Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-09-27
KANSAS LETTER.

Law hENChj Noh.j SOPO' -, Aooo'
The contrast between Ohio and Kan.
sas was never more marked than this
fall, since in the former State the
continual rains of the summer de-
stroyed what few early crops promised
to turn out we'll, and the sudden dry
spell did the same for the late ones.
Here are the heaviest yields of wheat,
oats and corn, ever known IN the his.
tory of the State. never saw finer
corn fields than | saw while travelling
through Eastern Kansas three weeks
ago. saw it stated in one of our pa
pers that this year Kansas has pro-
duced enough food to feed the whole
world for seven months. The editor
did not state whether Eli Perkins was
statistician of his paper or not. There
is very marked difference between the
lengths of the farmers faces in the
two sections of the country, too.
Here the country is improving with
wonderful rapidity; property is in
creasing in value and migrants are
pouring into the State from every di-
rection, which last circumstance, one
editor claimed was owing to the fact
that Kansas has Democratic Gov.
ernor at present. 1t is doubtless ow-
ing to the latter circumstance, that the
enormous crops are due. Also, no
where is the mark of improvement seen
palmer than in Lawrence, where more
than half million of dollars has been
spent in buildings during the last
eight months. 1t is said that
over three hundred private dwell.
ings, have been built and more are be-
ing commenced every week. Some of
them are very fine, but the great ma
jority are neat comfortable houses,
costing from five hundred to three
thousand dollars, for renting purposes.
Yet there are not a dozen houses in
the city for rent, and these are being
taken up as fas:. as found to be vacant.
Fine business blocks are also being
erected and being begun as we'll as
many that are already finished and oc-
cupled. Business is brisk and on the
increase and every where is seen busy
workmen, and the sound of labor is
heard.
Real estate men claim the growth
is healthy one and bound to con-
tinue; they say the city is behind the
country in improvement, and that it
will continue to grow until it catches
up, which will be a long time, as the
surrounding country is improving so
rapidly. According to them, it is the
problem of the hare and the hound ,on-
ly in this case the hound is but just
holding his own. 1t seems to me, how
ever, that they are too sang1ine.
Lawrence is too near Kansas City to
ever make large city. Commercially
speaking the only hope for Lawrence
is manufactures, and these can only
succeed in paying fair dividend
where they manufacture native prod
ucts, for here coal and iron is too far
off for it to pay to try to compete with
eastern manufactures, in the making
of farm machinery or hardware.
The prospects that Lawrence will
become the educational center OF the
West is much brigher than that it will
make commercial or manufacturing
point If the legislature of Kansas
will treat this University with such
liberality, as the University at Ann
Arbor has always received from the
legislature of Michigan, there is no
reason why the University of Kansas
should not be the University between
Ann Arbor and the West, for the COL
lege here is far ahead of what the
University Of Michigan was at the
same age.
| The State Asylum for the Feeble