The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-05-03

THURSDAY. MAY 3. 1885,
The FEELING IN WOR7HINHTON.
Thus far the immigration "boom'' for
1883 has not struck Mobiles county to
any extent. Nor has it struck auy
county in Southwestern Minnesota
The great rush of immigrants is into
Dakota where Government lands are to
be had and where there are ten years OF
hand'to.hand and hand-to. mouth strug-
gle with wild land, grasshoppers and all
other frontier drawbacks.
Mobiles county has passed this period.
The main struggle is over and hence
forth our growth must be steady and
healthy. Land seekers there are on our
streets every day, but they are men
who come to buy land and have the
means to improve it. They are called
''the better class, "but no better" only
In the sense of being ''better off" or
having more means to buy and improve
land than the first settlers generally
have.
While our people must admit that
there is no great boom so far this year,
there is an unusually firm and settled
feeling among property owners in Wor-
Ellington. There is gradual and stea-
dy advance in values and the disposi-
tion to pay good prices for good loca-
tions and to build substantial brick
blocks is spreading. The ADVANCE,
without any boasting, can claim to
have led the way in this respect, SIM
ply because it had more faith one year
ago in the future of Wortl,ington as a
railroad point than any party in the
place. That which we knew and felt a
year ago has become general, and we
are sure that there never was as firm Il
feeling in Worthington as there is this
spring.
THE RAILROAD LANDS.
We hear that the railroad lands in
this county are to be put upon the mar
ket in a few months and some effort is
to be made to sell them. This is elm
portant if true.' and can he set down
as about the best piece of news we have
published for years. Since the colony
company left, six or seven years ago,
no effort has been made to sell the rail.
read lands in this county. Foc four
years they were held back because they
were untaXed and all the energies of
the Railroad Land Co. were directed to
were taxed in that State. Then, two
or three years ago, it was given out
that the Close Bros. had selected about
all the desirable railroad lands in No.
bles county and that they were reserved
for that rich English company. Party
after party went to ST. Paul AMI en-
<leavored to buy land of the Land Com
l,any, but were refused because the
lands were preserved. We were Hat
tered with, the hope, however, last year
and the year before that the Close
Bros. would begin operations in this
county. and that the experience Of Ply
snouth, lyon and Osceola counties,
in Iowa, would be repeated here. But
the Close Bros. did not come, and this
year they have gone to boom Pipestone
county.
Numbers Of men are waiting to buy
these railroad lanGs but they are held
back to the great injury Of the county
and of all our business interests. For
years the one oversladowing incubus
and curse of our county has been these
idle, untaxeI, unpurcl,aseable railroad
lands. Had it not been for these alter
nate sections held for speculation, No.
bles county to-day would have i popu
lation of O,OOO to l., 900, and Worthing-
ton would he town Of $500 popula-
ton.
And now rumor says they are to be
put OH the market again. We hope so,
for that will do more to give the coun-
ty substantial boom" than two new
railroads.
Gov. Butler is s'shocking the sensibil-
tiles Of the Republicans, the preachers,
and the first families Of Massachusetts
in a way they despise. He was just
mean enough in his proclamation to
tell the preachers to let politics alone
in the pulpit and they reply that he al
ways wa, a ''beast" anyhow. Then he
opened up with the unearthing Of the
Tweksbury almshouse, revealing a
state Of affairs which puts the st. Peter
Asylum Of a few years ago to shame
The high moral Republicans and Puri-
tans are shocked at Ben's conduct in
uncovering this mess of filth and out
rage and they cry with the preachers
that Ben always was i 'beast" any,
way.
As for US, we would give some .
thing handsome, (say copy of the AD-
VANCE, to see Ben Butler elected
Gov. in every State for once just to
haye the Almshouse, Asylum and 9th.
Or Augean stables Investigated if not
cleaned. New York is stirred up over
the incarceration Of Mr.. Silkman, a
wealthy citizen of Y Yorkers, in the in
sane asylum for two years. Doctors
were bribed to pronounce him insane
and the asylum officials were bribea to
keep him there and keep his friends
away.
Give us more Ben Buffers. Give us
somebody honest, wicked and ''beastly'
in preference to your smooth, respect
able rascal.
Subscriptions to the fund to erect a
monument to ID. NJ. Bennett, the
founder of the Truth Seeker, continue
to pour in. AS time passes on Bennett
will be looked upon as an apostle OF