000 bu. of winter and spring wheat. The winter wheat estimate was 61,000,000 bu. below the previous month's report. Oats, barley, rye and hay were correspondingly about 45% of normal. In spite of the week's rains, wheat was still breaking around $1 on the Chicago Board of Trade and Speculator Jesse L. Livermore was reported to be emerging from his fourth bankruptcy on the crest of the bull market.

"I do not see how anyone who has gone through this drought area can say a kind word for nature's method of crop re- duction," observed Secretary of Agriculture Wallace to an audience of North Dakota farmers at Bismarck. "Man's methods may be full of imperfections . . . but they are perfection itself by comparison. . . ." The rainfall in the Midwest did not deter President Roosevelt in Washington from sending Congress a special message asking for $525,0.00,000 worth of "large-scale assistance" to be parcelled out as follows: 1) $125,000,000 to give farmers without fields work on roads, public buildings, wells. 2) $75,000,000 to buy half-starved live stock that otherwise would die. 3) $100,000.000 to put those cattle into cans to feed the needy. 4) $100,000,000 to lend to farmers to buy hay and feed. 5) $50,000,000 to retire some 16.000.000 acres of "chronic" drought land in the Dakotas, Wyoming. Montana. 6) $50,000,000 to send young men in the drought area to special work camps. 7) $25.000.000 for seed loans.

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