Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1875-01-27
FROM NEDRASKA.
CRETE, NEB.. Jan. Is, 1875.

interested in the correspondence thai
has appeared from time to time In the
CoURIER in regard to dcstitution ia
the grasshopper regions of Kansas
and Nebraska, and also In reading oi
the generous response tho people ol
Ottnmws and Wapello county have
made TO their appeal. s. 'a1
Ishould have written : word soon
or, bnt that q protracted timc of sick.
ness Ii our home has left me little
time for anything but homo duties.
suspect from the editorial In the last
CoURrrR (Jan. 9th) that there may be
danger that contributions will cease
just when they are needed most. Let
II be understood first or oil, that while
there sre uumanly, shiftless grumblers,
who sxaggerEte the destitntion, there
are, on the other hand, parties to
whose interest It IL to present The
most favorable viow--those who have
landed interests to dispose Of, those
who cannot get debts due them, and
poeaibly those who md the dhburse-
bursoment of oiferin4s, . dinfcnk. and
many times, un9ratef0l tasa 81.
After the return ffom the Repnbii.
can Valley Of orr Supt. of Instruction,
Hon. j. M. Mckenzie, I had q long
talk with him. think there can be
little danger of exaggerating tho dosti-
tuition. Hundreds Of families have
Como there, having little money left
when arriving, relying upon the corn
crop to help them through the winter.
This failed, utterly. is not 40 in an
old country whore An amount of pro-
vision ID Ia Atore-everything went, or
nearly 90; II q few had wheat, the rest
have no money with which to bny. It
10 different from IN old country, too,
In that thofe 70 ~ work to be done BY
which mohey ca be earned. There
4 70 little timber that the wood hired
Ont, gives employ mont 70 almost none.
Even here, where men have come
from; The West to spend the winter,
relying upon getting through With
teAm work, there .are nearly ak men
TO every job. / can call TO mind At
this moment not less than four Of
these men IN our l1ttle town, ready to
do any jobe ~ Wetk with their teams,
and dep6ndsnt np60 thoir tabor for !
living. One Of these, a old citizen OF
Nebraska, u said 10 have been worth,
when he came west, 5000 or 5000.
or these ftnr men, one has q family
Of four children, another six, and an
other eight. Some of them have claims
to homestead, but this 10 Of no pres.
emit practical value to them. Some
times they have little moro than q
days work in tho whole week--they
have nothing upon which to fall back.
These cases give ms hints of what IL
must be IN whole communities where
no work is to be had.
While, then, there are shiftless men
upon whom gifts will be wasted, and
while the wants OF many were sup,
piled, there will yet be worthy calls for
month"; to come. should not be SUR
prised II there should be . most mr..
gent call In the spring for contri-
buttons of vegetables to prevent the
reign Of sickness, caused BY the cxcln-
sive use Of -four. II 20, I know that
Iowa will be - ready TO respond q
che has already proven herself to be in
the early part Of the season. While
some Of these charities have been
abused, % they always arc in such
cases, let those who have given so
generously, feel that they have given
in the interest Of humanity.
= White our State 10 under cloud.
from which wobefieve she will emerge
with bright prospects, for the future, I
do not believe that Justice 70 Il or TO
its unfortunate citizens, requires US to
underrate or misrepresent the present
or suffering.
Yours, H. BRoss.