Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-10-15
A MORIBUND STATE.
A GLOOMY VIEW or THE FARMS,
CITIES, AND TOWNS OF KANSAS.
Had Weather and Poor rrices-Aban-
donod and Ruined Homcstesds.

lPtntil. hAuh1H ~ to-iA'f oNiNsb'"b
like a drowning man who clutches at
straw. Topeka, her fair capital. Is fall
ing into n sleep chat perhaps will know
no waking. II is the solemn, awful
truth, rs every man in the State knows.
And with Topeka, every town and city
In the entire Commonwealth Is gradually
sinking 10 financial nun.
What is the cause II is hard 70 tell.
Some people say drouRhts. others mort
gages. and still others, and the majority,
prohibition. II IS a common occurrence
for the thermometer 70 register 100 or
JOG degrees, but as tho air is very light,
tunstrokes are rare. On such days the
query. " Did you feel any hot winds
was frequent The question was always
solemly asked and just as gravely an.
swercd "Not to-day, but il this kind OF
weather lasts much longer there certainly
will be"
RCORCHIVG SUNS.
shall never forget the day / first
heard the answer in the affirmative. All
through the day tho question was re-
peated 10y hundreds, and when night
came II appeared that some dire calamity
had beiallcn the State. which it was
CALAMITY. for q hot wind such rs sweeps
over the prairies means death TO corn.
Year after wear the farmers have plough
ed and sowed. narrowed and drilled, only
o. sec their crops after making luxu-
riaut start shriycl under the burning
rays of the sun. shining for weeks at "A
time from a cloudless sky. As they have
watched the horizon for sign OF hope,
thev have been Knocked by the breath OF
the dreadful "hOt winds rushing over
the plaln. This wind had finished tho
work Of destruction, and the farmer has
had 10 turn away from his blasted fields
and transfer his field Of hope TO the next
season. Occasionally crop has been
enough to encourage the uniortunates to
hold ON and hope for the best, but that
hope is now dying. =,
This year the corn crop was virtually
n failure. but there has been large
onnntity of the grain saved 10y the farm
ers from last years harvest. This Will
command a good price. Last year l6
cents per husbel was the highest price
obtainable, and It finally dropped to 10
cents The price this summer, how
ever. has been as high as 30 cents, but
nj present % cents will buy
busLel of corn, and from the out
look less will buy it shortly. But II
it only brings 20 cents 1t Will goa
great way toward making up for this
wears 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 tins
years crop at $4,000. 900 bushels. There
was fair harvest OF wheat, rye, and
other grains. but none OF these are raised
in large quantities. tine farmers believing
tine soil is not as well suited for them rs
II is for maize. Corn-cobs for fuel de-
msnd a fair price.
THOUSANDS OF MORTGAGES
Thousands Of farms are mortgaged
and also thousands Of homes and lots,
but that is always the general state of
affairs IN new country. Al present the
land. loan, aud mortgage companies mc
filing foreclosure suits by the wholesale.
To my knowledge one company has filed
over 400 suits since the first OF the year.
These suits are not brought because the
companies want the land, but merely
for the purpose of enforcing the pay
ment of overdue interest. Tho firms at
present are ovorburdcned with land.
They have absolutely more than they
can take care OF.
You may bo riding on the railroad
and see hundreds of pretty farm-houses
nesting I'm the shade OF the orchard
trees. but in the western part of the
State one house of every three, or OF
every two. Is ulinhabited. Around
about them rank weeds are growing and
they are falling into ruins. 1t Is almost
rs bad in the East Will Carleton, IN
one Of his farm ballads, speaks Of a
person who "died of mortgage, " but
such cases here would be rarlties indeed.
1t is nearly always impossible for the
sheriff Of any county to summon the
original owners of property when sued
in foreclosure suits as they can.
HrFRCr OF PROHIBITION.
Said prominent man when spoken to
on the subject Of prohibition "Prohi-
bition has undoubtedly been good thing
for Kansas morally, but | do otthink 1t
has benefited her in any other way.
Prohibition has not increased the popu
lation. and believe # the resuhmissiOn
party succeeds IN having the question
put before the people 1t will poll such "A
vote as will cause the temperance people
10 omen their ewes in wonder, if not IN
indignation. have heard many people
say that theyvoted for prohibition once,
but would under no circumstances do so
again. am one of those people. Only
the extreme third party people will want
prohibition law, and should 1t be ne
cessary 10 again vote on the subject
think a surprise would be given some
people
"You know bow the original package
agents were worried when here. They
were the extremists, and when the au-
thorities took a hand 1t was for votes.
You have heard how they treated the
agent al Emporium threatened TO hang
him if he sold. frightened him nearly 10
death. aud after several days, as the
man had sold nothing, arrested him as "a
vagIant, having no means OF support.
You know of other cases as bad as that.
il not worse. Several years ago cham
payne supper was given at the Cope
land, and the next day the extremists
secured. the names of ali the guests. and
and attempted where they were en-
ploves to secure their discharge.
300, 900 GONE.
Nebraska papers speak of prohibition
as killing Kansas. Asto the decrease
IN population IT is safe to say that at
least 100000 people have left Kansas
forever IN the last three years or less.
Tie late census gives this State an in'
crease Of over 800, 200. This increase
happened when the great "boom was
going on five years ago. During that
time immigration was exceedingly
heavy. When the "boom exploded the
decrease set in, which has continued
ever since, and from every appearance
will still 60 on. With the bursting o.
the boom every person was ieit IN pas
financial shape, and to-day there ar'
many large firms trembling on the verge