SCORCHING HEAT

Taranaki Daily News, 4 June 1934, Page 5

SCORCHING HEAT

UNITED STATES SUFFERS DROUGHT BECOMES SERIOUS TEMPERATURES MOUNTING LOSS OF CROPS INCREASES FEARS OF ACUTE SHORTAGE By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 7.20 p.m. Chicago, June 2. Although a weather forecast suggesting general showers over the drought area on both sides of the international line extending south into Kansas started a selling movement on the Board of Trade to-day that carried wheat down over four cents, maize three cents and barley five cents, scorching temperatures yet continued over the sun-blistered farming areas. Searing crops on millions of acres the heat wave, beyond anything the United States has ever experienced, blazes unabated over two-thirds of the nation and is spreading eastwards. Forty deaths directly attributable to the heat have been reported. Cattle died on barren and waterless ranges, crop losses mounted, the water supplies of great cities were threatened and human suffering grew as temperatures mounted to-day for the sixth successive day.

Although the farm relief director, Mr. Coffey, predicted that the continuation of the drought for another fortnight would bring a national food shortage the acting-Secretary for Agriculture, Mr. Tugwell, expressed surprise at the prediction and declared that the surpluses of grain were sufficient to prevent a scarcity, even if the destruction of crops continued unabated.

Drought relief measures contemplated at Washington included the appropriation of £20,000,000 for distribution to needy farmers and a year’s moratorium on all farm indebtedness held by the Federal Government.

While temperatures as high as 123 degrees were reported in the middle west, one of the freak features of the weather was heavy summer snow storms in the States of Washington, Montana and Idaho.