5 12 AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 



had made to Congress in 1878. In this he presented a good account of the 

 conditions that had to be met in order to colonize the Great Plains suc- 

 cessfully. Unfortunately, the wisdom of his counsel was exceeded only 

 by the general apathy with which it was met. At the time, Powell placed 

 the extent of the arid region of the United States at more than four-tenths 

 of the area of the entire country; he said that the "limit of successful 

 agriculture without irrigation has been set at twenty inches [mean annual 

 rainfall] . . . the extent of the arid region should by no means be ex- 

 aggerated ; but at twenty inches agriculture will not be uniformly success- 

 ful from season to season. Many drouths will occur; many seasons in a 

 long series will be fruitless; and it may be doubted whether, on the whole, 

 agriculture will prove remunerative." 24 Powell said that in view of these 

 conditions the farm unit should not be less than 2,560 acres. 



Others also took an interest in the area. Warren Thornthwaite, in his 

 Great Plains, had referred to that region as "an area where climatic con- 

 ditions unfavorable to a permanent agricultural economy occur with 

 irregular persistency." He said that farm operations were highly specula- 

 tive and that the solution was to be found in a reversion to a pastoral 

 economy, which would call for units too large to be handled by individual 

 farm owners. Until that was done there were but two unhappy alternative 

 courses for action : "permanent poverty and distress or permanent subsidy." 



It was clear that the United States was seriously considering in 1936 

 what had been almost ignored since 1878. The more one studied the ques- 

 tion the more it appeared that the problems of environment were inter- 

 twined with the many economic, social, and political factors. 25 



The Great Plains Committee, besides making an exhaustive investiga- 

 tion of the area as a whole, came forward with recommendations that 

 called for "comprehensive action by government Federal, State, and 

 county as well as by individuals." 26 The readjustments recommended 

 were begun in some instances, but when distress persisted through 1937 

 and 1938, because of the depression and the continued effects of the 

 drought, it was felt wise to take additional steps to better conditions. 

 In April, 1938, a special committee was appointed, made up of members 



24. Paul B. Sears, "O, Bury Me Not," New Republic, XCI (May 12, 1937), pp. 

 7-10. 



25. Ibid. 



26. House Document 144, 75th Congress, i session, p. 71. 



