Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1875-03-13
The Grlsshonner REGIONS,

The people of the East and South
have been giving literally in aid Of the
grasshoppeT plague stricken people of
Nebraska. tt would seem that while
there has been suffering in the far West.
there has been much exasgeration. The
Omaha Herald says; That there has
BEEN some real suffering in the grass
hopper district of this State we do not
doubt, and it is probable that a few
would go hungry il not fed by charitable
people, but we have evidence that The
destitutiou there has been fcarfullv ex-
aggerated. One man II real danger of
starvation has been made to stand for a
host, like the soldiers in Falstaffs grand
army. And that one man, who was
real ! pinched by want in the early part
of the winter, has since spent a more COM
Portable winter than he has known since
he has been on the frontier We talked
the other day with gentleman well
Enown to us as careful observer, who
had Just returned from the stricken dis
trict. He passed through several coun-
ties, stopped to partake of the hospitality
OF the people, and he knows their cir
cumstanees. He went as far west as
SUtalo county, and was not able to see
or hear of anybody in distress. Many
were getting along much better than
they would have done had there been no
grasshoppers, Hall and Buffalo counties
had good crops of oats, wheat and bar
ley, and very fine crop of potatoes.
The vines were eaten away by the grass
hoppers. but they grew again, and pro-
duced we'll, both as to quality and guam
tity of the yield. The merchants in the
stricken district are doing better trade
than they have ever done at this season
of the year. One Of these merchants
had homesteader at work for him for
81 per day, but when the relief supplies
began to arrive he quit at once and has
not since returned.
1t IS known, also, that men who have
300, 400, and 500 bushels of wheat will
apply for their portion of the seed that
is to be furnished gratuitously. Their
doctrine is, and they take little pains
to conceal it, that they might as well
have it as anybody. Not long ago a
gentleman who owns land in one of the
stricken" counties, sent out to a resi-
dent to buy for him quantity of county
warrants. The agent wrote back that
warrants could be had in former years
for sixty-tive cents, but the relief fund
had made the people so independent that
it was difficult to touch them at any
price--certainly not less than ninety
cents. A gentleman who lives in one Of
the grasshopper counties has lately sale
that facts had come within his knowledge
showing that aid had been contributed by
people Of poor circumstances in the Eas
for relief of supposed sufferers who were
more comfortable than the donors
These circumstances, taken in connec
ton with the further fact that up to tht
10Th of January more coal had beer
sent into the grasshopper district anC
given away than was shipped over tht
railroads to those counties in all of las
year, when the people paid for thei
coal, show pretty clearly how this matte
stands. We hope nobody will be in
fuenced by this view of the situation t.
withhold aid from the really needy; bu
truth is healthful and justice wrongs n