The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-03-01

each mans residence. IL was tnc 1Or-
tune of this committee finally to get
into the Office of citizen who was fair.
" prosperous.
''Where do yeh want yer coal put?''
they said, with clever and sly wink.
What coal?"
'Why, our coal. Your coali The
coal what was sent here"
''Git out a here! If you put any coal
in my cellar III kill some OF yeh."
They argued for long time. They
did not dare to leave anyone out of the
conspiracy. He could then tell of It.
Having failed with him, they went to
his wife and tried to get her to allow
them to put the coal in the cellar. In
this also they were not successful.
These are part of the difficulties
with which the commission fights. Its
obligation is to direct all supplies from
the generous and plying inhabitants
of other states into the correct paths to
reach the suffering. To do this over
a territory covering many hundreds
of square miles, and which is but
meagerly connected by railroads, is not
an easy task.
L. p. Ludden, the secretary and gen.
'eral manager of the commission, works
early and late and always. In his Of
fee at Lincoln he can be seen at any
time when people are usually awake
working over the correspondence OF the
bureau. He is confronted each mail
by heap of letters that is as high as
warehouse He told the writer of this
article that he had not seen his chill
dren for three weeks, save when they
were asleep. He always looked into
their room when he arrived home late
at night and always before he left early
in the morning.
But he is the most unpopular man
in the state Of Nebraska. He is hon
est, conscientious and loyal: he is hard
working and has great executive abil-
ity. He struggles heroically with the
thugs who wish to fitch supplies, and
with the virtuous but misguided phil
anthropists who write to learn of the
folks that received their fifty cents
and who expect full record of this
event.
From a hundred towns, whose citi-
gems are in despair for their families,
arises cry against Ludden. From a
hundred towns, whose citizens do not
need relief, and in consequence do not
get it, there arises cry against Lud-
den. The little newspapers print the
uncompromising sentence: ''Ludden
must goI" Delegations call upon the
governor and tell him that the situa-
ton would be mitigated if they could
only have relief from Ludden. Mem
bers Of the legislature, prodded by
their rival constituents, t.rise and de-
mand an explanation of the presence in
Office of Ludden. And yet this man
with the square jaw and the straight
set lips hangs on in the indomitable
manner of man of the soil. He re-
mains in front of the tales concerning
him; merely turns them into his bureau.
and an explanation comes out by the
regular machinery of his system, to
which he has impaired his personal
quality of inevitablenesS- Once. grown
tired of the abuse, be asked of the gov
ernor leave to resign, but the governor
said that it would be impossible now to
q
end disastrous halt of the machinery.
Ludden returned TO his post and to the
abuse.
But in this vast area of desolated
land there has been no benefit derived
from the intrigues and scuffiings at
Lincoln. which is two hundred miles
away from the scene of the suffering.
This town of Eddyville is in the heart
of the stricken territory. The TIER
mometer at this time registers eighteen
degrees below zero. The temperature
Of the room which is the writer's bed
chamber is precisely one and half de-
grees below zero. Over the wide white
expanse of prairie the icy winds from
the north shrek, whirling high sheets
of snow and enveloping the house il
white clouds of it The tempest forces
fine singing flakes between the rat
Ting sashes of the window that fronts
the storm. The air has remained gloomy
the entire day. From other windows
can be seen the snowfiakes fleeing into
the south, traversing as level line IS
bullets, speeding like the wind. The
people in the Sod-houses are much moro
comfortable than those who live in
frame dwellings Many of these latter
are upon high ridges OF the prairie and
the fingers OF the storm catch madly az
them. The sod-houses hubble close to
the ground and their thick walls re-
strain the heat of the scant wood fires
from escaping.
Eddyville is a typical town Of the
drought district. Approaching it over
the prairie. one sees row Of little
houses blocked upon the sky. Most OF
them are one-storied- Some OF the
stores have little square false-fronts.
The buildings struggle CT irregular
intervals along the street and little
board sidewalk connects then On all
sides stretches the win6-swept prairi,.s-
This town was once 1--we little place.
From behind the low hilloclxs. the farm
ers came jogging behind :heir sturdy
teams. The keepers Of The three or
four stores did a thriving trade But at
this time the village lies as inaninate
as corpse In the rear OF the stores, n
few men perhaps sit listlessly b. the
stoves The .people o. .,Ls Iagas. re-