Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1897-05-29
AN INTERVIEW ON KANSAS.
What Bent Murdoch Claims to Have Told a
Washington Newspaper Man.

his interview in his own paper. the E
Dorado Republican, as follows:
Yes, live in Kansas. the very much
talked about Sunf1ower state: have
lived there for forty years; went there
in territorial times, when there was
nothing west of the Missouri river. tC
speak of, but buffaloeS, Indians. prai-
RE grass and sunshine; and have been
there ever since, except the three and
half years | was in the army My
home is in Butler county, which is in
the south central part of the state
Oh, yes, we had dry spell in 1860;
and some grasshoppers flew over the
state, on their way to ArkanSaw. in
1874. And we occasionally have some
stiff prairie beeeZes, but as to drouths,
grasshoppers and tornadoes, | have
never gone dry, had my crops eaten
nor nave L been blown up or away;
and If you can find a better looking,
better fed or better preserved young
man in Washington, of my age,
would like to see him.
OF course you people would call me
"hayseed" or sod buster, from the
wild and woody west: and | own to it.
but then we are better fed, better
clothed, better read, travel more,
have more churches, schools and rail-
ways and get more out of life than any
people in the world; and if you will
name spot on the earth where there
is not Kansas man at the head of
the procession, l will own up that we
are behind the times.
In debt, did you say? You greatly
mistake. Kansas will have a twenty
million dollar school fund, when the
school lands are all paid for, while the
state owes but few Thousand dollars.
You eastern people have very queer
notions about Kansas. L can't go into
general details and will therefore only
refer to my home county. We had to
nave railways-we have 200 miles in
my county-we had to buy much of
The land from the government, at
81 % per acre, build houses and barns. |
buy farm machinery and stock and we
ala not propose to live without public |
buildings, churches, school houses and |
bridges, so we voted bonds and Dor
rowed money for every Imaginable
purpose But listen, the state of
Kansas is not in debt, as l told you;
Butler county, like Others in the state,
never did owe dollar and to-day has
100000 in the treasury. We have
largely paid off our city school district
and township bonds. So that taxes on
an average quarter section farm does
exceed SIC per year. No country in
the world is as free from debt.
How do we live and what do we live
on? OF course the rich farmers of
Kansas we have lots of them
Ire absorbing the lands and possess
'lons of the poor ones; the rich are :
getting richer and the poor poorer.
but there are not $4,000 inhabitants /
anywhere in the world, where there
Are fewer really poor people.
Live? Bless my soul, we live as no
other people do. l was out in the
campaign last fall-in fact am out
Every fall-and stopped over night at +
good many farm houses. during Sep 1
,ember and October. You people {
Town here on the Atlantic coast. who I
1gure on the cost of everything you
,uy, and who wear yourself out to {
I've yOul lHCOUleS. Know =
What free ana easy living is
Most forehanded farmers have
and i
What the thunder is a roomery?" L
A place where mushrooms are culti- 5
ated-a hatchery and S
What the devil is hatchery. C
A black bass and croppie fish hatch a
~. Most every farmer has a fish
ond and froggery besides t
Say. Mr. Hayseed. please let up a u
minute and tell me what froggery C
,?' b
You should go west and irrigate a
our inordinate imbecility We grow
reen-head frogs eighteen inches long, r.
he same as we grow beauties
There you go again, in the name 5
f the Sunfiower state, what are beau t
esp o
American Beauty roses. We make T.
arden hedges out of American Beau c.
rose bushes. But what is the use v