The herald., 1896-08-13
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( HUTCHlSON'S KICKS !
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If it were not for my reputation for
peace and quiet, accomplishing accept
ance of existing conditions OF affairs in
all quarters of the earth, would write
an exceedingly bitter condemnation of
the American weather clerk.
L left the holy and justly celebrated
| city of Los Angeles on the 18th of July.
| Since that day have not seen state in
which it was not raining or had rained
within few hours or was about to rain.
! The thunder and lightning and other
| sonorous and pyrotechnic diplays have
been altogether too frequent and lavish.
nave not seen a single river or creek
| tnat was not as Shiny as a pig in its
| wallow and as noisy as d Spring street
howler on religion, or what he conceived
to be religion. The harmony of the scene
| seems to be in the music of the frogs and
| lizards and locusts. These do multiply
| and cucumber the earth exceedingly.
The rich, golden tints of the pure mud
| or which the eastern roads are composed
are the chief things that delight our sad
Hanna squad since the late conventions
| at St. Louis.
This years crops of hay, corn wheat
oats and potatoes are abnsrmally large
| but the prices are infinitessimal The
| hay, wheat and oats are rotting in the
fields, partly because of the semi hourly
rains and partly because the products
Will not sell for enough to pay the wages
| Of the gatherers.
| In several of the middle states oats
and potatoes are selling at cents a
| Dushel, but the vile decoctions of oats
and water and potatoes and water that
are served up at restaurants still cost
| the sufering deVourers 10 cents per dish.
The heavy rains have done one good
thing for the cause of decency and mo-
rality They have made the hay so wet
that thoughtless young people have
been compelled to abandon the "hay
rides that but lately seemed to be the
most threatening and really destructive
| engine Of public debauchery.
I am writing at McConnelsville, Ohio,
| near the ancient courthouse and public
| square. John Robinson's show is here:
| also 10000 people who came to see the
street parade, because they could not
afford to go to the show. There are two
or three thousand who could raise
enough coin to get tickets. They are
now enjoying the circus. When the
performance is over they will go home
to dig and delve for almost nothing for
two or three years. They could not af-
ford show every year. So much pleas
ure would seem to them like dissipa ton.
Two or three years from now another
circus will come this way Those who
can afford to go will see it; the rest
will look at the procession, and will hope
to go next time And so these honest.
earnest Industrious people in the CEN
trail part of the great state of Ohio are
existing. They have farms and other
property that cost them much, and that
were once worth much. They do not
like to sell them for less than they gave
for them. They could not sell them for
half of what they cost. They are almost
hopelessly tied to the soil, and the pro-
ducts of the soil are practically worth
less. Something is wrong somewhere,
perhaps.
Every one of them looks at me as If I
were the queer animal that I am, and
puts his arms akimbo and says: "And
so you are from California Well, I've
always thought I'd like to go there if I
ever went anywhere; but I reckon I'll
never get to go anywhere" If it were
not for the difficulty of raising SIG to
one man the exodus to California would
be surprising.
Under the present system the people
of the middle states are practically fix
lures of the soil, even as the serfs of
Russia We're fixtures before the time of
Alexander.
Signs of change are everywhere and
no earthly creature will work harder
therefor or be more glad thereat than
yours truly,