Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-07-26
KANSAS LITTER.
YATES CENTER. July %. 1883

crops are, some of them, assurrd. Wheat and
oats yielded enormously, and corn and millet
promise very heavy yields. What would Ohio
people say if they could gather from twenty
five to forty bushels of wheat to the acrep
Yet that is what has been taken from, not one
or two acres, but from the greater number of
acres sown to wheat. Near Wellington, /
read of two acres of ground which yielded one
hundred and twelve bushels of wheat. do
not vouch for the truth of the above, but give
it for what il is worth. But whether it is true
or not, one thing is sure, that the crops of
wheat and oats are very heavy indeed this
year, and If corn does as we'll Kansas can feed
almost the world this year. The last three
years have been almost failures as far as
crops were concerned, and good yield this
year will do much toward relieving the farm
ers-and everybody else-from the financial
embarrassment under which they have been
laboring for the last two or three years.
1t is said that the whole State of Kansas is
under mortgage; others say that there is not
farm in Kansas but what is mortgaged.
While both statements are exaggeratious, it
Is ueV6EUuel6bS tTuO Luhb Iluu l NV UCCh lOA
eastern money the Kansas farmer would have
had very hard time of it. farmer offers
his land for sale, the first question asked is,
show much is there on it?' Then, sis your
price for the equity, OF does it include the
mortgage2" One will hear of man selling
his land for good price and consider him
lucky to get such Q price in hard times, but
the wonder ceases when he finds out that
three-fourths of it has to go to satisfy mort
gage, or that the holder of the mortgage has
bought the land for the equity, and a small
one at that.
Yet as close as money is and has been here.
it does not begin to be as scarce in Kansas as
it was in Northwestern Ohio, say fifty years
ago. Ask any of the old settlers how often
they used to see five dollar bill, or how
often they could get money even if they were
willing to mortgage every foot OF land they
early days in Kansas and in Ohio, after all,
in spite of poor crops and mortgages.
not long since returned from trip in a
part of the State which 1 never visited before
the northern and western portion, or the
western part as far as half way across. did
not go farther than Belvit, Mitchell county.
Going from Yates Center to Lawrence, from
Lawrence to Topeka, Holton was the first
town of any consequence where stopped
north of Topeka. The principal attraction
in Holton is the Campbell Normal University,
of which Prof. ]. H. Miller is the President,
and who is assited by large and able faculty.
The summer school was in session while l
was there, and it was attended by some three
hundred bright, intelligent and energetic
young people of both sexes. Most Of the
number we're teachers or were intending to
teach, and we're taking special training in
order to better fit themselves for their work.
i Many of the best educators of the country
we're engaged as special instructors for the
session, and in consequence of this large
number were attracted thither, who had not
such been the case, would either have re-
mained at home or gone somewhere else. In
addition to the regular instruction, evening
lectures were a special feature and were de-
livered almost every evening by some of the
. best speakers, not only in Kansas, but in the
country.
The university building is a han dsome
stone structure we'll situated on an elevation
of ground so that it forms conspicuous OBJ
jeot in the landscape, and is the most promi-
! nent building in Holton.
The course of study is thorough and is
claimed to equal that of any college in the
west. Prof. Miller told me that one of the
graduates Of the Campbell Normal Universe
ty was admitted into thepast graduate course
: of Cornell University without examination
which is high honor. From the above il
will be seen this is not one of the "high press
ure' normals, with ten weeks of geometry
: ten of Caesar, ten of Virgil and SO on, where
they agree to graduate teachers ready made tc
+ order in one term, but one where good honest
thorough work is required.
The country from Holton to Concordia il
, agreeably diversified in appearance and is
. very fertile, judging from the looks of the
fields of wheat, oats and corn seen alon ng the
railroad. It IS we'll watered by numerous
, streams, the principal of which is the Repub.
can river, a long crooked stream of water, moi
!: nearly SO wide as is the Mummee at Napoleon
, Western rivers have length but are not, as 6
. rule, very wide. have seen very few as wide
, as the Maumee, while the Neosho, which il
) three hundred miles long, is so narrow tha
. one can easily throw stone across it.
Concordia, my next stopping place, is {
handsome town Of between four and fv,
l thousand people. THERE'S q fine system o.
water works in operation; the town is Lighted
;, by electricity. and numerous other evidences
sho#that the people Of Concordia are go aheat
1 and wide-awake. A new forty thousand dol
o lar court house is just about completed, ant
is an ornament to the place and would be ,
:, credit to much larger city than that one
There are several newspapers printed, one o
!; them daily.
= BY the way, when one compares an eastern
\ town with one the same size west, he is strucl
at once with the wonderful energy and wide
/ e-appearance-in-general of the one a
!, compared with the slow going, sleepy and in
y ! ert collection of houses, with people in them
Q called by courtesy town in the east. Her
]. town doesn't wait till its principal newspa
per is in its thirty sixth year before it begin
q to talk Of putting in electric lights, Will
r water works are not even heard Of.
!. The town Of Greensburg, Kansas, is only