The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-04-01
Letter from J. w. Simmons.
Albany, N. Y, March %,

Albany, n. L., Marcn 20, 1870.
A few minutes of leisure causes a piano.
rama of mental pictures to traverse the mind
similar to those of vtascope.
Well. see that l am running in the same
thought channels with the sage of Gute's
Hill -Abner Scott. Not having acquired
the right of way, L desist. Abner saw a
meteor athwars the sky and made a wish.
1t is not unlikely that there will be more
than one meteor traversing space in the
vicinity of our white (black) squadron very
soon, and If so, the one great national wish
will be-Cubd Hbre, and Cuba libre it will
surely be.
In this eastern city, WAR is on every
tongue. One great, constant, united cry for
justice and humanity. 1t is not all senti-
ment but has taken the calm but conscien-
tious cry that echoed along the Hudson and
was re-echoed from the Catsklls in 1776.
We expect to be in New York by to-
morrow eve., and there we will probably see
that activity that bespeaks nations power.
Fortifcations and war-shps now have diff
Its class work. In this land Of the Mohawks
the beacon lights are seen along the hill
tops. 1t all means war unless Spain stops
Juggling with such words as autonomy and
pacfication. will permit Abner to finish
the theoretical.
e. A. Wilson of the State Board of Edu-
cation, Fred and are travelling in the En-
pire state.
Saturday morning was bright and balmy
and we utilized portion of the time in wit
Messing the fall of water at Niagara 1t is
simply impossible to comprehend what 1t all
means. what it was centuries in the past,
and will be some generations hence. A few
weeks ago we greatly enjoyed a splendid
ride over the Queen and Crescent from Gin
cinnati to Chattanooga. We think that ride
was eclipsed on Saturday by our ride
from Buffalo to Albany, distance Of three
hundred miles in almost as many minutes,
aboard the famous Empire Express, the
fastest train In the world. On its down
grades, forty seconds was the time between
mile posts. From Utica to Albany a dis
lance of eighty miles, we followed the wind
ings of the historic Mohawk. On our re-
cent southern trip, we followed the French
Broad for eighty five miles among the Great
Smoky, Balsam. and Blue Ridge noun
tains and while the scenery was great In its
ruggedness, 1t was no comparison to the
wealth of this grand valley of the east.
Four tracks run parallel from Buffalo to
Albany and these are paralleled by the Erie
Canal. This waterway is being greatly i'm
proved by deepening and widening the chan
mel. Fifteen millions of dollars are poured
into the treasury of this state for its accom-
plishment. and by this mean that canal,
state-house, and Doodle are synonymous
terms here. On one of the magnificent hills
of Albany stands pile of granite represent
ing twenty three millions of the tax. payers
contributions. 1t is still unfinished. 1t will
be some time before the historian writes
f1ljs on its contracts.
This afternoon we will pay the legislature
visit. We trust the tiger is strongly Gagged
and that the guards are vigilant. We have
already been taken for a lobbyist from the
metropolis and have had the proverbial
ward-heeler accuse us of diplomacy because
we spoke word for State Supt. Skinner
and ex-Supt Draper. was accused in the
hotel this morning of being one of those
Dc. A. RS and was told to come out
and announce my intentions before the poll
ticials.
1t is interesting to travel incog.
Well, we have some Normal Schools yet
to visit, also West Point and the great city
of New York. hope to visit two or three
public schools in New York and Elizabeth,
New Jersey. Our homeward route is by
the Lehigh Valley and our train may be the
Black Dimond Express. We feel that our
home work will be greatly enriched by our
southern and eastern trips. We have con-
sidered(?) boarding a ship and possibly
going to Cuba
Yours,
j. w. Simmons.