Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-24
The Wolf at The Door.
A County Where Money Would
Do Great Good.
TERRIBLE DESTITUTION IN DAKOTA

Authentic Account of the Condition OF the
Ramsey County Settlers-Their Property
Mortgaged. Their Crops an Entire Fail
ure, Women and Children in Rags, and
Food and Fuel UnobtainabIe-seventy
Families in Want.
MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, Oct "a Authentic
information concerning the terrible destitu-
ton prev ailing among the farmers of Ram
sey county, Dakota, was furnished yesterday
by j. Harpman and J. Koutroutz, who were
sent from here to investigate the reports
that Jewish settlement in Cleveland town.
ship was on the verge of starvation. Harp
man verified the sad reports coming from
that locality He said: THE settlement is
located about eighteen miles from DEVILS
Lake. and comprises seventy families of
Jews, numbering 23S souls. They came here
two years ago last spring from Chicago,
st. Paul and other places. with some house
hold truck and from 81, 800 to $500 in
money, farming implements, stock, etc.
They procured land, built their modest
homes and went to work with will to
clear the land and become independent
farmers. Those without any money mort
gagged the land and borrowed enough to pay
the governments price, about 80 an acre,
and expected to live on the balance Of their
loans until the first crop could be harvested.
They raised a fair crop the first year anG
the prospect was so bright that they mort
gagged their lands and other property to pur-
chase stock and farm machinery. The Sec
ond year they seeded much larger acreage.
The notes and mortgages signed by them in
many cases bear interest at the rate Of 2 per
cent a month on chattels and l2 per
cent per annum on real estate, besides per
cent per annum on loans which they were
obliged to pay. Loan sharks lent them
money and charged exorbitant interest.
about the middle Of August all their ex-
pectations were ruined in one night A Sc
we're frost came and ruined their entire crop
of wheat, leaving them only about as many
potatoes as they used for planting, and
barely enough oats to winter their stock
The trouble and suffering began at once
The merchants who had heretofore been
anxious to supply all their wants refused to
credit them any more, seeing that they
could not expect payment for what had been
furnished Nearly every creditor became
alarmed and foreclosed The situation became
81 Udu tUdt tBt Itluntu W lUlllCt lul
Their suffering on the people by taking their
property He stated that he found the peo-
pie without fuel or bread; that they used the
droppings of the cattle for fuel to cook such
few articles as they could get, and set bread
if they had any, to bake on the fire; that
their children were naked, without shoes or
stockings, the men and women in rags and
without foot wear, in fact in such misery
that no one could believe it without having
had ocular evidence We found this state
only too true. Everything was as the
sheriff had stated To the fearful appeal of
these people we said that we should not let
them starve nor freeze, and they
took fresh hopes, showering blessings
on u.s. VIII we be able to redeem our prom
isel 1t takes great deal to feed and keep
warm some seventy families until tie next
crop is harvested They work well, and al
though in danger Of having their cattle
taken from their plows by the sheriff, are
tiiling the soil and preparing everything for
seeding time. How they will get the seed no
one knows For the present their most
pressing needs are fuel and bread, and these
articles must be had at once, for every day
is day of suffering and priyation.
1--WE visited about twenty houses and found
all, with but two exceptions, without site
of wood or any other material for fire ex-
cept cattle dropplngs On Saturday the ice
was three-fourths of an inch thick, and We
found numerous little children with bare feet
| and legs. The minister's wife we found liv-
ing in hut, the floor consisting of the bare
ground, and no fire nor anything to make
one with; one little girl, blue with cold
and the other in her crib huddled up
| trying to keep warm. Their furniture was
in keeping with the rest, and their entire
| supply of food consisted of dry crust of
| bread, kindly sent by neighbor from their
| scanty supply. Another women was found
the same morning, with two little girls with
bare limbs and feet, trying to keep warm on
the sunny side of the house. Some creditor
| had taken her COW and left her to stsrve
| W 18th her little ones