Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-04-26
HOW KANsAs STANDS.

SECRETARY OoDurEs Oh In0 SUdbe DOdrQ
of agriculture, addressed some inquiries
to MIR. c. S. Gleed, of Topeka, who has
spent sone time in the east, asking his
opinion as to the status of Kansas in
the industrial, commercial and finan-
cia1 world, to which he received a
lengthy reply and publishes in his
quarterly report, and from which the
following is taken:
The general reputation of Kansas is very bad
among superficial observers; fair among the
m1ddle, and hrst-class among those who OBJ
serve critically. The superficial observers are
those who know nothing of Kansas except
what they ind in the crime and freak depart
ments Of the big papers The newspapers mus
sell If they desire to live; they must be inter
est1ng II they desire to sell: to be lnteres ting
70 the majority OF buyers they must contain
plenty of hot stuff" The writers write what
the papers want to print, and so 1t is entirely
natural that the news from Kansas should
nearly always be limited to sensations of the
"red hot'' kind
The second class of observers are those who
pay little attention to what the papers contain.
but yet have only hearsay, secondhand
knowledge Of Kansas matters
The third class Is made up of those who have
an actual, close, business knowledge of the
state The man who merely has bad Kansas
mortgage several of them, cannot necessari-
ly assume TO know Kansas All he knows is
that some reckless knayish loan agent or
agency has sold him bad securities Kansas is
not to blame for that Those observers who
study the statistics. and are able to intelligent
ly compare net results in Kansas with net re-
suits elsewhere. know that Kansas is all right,
and deserves to be ranked with the very first
states, and second to none.
What do eastern people think of Kansas by
this time as an investment field?
They have not, as whole. changed their re-
Gently formed opinion, but they have begun to
change. and are now changing rapidly. When
SYMPTOMS frOp he h0O
period first appeared and afterwards, when
the full xtent OF our collapse was known, they
thought they had discovered that Kansas peo-
pie were all confidence men" and swindlerS.
tattooed over with the hideous sig of dnan-
cial dishonesty. Then, one morning, the cas-
Looked in the glass, and, b shold! its own face
was as badly dlshgured as that of Kansas Its
own financial favorites went to grass with fear
fui rapidfty. Eastern promises to pay fell to a
lower average than western promises to pay.
stocks and bonds which had been considered
higher than the stars above Kansas securities
came plunging earthward with fearful unanim-
1ty. Chaos arrived-and it did not come from
the west. Now, the east was entirely willing,
no doubt, to charge all this trouble to the west
1t was willing. but it was not able. It
had too much sense to try to do so.
1t could not believe that the region between
the Mississippi river and the Rocky mount
aims was powerful enough TO paralyze the
financial world east of the Mississippi river
born better thoughts about Kansas and other
tates in the west. Without having any per
sonal connection with the business of lending
eastern money in the west, it has yet come to
M knowledge, incidentally, that lenders are
getting back their Kansas courage I know
one gentleman, in Massachusetts. who recent
ly bought s20, 900 worth of Kansas mortgages.
A savings bank in Vermont, the other day,
bought $4,000 worth have repeatedly known
eastern people to discuss their bad Kansas
Losses with an agent and then, in the same in
terview, bargain for new securities. We shall
never Il hope) get the wholly unrestricted
command of money that We once had. but we
SHALL in due time. get standing that will iu-
sure US the cheapest money for all legitimate
uses.
What will be the immediate future of emf
grafton to Kansas?
Emigration seems to be very much matter
of fashion First it runs in one direction and
then in another. Kansas has not had a chance
for good while. The Oklahoma openings, the
PUSHES to southern California and the north
west country, and other counter attractions,
have combined to keep emigration from head.
ing toward Kansas in any strong way. The
time is at hand, however, in my opinion. when
there is to be a general and steady inflow OF
people seeking better land, better climate. and
better conditions generally, than they have
hitherto had in this country or Europe. There
are few more entirely new regions to be
opened by railroads or by acts of congress-, and
everywhere there is rapid closing up of the
ranks. Room is wanted, and we have it here
in Kansas. 1t is bound to be applied for, and
every citizen should feel large degree of per
sonal responsibility in the matter of getting
only the best class OF newcomers Every Kan
san knowing good farm that NAV be had a a
bargain should make personal attempt to
have it purchased by some new conner who
really knows the farming business. and who
has thrift energy, and clolr grit A half mil.
lion such people added to our populatio in the
next five years is BY no means an impossibility.
What is to be the future of The grain and cat
tie markets in which Kansas producers are in
terested?
have no hope of seeing dollar wheat until
an extended period of low prices has driven
farmers somewhat out of the wheat business,
or until a war in Europe extraordinary
failure in crops or some other especial occur.
renee has cut of part of the product Few
people have any fair comprehension of the vast
increase in recent years of the wheat produc-
ing area; the vast decrease in the cost of pro
cucfng wheat, due to improved mechanical APP
planes: the vast increase in the number and
quantity of things eatable which can be substi-
tuted for wheat and the vast oranges worked
in the markets by the greatly improved
methods of transportation surplus in one
locality can now be rushed to the place where
it is needed in comparatively no time
But in spite of these conSiderat ionS, I expect
to see decided improvement over present
prices, because, when political conditions are
changed. and eastern manufacturers begin to
pay out their usual volume of money in wages.
the amount of food consumed will be immensely
increased. InlS, Win the cutting down
quantities produced. will give prices decided
upward hitch think Kansas ought to work
out her own salvation by producing and manu-
featuring far possible, all she uses.
Whatever is shipped out should be in the most
condensed possible form Then snan get
the greatest proportion of money for a given
drain on our producing power.
CHARLES S. GLEED
"A brawny farmer presented him
self at a country school dragging an
overgrown boy reluctantly through the
door. Whats yer limit here? This
boys arter an iddicashun," he de-
manded. The timid teacher replied
that the curriculum lem braced read
ing. arithmetic, history, algebra, trigo-
nometry-" THAT will do" inter-
rupted the farmer. Load him up
heavy with triggernometry; he's the
only poor shot in the family. IN. Y.
Mercury.