The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-09-04
AS ABE NULL SEES 1T.
A Racy Ietter From California by an Old
Resident of Allen County.

A Racy etter From California by an Old
Resident of Allen County.
arrived at Sacramento March 3rd.
Roses were in bloom and the trees
and meadows were green. 1t looked
prosperous and encouraging, and as
the warm weather came on and the
nice rains lasted till in May 1 expect
ed to see an early harvest, but crops
grow 80 slowly here. Wheat harvest
did not commence till the last of June
and when 1 told men, here that they
were cutting wheat as early in Kan
sas they didn't want to believe it.
The most visible thing here is the
liquor traffic. The cities and towns
are filled with distilleries and wine
presses, and saloons occupy the cor
ners of the blocks and are found on
the main roads out from the towns,
and in the country they are known as
the ''ten mile house." or twelve mile
house." as the distance is from town.
The men carry the liquor sign on their
noses as they travel through the
country. The business is terrible
curse to any country. Twill say right
here that the gas and all the resources
lola has are not worth half as much to
the town as prohibition. The out
growth of liquor here is the most pro-
fame people 1 ever saw; even the
women can swear so as to raise the
hair on your head, and most men
have no regard for Sunday but work
about the same as on other days. Do
you suppose L would raise my family
in such place as this after having
lived in Kansas?
Besides, the advantages for making
a living here are not equal to those of
Kansas by any means. The soil as a
general thing is very poor. L have
seen some good land, but the price of
land is only about One-third what it is
advertised in the East. 1t is adver-
tised as worth so much TO make it APP
pear that the fruit lands for sale are
cheap. This Sunset Colony is all
farce. Land adjoining it sold for $40
an acre in small tracts this spring and
some land within mile sold under
mortgage for SD an acre. The farm
lands here are mOrtgaged far beyond
what Kansas farms ever were and at
a higher rate of interest. This is
nice place for flowers and flower gar
dens, but it is more work and ex-
pense to keep them through the dry
weather here than it is to keep them
through the cold weather there.
have Travelled over great deal of
the Sacramento and San Joaquin val
leys and they do not compare with
Allen county, although this is said to
be the richest farming country in Cal
ifornia. The wheat will not average
Is bushels to the acre this year and in
the locality where 1 live they say it is
the heaviest for years. 1 saw the
ground on which was grown the crop
of wheat advertised in the pamphlet,
(The Heart of California; as making
so or so bushels per acre, and the
men that harvested the wheat say it
made % bushels to the acre. Kansas
will raise nearly twice as much per
acre of anything~as California, and 1
have travelled to see. 1 have not been
in the south OF this state but Mr..
Runyan writes to me that it is poor
down there.
cannot tolerate any society have
seen here yet. 1 am of the same sem
timent that o. o. Martin is. He
spent last winter in lola and has
lived the ten years previous in Otta-
wa, Kansas, but now lives in Castle.
wood, 5. d. In letter he says,
"Hurrah for Kansas, it is the best
state in the union, has more good peo-
pie, more purity and christian spirit
in it than any state in the Union"
He also says he has seen more drunk
enness, gambling and carousing and
heard more profanity there in one
week that in Ottawa, Kansas, in ten
years. 1 will close as expect to be
in Kansas soon to speak for myself.
Respectfully,
A. B. NULL.