The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1891-09-10
KANSAS FARMS.
The Report Of an Examiner From
the East

Henry NJ. Cleveland, Representing Now
England Investors. Carefully Studies
the Situation and Makes An En-
couraeing Report.
A recent issue of the Hartford, Conn.
Times contained a review of the situa-
ton in Kansas, which is reprinted here
with. 1t was prepared in the interest
of eastern investors by Henry NJ. Cleve-
land, of Brooklyn, Conn. well-known
lawyer. who was specially employed to
examine the situation:
To Whom it May Concern:
Employed by several gentlemen who
have large real estate investments in
Kansas, have just finished an investi-
cation of it's farming and financial in
-terests, and we have agreed that a few
of the facts have gathered may inter-
est the persons in this state who have
loans in Kansas, and also those who
are looking for good real estate
security for loans or investments. We
are not attempting to boom Kansas; we
are not attempting to boom any corpor-
alton in Kansas; we have endeavored
to get the absolute, undeniable facts in
relation to the lands and their possibil-
tiles and to the ability of the perma-
nent settlers to make money farming,
and to pay their mortgage indebted
ness. I travelled nearly the whole
length of the state, from the Missouri
border on the east to the Colorado line
on the west. 1 spent some time in
nineteen counties in different parts of
the state, spending the most of the
time in the western counties which
have been SO misunderstood and ma
ligned by newspaper writer's and polit-
ical tricksters like PETER and s'Sockless
Simpson" I obtained many facts
which appear in this letter from per-
sonal friends and farmers of large and
long experience and observation in sew
eral counties. My imagination has
furnished no material for this letter.
In this investigation I exercised the
same care and thoroughness that did
in 1877 when l investigated the real
estate assets in the west of the life in
,surance companies of Connecticut un-
der an appointment from the state.
facts; these have given them. Kansas
is divided into LOG counties, containing
a population of about ], 800. 600, at least
two-thirds of which are Americans, Ole
half of the other third are Germans and
the remainder is composed of all other
.nationalities. It is conceded by every
body that the central and eastern parts
of the state possess almost unlimited
land resources and that the soil and
seasons are favorable for the production
of grain, stock. etc. The assaults that
have been made upon Kansas have been
aimed mainly at the western third of
the state. It has been said and written
over and over that the land is poor,
that they have no rainfall there, that
nearly all the farms started there had
been abandoned and that all the money
loaned on farms there would be lost
Now it is true that farms have been
given up, some voluntarily and
some by foreclosure, and the explana-
ton is clear; all the men who have
abandoned their farms in the way have
named, were in two classes. One class
would 60 there, take a quarter section of
government land, break q few acres,
build sod house. do nothing until the
time came to prove up and get title and
then borrow all the money they could
on the farm, which meant q sale to the
lender The other class were men who
went from the corn states and tried to
raise corn, which cannot be done sue
cessfully in that part Of the state, for
The reason that the altitude is too high,
the nights are too cool and that August
and September are the dry months
which damage the crops Some of
these men got discouraged and went
did we'll. Winter wheat is the safe,
great crop of western Kansas It is
planted in the fall, the winter rains and
SHOWS keep the ground in fine condi-
ton and the crop comes off before the
dry weather sets in. With rare ex-
ceptions, the men who went into west
.ern Kansas during the last ten years,
intending to stay. are there now (if liv-
ing) and are in Independent circum-
stances, most Of Them and some of
them are moderately rich They suffer
there occasionally from q prolonged
drought, as we do in this state and as
they do in all other states
They do not realize the full benefit
of the rainfall for the reason that the
surface of vast tracts of unbroken prai-
RE land has been made as hard as stone,
almost by the incessant tramp of buff
faloes in the early history Of the state.
The water runs of and the soil gets
very little moisture. The damage to
crops by droughts will be less frequent
as the land is brought under cultivation.
j have some knowledge of all the grain
states have travelled twice over the
famous Red river valley wheat lands in
North Dakota. and do not hesitate to
say that I have never seen q richer.
handsomer belt Of wheat and all small
grain lands, than those have travelled
over in western Kansas. A company
OF gentlemen own large body Of land
in southwestern Kansas and I had n