The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1897-09-17
A PICTURE OF PROSPERITY.

Our local Populist friend of the
Journal, who has been preaching
poverty among the farmers and repre-
senting that they are ground down
and staggering under the burden OF
debts they are unable to pay. This
has been the general pastime of Popu-
list editors who remained in their Of
fee and looked at things through a
diseased imagination, and proclaimed
the idea that because here and there
was an unfortunate On the farm, as
there is everywhere else, that the far
mers as whole are in the same con-
dition. But our local Pop friend got
out into the pure country atmosphere
week or two ago, and he evidently
got his blue goggles off also. And
what vision met his eye. Not the
run down at the heel. debt burdened,
monopoly crushed farmer, without
any of the comforts of life, that he
has been constantly picturing in the
editorial columns Of his paper. Oh
no, that was not the picture that
struck his eye. Evidently such
scene, like some contagious disease,
was just over the line in some adjoin-
ing county. No, he found something
entirely different. He says that he
took the Eagle Lake road and that
"this route is one Of the prettlest
drives in the county. The farms on
each side of the road are well titled
and give every evidence Of thrift and
prosperity, the result of hard labor.
sacrifice and economy" But this is
not a favored spot for passing over in
to Lime town he found the same con-
dition of affairs, and says: Lime
town has many beautiful farms and
elegant homes. One can hardly go
amiss." And again while out in
jamestown he remarks: Lakes to
the right and left of US, well titled
farms and happy homes everywhere"
And so it goes through three or four
columns. Every farmer or nearly
everyone that he met was thrifty and
prosperous and was surrounded by an
abundance of the good things of life.
Think of this thrift, prosperity, album
dance and comforts. among the classes
whom he has week after week repre-
sented as downtrodden and mono
poly burdened class. Among the
many he visited he mentions the
names of Chas Graf, in Mankato
township, who has fine farm and
beautiful home. Then there is Jacob
Born in Lime town with good farm
and home, and John Knoll, of the
same town, with a splendid farm
and a cheerful, splendid home"
Others mentioned with similar farms
and homes are Mark Wildes OF. Lime
town. James Fields in Mcpherson,
Charley Smith and Hubert Bruels
near St. Clair, Jas Rabel, Thos. Nc
Garry, Fayette Wilder, Adam Lartz,
Henry Hodapp, Owen Mccarthy and
A. H. Matteson. All prosperous
happy and contented.
What a change and how refreshing
this picture must be to his readers
after the calamity froth that has
been regularly dished up of poverty
and discomfort for month after
month. And there is material enough
to keep up this same kind of reading
for months to come, right here in Blue
Earth county, which would doubtless
be far more pleasing to his readers
than the calamity rot that has been
continually INDUCED in. The review
of this thrift and prosperity among
the farmers only confirms what the
Republicans have said all along, that
the farmers are in the best shape. of
any class of our people, and that as a
whole they are constantly increasing
their comforts and are not worrying
about the future.