Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1890-02-13
A CITY ON PAPER.
Mexico rs Viewed Twenty Years
ago bv Judge Forrist---
A Village Then q
City Now.

MEXICO, Mo-, Feb. S-When ]
iirst knew Mexico she was city
on paper-potantially . town,
Sahara wasa garden compared with
her desola:ion. There was char,
ter, much land and waste places,
some people. Out of these ele.
mrn,s city could be made. bu, by
no means we're they either town .,
city 1t seems to me now as i,
some cyclone had picked up . tswu
,n Kansas and dumped its debr,s
here around the public square, and
another wnirl-wind had made tenn.
porary org.niz .tion Of it. In all
thescity there was not q shaded
streetl Horses. hogs, sheep and cat
tie we're. allowed to range through.
out the city. bec4yss they were
scavengers plying thsir business
No sidswaIks, NIB schools, nc
churches, no fec,utss, no halls, nc
organized soci.ty.
What would young Americs
think OF Mexico Il he went down
town f u night nov and see in all
he city na business places lighted
exc pit drug store or dram shop
TWO words OF equal import then
Where the 3 u hern Bank is nuw
and further siung was q Cat TAI
-wamp, which We crossed upon .
ott.,ing bosrd to ge: back 10 the vi
tice of T. = Ricketts,, then County
Attorney. IN an old dwelling once
The happy home Of the Hon. Jno.
P. Clark. The money man was
,stounded that two or three year.
iAier the bank paid 500 per foo,
far the twenty feet Of land wherein
t. bank staads. easily worth slz
imes that nuw.
What will the Mexico literati
hink OF it when I tell It that theiI
t vurits city had never heard o,
-esn f-male lecturer or public
praker until 1859, when / intr".
.uced Miss Phuebe Cnuzins l., al
audience Of twenty-five to hear he,
srea, speech on'' W"nan'- Rights .
Il was in the basement of the Lib
-r,y Street Methodist Church, Ii,
,p with six IL low dips.
But later Came Olive Lagan. VII
nad- her speech in lit,i- hall ui
he third fonr Of s P Enmons
nick biuck, corner Of J. f-r-on and
Prulnrna,ie streets So ! intr:'.
iuc. d each lady To a Mexico audi
nee, from Pho-be TO Brigham
Young's nineteenth wife. many
years at er. In the early year.
female lecturers were not approved
,ere. The platform was not wo
mans sphere in the opiniun Of III.
Mexican argonauts. IN ts.ese latel
lays woman's sphere is anywhere
very where she can push her way
honest support of herself and
,mily by honest labor, or by
"ngue "r pen
In the q ,sence of q we'll under.
tmd Contract fnr marriage bs
w.en them, / never knew c.,upie
D make carriage ride Tor . day
Without great scan.lal during The
irsl TWO years resided here. B..
we-n the young people there war
wall of partition. Suci-,y, like
veryth,ng else, WAS in such rudl.
hantaIv siage that the only places
{ social anu enent for the young
people was either church, prayer
iu--ting or mite society. ~
IL was u nine days wonder that
[ held open sffice at night after /
nnmrnced pr tc,icing Ia y here. II
could not then BE- understood. /,
vas said that there WAS danger of
he pistol shot out of the darkness.
Il. W. Vangalder, one of the ber,
uen l knew, y locomotive engineer
u earlier days, u merchant here,
,rver could avoid The cnnciu-inll
hat certain n"rtbern men would
ne as~asslnsted. He got to b- q
member vi the Board vi Educationj
director in a bank q d snmehow
connected with a church, but was
,ever equal to c c,ming down town
after night alane. He had not an
enemy in the world. In passing
It may be said that many old citi.
z-ns thought II safer to be at home
after night than elsewhere.
The corner where Tucker now ie,
Windsor Hotel ard contiguous 10.
oslitles were chapparAl or swanps
Of water or brambles Of briars and
tn 'rDs. Hogs, half Wild. q. d intn
them and were IA secure as II in q
city OF refuge Neither man or dog
cared to follow them Fair gun.
ming was found over half the city =
territory There Was neither grist
,r saw mill. or other manufactnry;
no water power; no organizrd in
dustry; no Combined effort; no a..
<ocia,iun Of wealth; no trusts, and
still M.xicans were not happy
Somebody will want to know
pretty soon what in the world Wa
there to the city. At the time OF
which | write was in 1868, amid
the wild scenes OF that year. The
Martin Brothers had just been shot
during .he turbulance OF registra-
tion and blood, not music. was in
the air. This state of affairs made
l,cal politicians out of everybody.
Our old friend. Gillian. then CHIEF
justice of Salt River township,
would forget his ermine and put an
his togs and talk Of Runymeda and
King John snd magma charter and
write Of rights until he grew eIo-
quent.
II asked what there wss Of Meg.
.c", I should he cumpsll~d to an.
swer: political opportunities Fen
ator Wade and C.,ngrersman G+d.
dings. both lived in Jefferson, I
c.,untry tnwn half ~ large as Lad
donia. They remained IN Congress
from eighteen to tgentY- four years.
He vas 4 prasaas man but equal 10
any esnsrgency;a pist.'l-shot without
superior and willing 70 use il or
prniani,y. n he fund occAsi a 70
defend his positions in Conar~rs.
A. >so4nrr r,srof~e4u,>p Earn;fss,