The Coconino weekly sun., 1896-01-23
A BUSINESS PROPOSITION.
Why the People of the Verde
 Want the Road.
X Verde Valley Farmer Tells Why the People of That Section Want to Trade at
 Flagstaff.

''N hat shall we eat! What shall we drinkp Where withal shall we be clnthedp
 'There the whole thing in a nut she'll! Notwithstanding the fact that the Bible forbids taking thought of these things. they will keep coming around and bothering body about three hundred aud six,y-fve days out of every year. l, for one. don't like to be troubled with such matters, because they interrupt my flow of thought on more exalted themes; but once in Il while 1 take a spell of wond- ering what l shali do when have nothing more to cal, and how l shall go to church when l have nothing more To wear. l have one of these spells now. brought on by reading the .Jerome Mining News" concern- ing the proposed Flagstat and Verde road. l should like to take the non plused brother by the hahd and eX- plain 10 him in my naturally elegant and forcefu manner, why we want that road, and why we hope and pray that it may be built. Our reason put into the plauest English at our com mand, is that the Jerome merchants have not done. and are not disposed to do the fair thing by the valley farmers. They have stuffed it down (slang, but nothing else expresses iD the farmer for he last year, that they could have hay laid down in Jerome for $l2.50 and recently it has leaked out through one of their own number that $l5 was the lowest figure ut which hay could be shipped to them. l don't like to look at crooked things. aud the more l look at that the "crookider" it gets. It is claimed by our farmers that they eau sell grain on the ranch for better price than they can get in Jerome Everything in the way of fproduce is cut down in Jerome to suit the fancy of the merchant, and the farmer can stand ou one foot aud whistle, while they tie up his groceries and hand them to him at the same old high price. We'll, you see we are getting tired of that sort of thing, and we are looking for a hole to crawl through, and we think the Flagstaff and Verde road is the aperture we seek.
 1.-The farmer can haul his produce to Flagstaff or Prescott, and even if he has to take Phoenix prices for it, he can get his supplies so much cheap CT, that he will save considerable by it. l haze neither hauled hay 10 Prescott, nor brought back supplies, but l have talked with my neigh6ors who have, and am told that it pays to do so. Parties iu Jerome have told me that they can ship family supplies from Prescott, pay their own freight, and make by the transaction.
 My goodness! We can't sit around down here in the valley, and let Jeroln t swallow us alive.
 .'It sounds very magnamimous to say that Jerome furnishes us market for all we raise, but who's gong To furnish us transportation to the poor housep That's the question. We've had numbers of things furnished us before now that didn't beueliL us a particle, and if the Verde farmer doesn't scratch his head on both sides aud look sharp, be will be furnished d horn, out of the little end of which he will be at liberty to crawl. If he is ciuched any tighter, he won't be able to get his breath iiuancially.
 "Yes, brother, we want that road aud we want it badly, and we know why we want it too, and if the farmers. know their own interests it will be built. If we can't do any better we eau turn our hay aud grain iuto pork and beef and take it to Flagstaff in condensed shape. But rre said enough. 1 have line head of hair, just gray enough 10 be pretty, aud l expect to loose it the next time 1 go to Jerome.
 elf any one else can't understand why we waut the Flagstaff and Verde road let him come down to the valley and we'll give hlm his dinner aud ex- plain the situation to him if we die n the attempt.
 ''l'he cause for discontent does not Iia with fhe furner Iuliyidtallv 1