Volume 17 , Issue 37

NW Okie's Journey

As I was rummaging through the old newspaper archives online, I found the following news article in The Lawton Constitution, out of Lawton, Oklahoma, dated 28 May 1963, Tuesday, on the front page with headlines that read: "Democrat Lashes Bellmon Refusal of Drought Help," "Gene McGill Tabs Action As Brutality," written by Harry Culver.

It sounds as though in 1963 Republicans were denying farmers, ranchers in particular areas of the states disaster assistance for the drought of 1963 in the western panhandle counties of Oklahoma.

Found on Newspapers.com

Oklahoma City (UPI) -- Democratic State Chairman Gene McGill accused on this date Republican Gov. Henry Bellmon of "brutality" for refusing to declare six drought hit Oklahoma counties aa disaster area.

"I think this callous attitude on the part of the governor points up the difference between his party and mine, " McGill said, "An economy program is fine, but I don't think it should be carried out with such brutality."

Bellmon, who recently spoke against the federal wheat marketing program, Monday turned down a request from the state USDA disaster committee, which could have permitted fares to graze their cattle and harvest hay from idle soil bank acreage. They would have rented the land from he federal government.

Involved were Beaver, Cimarron, Ellis, Harper, Texas and Woodward counties, the dust bowl capital of the "dirty 30s," which had been hit by new drought this year (1963).

Herd Depletion seen

The disaster committee's report said farmers and ranchers face the forced sale of 185,000 cattle, more than half their herds, if the program is not approved. Wayne Q. Winsett of Altus, committee chairman, said the program requested at this time wouldn't involve a dime in federal funds.

Bellman said farmers should store up feed in fat years so they wouldn't have to turn to the government in lean periods. He said that's the way he did on his farm. Bellman farmed wheat in Noble county in north central Oklahoma where drought had not been severe.

The disaster committee asked Bellmon to approve a request to graze cattle on 306,311 acres in the pasture soil bank and 349,040 acres of land diverted under the wheat and feed grain program.

"It was decided," the committee wrote Bellmon, "that pasture conditions as a result of the drought situation had reached the state that if assistance was not furnished immediately, many basic livestock herds would be liquidated."

The report said o 361,951 livestock on hand at the start of the drought, 44,250 had been sold and an additional 141,350 would be liquidated on 3,525 farms unless the program was approved.

Federal regulations require the governor to certify a disaster area before the federal program can go into effect.

McGill, an Alva rancher, said, "The governor's attitude might have been different if the drought conditions had extended further to the east."

"The drought did not hit my ranch near Alva, nor did it hit the governor's ranch near Billings." McGill said.

"But other areas were dealt a staggering blow. In Texas county, 360,000 acres of wheat were abandoned, while the loss in Beaver county amounted to 154,000 acres, Cimarron County 142,500 acres, Ellis 80,000 acres, Harper 70,000 acres and Woodward 30,000 acres."

"It's hard for me to understand why our chief executive would turn on his own kind." McGill said.

"Almost a million acres of wheat land have been lost this spring because of a severe drought in northwestern Oklahoma, yet the governor blandly tells farmers they should have been storing grain in the good years to tide them through such disasters. He didn't seem perturbed a all that the economy in Texas, Beaver, Cimarron, Woodward, Harper and Ellis counties is hard-hit, and many farmers may have to sell their cattle herds."

"It would have been no skin of his back to declare a disaster area." McGill said. "and it would not have caused any big giveaway program. It simply would have allowed these farmers to pasture some soil bank land and make available to them certain types of federal loans."

Winslet, contacted at Altus, said he understand disaster designations also would be sought for Woods and Ottawa counties. He expressed hope the governor has not closed the door to changing his mind if conditions worsen.

Winsett said no federal funds were involved in the request.

"It would have permitted a farmer or rancher who had acreage in the soil bank to graze it," Winsett said. "He would pay the government for the use of that land. You might have a farmer who had exhausted his own pasture and but maybe had acreage across the fence in the soil bank he had not grazed for five or six years or longer.

"Rather than liquidate his herd, he could graze his cattle on that land and hold on until rain came. This is not federal aid. He would have to pay for the grazing.

"I think it is going to be hard for farmers and ranchers to understand why they can't do this."

Meanwhile, In Kansas, Gov. John Anderson, also a Republican, said he agreed with Bellmon in refusing to grant disaster status to counties because of one crop failure.

However, Anderson had approved six southwestern Kansas counties as a disaster area to permit them to graze cattle on reserve acreage, the same type of program Bellmon rejected.

Bellman said drought is a part of the farming business and farmers should prepare for it in advance.

Good Night! Good Luck!
  |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---