Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-21
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE pIsP ArcH.

mbia's pride, is diving. She was once the
one bright star of the entire West, but tha
star has now set-sunk into obscurity
lesving it a darkened land, where discon.
tent stalks abroad over her boundles:
prairies, or more properly, sun-scorched
desert, for of truth it is the 'Great Amer.
lean Desert" Kansas is to-day struggling
like a drowning man who clutches at a
straw. Topeka, her fair capital, is falling
into sleep, that perhaps will know nc
waking. 1t is the solemn awful truth, as
every man In the State knows. And with
Topeka, every town and city in the entire
commonwealth, is gradually sinking to
financial ruin.
What is the cause? 1t is hard to tell.
Some people say droughts, others mortgages,
and still others. and the majority, prohibi-
tion. 1t is common occurrence
for the thermometer to register 1860
or 1860, but as the air is very light,
sunstrokes are rare. On such days the
query. Did you feel any hot winds?'' was
frequent. The question was always solemn
ly asked and Just as graveIy answered:
mot to-day, but if this kind of weather
THE BREATH OF DESTRUCTION.
shall never forget the day first heard
the answer in the affirmative. All through
the day the question was repeated bv hun
dreds, and when night came it appeared as
il some dire calamity had befallen the
State, which it was calamity, for hot
wind such as sweeps over the prairies means
death to corn. Year after year the farmers
have plowed and sowed, narrowed and
drilled, only to see their crops. after making
luxuriant start, shrivel under the burning
rays of the sun shining for weeks at a time
from cloudless sky As they have watched
the horizon Tor a sign of hope, they have
been Knocked by the breath OF the dread ul
shot wind rushing over the plain. This
wind has finished the work of destruction,
and the farmer has had to turn away from
his blasted fields and transfer his field Of
hope to the next season. Occasionally
crop has been secured, and this has been
enough to encourage the unfortunates to
hold on and hope Tor the best, but that hope
is now dying.
This year the corn crop was virtually
failure, but there has been large quantity
of the grain saved by the farmers from last
years harvest. This will command a good
price. Last year 16 cents per bushel was
the highest price obtainable, and it finally
dropped to 10 cents. The price this summer
however. has been as high as 30 cents, but
at present 3S cents will buy bushel of
corn, and from the outlook less will buy it
shortly. But if it only brings 20 cents it
will go great way toward making up for
this years failure. In 1889 the corn crop
was estimated to amount to 273, 800 600
bushels, and the Secretary of the State
Board of Agriculture estimates this years
crop at $4,000, 900 bushels There was a
fair harvest OF wheat, rye and other grains,
but none of these are raised in large quanti-
ties, the farmers believing the soil is not as
we'll suited for them as it is for maize.
Corncobs for fuel command fair price.
WHOLESALE FORECLOSURES.
Thousands of farms are mortgaged and
also thousands of homes and lots, but that
is always the general state of affairs in a
new country. At present the land, loan
and mortgage companies are filing fore.
closure suits by the wholesale. To nv
one company has filed over 400
suits since the first of the year. These quits
are not brought because the companies
want the land, but merely for the purpose
of enforcing payment Of overdue interest.
The firms at present are overburdened with
land. They have absolutely more than they
can take care of.
This led to meeting of representa-
lives of a large number of land companies a
short time ago. The committee recon-
mended the organization of a corporation
under the laws of Colorado, to be known as
The Syndicate Lands Corporation, with a |
capital stock OF $4,000, 900, They also |
tine location of agencies in the |
principal cities OF this country and Europe. |
1t was further proposed and recommended |
hat individual companies deed all lands |
owned by them lying between range Is |
west and range 45 west OF the sixth princi- |
pal meridian to the syndicate, as partial pay
nent on subscription to stock on a basis of |
IS per acre maximum, the membranes |
against such lands becoming quasi obliga-
ions of the corporation. No quarter section |
If land will be accepted, however, in which
he subscriber has not an equity o. S10O on
he proposed basis. AS it is at present each
Individual company is so overburdened with
and as to cause them to be fearful of a
,alamity. Neither can single company
lfford to advertise for the resettlement of
heir lands. and advertising is one of the OBJ
ects of the organization.
BIG WHEAT PROSPECTS,.
hink the corporation will be formed in
ime to SOW a crop of spring wheat To do
his it will be necessary for the company to
ent or buy steam pillow for every county in
which their land is situated. The land
which the syndicate proposes 70 take as
took covers nearly one-haif of the whole
state and a section of Colorado.
You may be riding on the railroad and see
hundreds OF pretty farm houses, nesting in
he shade of the orchard trees, but in the west
m part of the State one house OF every three
r OF every two is uninhabited. Around
bout them rank weeds are growing, and
hey are falling into ruins. 1t is almost as
ad in the East. Will Carleton, in one of
is farm ballads, speaks of person who
died of mortgage, but such cases here
7ould be rarities indeed. 1t is nearly always
N mpossible for the Sheriff of any county to
ummon the original owners of property
Ihen sued in foreclosure suits, as they can
ot be found in the county, or, tor that mat
ar, in the State. Others, and members of
be Farmers Alliance, have, in a numbe of
petitioned the Judges of the Dis
-ict Courts to throw foreclosure cases out,
ut in every case have been unsuccessful.
gain, the loan companies are spurred into
'reclosure of mortgages, being fearful that
ne Alliance faction may succeed in the
oming election this fall, and pass such laws
5 will be detrimental to their interests.
BANE OF PROHIBITION.
Said a prominent man when spoken to on
lie subject OF prohibition: ''Prohibitlon has
been splendid thing for
-ansas morally, but I do not think it has
enefted her in any other way. Prohibi-
on has not increased the population, and
elieve if the re-submission party succeeds
! having the question put before the people
will poll such d vote as will cause the
,mperance people to open their eyes in
'onder, If not in indignation. Ihave heard
lany people say that they voted for prohibi. 1
on once, but would under no circumstances
o SO again. I am one OF those people. Only