Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-12-06
FROM KANSAS.
STERLING, Rice Co., Kan, !
Nov % 1879 {

SulAC0 w u AOVVCA puOliShCo III
your valuable paper, written from To
peka, Kansas, under date OF Nov. 8th,
and headed Kansas: Some Facts and
Observations Concerning the Grasshop-
per State, by an independence Man.
and signed, +. H. Ely. Being the sec
ond party with Mr.. Ely, during most of
this trip, beg to make few references
to his letter, and also to the opportuni-
ties improved, or rather not improved,
of obtaining by personal observations
and actual examination, facts which
the farmers (referred to in his letter. of
Buchanan county desired to know. The
letter referred to bears date Of Friday,
Nov. 9Th, the day following Mr.. Ely's
arrival in Topeka, being fifty miles dis
tant from the eastern boundary of the
State-the Missouri river. Judge Of a
Pennsylvania, an Ohioan or New
Yorker arriving in independence from
his State at two o'clock in the afternoon
and the following morning writing back
to his inquiring friends facts and obser-
vations concerning southwestern Iowa,
or of central Iowa, or even of eastern
Iowa; l will go further and say, or of
the future of Independence, without
having at all become posted as to the
fertility and resources Of the surround
ing farms which are to support and
contribute to the future prosperity of
the town Of independence. Mr.. Ely
commences his letter by reference to
Col. Lakes lecture on the Far West, y
to which l will refer hereafter.
T. <lo 20 bo
says, my advice to each of you is to go
and see for yourselves" He tells you
that you can buy round trip ticket
from Independence to Kinsley, Kansas,
for $3.50, and that it will be honored
exactly according to the printed con
tract which you will be obliged to sign
when you get the ticket. He cautions
you to read carefully the contract be-
fore signing. He tells you that this
ticket Will be honored south to Burling-
ton over the B., G. r. 4 N. r. R.; west
to Crcston over the c., B. \. Q. K. r.,
thence southwest over the X. c., St. j.
& G.. B. r. r. to Atchison, Kansas
Thus far, he says, you will find gentle
manly railroad employees and frst-class
accommodations. At Atchison, he says,
you get into the clutches Of the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe Company. Let
us see about these clutches" and few
facts concerning the origin of the tick
ets'' which he has cautioned you to read
before signing; the purposes for which
they have been put on sale and the
manner in which they are sometimes
operated upon.
About a year or more ago the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co.
decided to adopt system OF low rates
for the convenience of land seekers, and
to further the sale of the land belonging
to them by grant from the United
States. They issued circular to other
railroad companies, Offering to accept
for the round trip, from the eastern
terminating points of their road, viz
Atchison and Kansas City-to Kinsley
1872 miles, the very nominal sum of $40,
the regular fare for the round trip be-
ing $3.50. AS protection to them
selves and to other roads over which
these land-seekers should come, they
adopted ticket termed the "lronclad:
The terms of this ticket were, that in
consideration of the low rates for which
this ticket was sold, the purchaser
should sign the agreement specified in
the ticket, that he would not sell or at
tempt to dispose Of the ticket for the
use of other parties not the original
purchaser of the ticket. The ticket was
issued first class, good for forty days
and allowing the purchaser to stop over
Of To,>oI-o ond of tho line
of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad between Cottonwood and klns-
ley inclusive, both going and returning
The ticket also specified that the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe Company bound
themselves to refund to the purchaser
$40, or the sum received by them out Of
the ticket, in case he bought of the com
pany 160 acres of land upon either OF
their terms Of sale. Samples of these
tickets were sent to nearly all the lead
ing railroad companies east of the Mis-
souri, river, and adopted by them, ane
put on sale at about one and one-fftl
fare for the round trip, together will
the $40 rate from Atchison and Kansas
City to Kinsley.
The success of the land-explorins
ticket plan has been great; but while
The ticket pleased the every wish of the
land seeker, some who were not land
seekers in every sense OF the word, have
tried their merits, and as an illustration
l will refer to Mr.. Ely.
Tuesday morning, Nov. 9TH, he ap
piled to the gentlemanly B., G. r. & N
Il. r. agent, Mr.. J. A. Vincent, at Inde
pendence, Iowa, for land exploring o
excursion ticket to kinsley, Edwards
Co., southwestern Kansas. Mr.. Vim
cent fills out the land contract of tn,
ticket, stating Mr.. Ely's name, town
county and State, which contract il
good for $40 on the first payment of
purchase of railroad land. The, ticke
is properly stamped and handed to Mr.
Ely to sign, agreeing that he will not at
tempt to sell the ticket for the use o
any other person, but will fulfil the re
quirements of the ticket and return
within forty days, otherwise the ticke
to be void for return passage Mr.. El.
signs the ticket, has his baggage checke'
through to Atchison, boards the 81
express for Cedar Rapids, where he al
rives at II A. NJ. He meets the agen
of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa F
Railroad and is assured by him that th
ticket he has purchased is good for on
first class passage from Cedar Rapids t.
Kinsley and return to Independence, a
per printed conditions of the ticket
He dimes at the "Graud," and at 2:25 I
M. seats himself in a double seat i
the luxuriant day coach of the popula
line of the B., G. r. & N. R. r., and i
soon far south of the railroad center o
northeastern Iowa on his trip to Kins
ley. At 7:2O he finds himself on tn
platform of the c., B. & @. depot a
Burlington. He suppers, and at IA
has secured berth in the magnifcen
Pullman Palace sleeper which run
through from Chicago to Topeka owe
the favorite c., B. 4 Q. route. sos A
M. finds him at Hopkins, where tn
train is taken charge Of by the gentle
manly employees of the enterprising K
c., St. J. & G. B. r. r. Co. One 9
those superb dining cars is attached t
the train at Hopkins and run through t
the Missouri river. At breakfast hou
Mr.. Ely finds the best that the marke
affords and all the delicacies of the Sc;
son upon the sumptuously spread tabl
in the dining car 1915 A. NJ. and tn
X. c., St. J. & G. B. train has crosse
the great iron bridge which spans til
Missouri river, and Mr.. Ely pushes OF
boldly for the Otis House, the larges
\ and most popular hotel in Atchisol
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