The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-20
II KANSAS SOD HOUSES.
SILVER DEEUsI0NS DRIVEN OUT By
THE NEW PROSPERITY.

eastern Colorado. when the traveller looks out
Of the car window as he rolls across the prairies
oil one OF the railroads. which unite the great
agricultural belt with the commerce OF the
Rocky Mountains. he Is apt to gain an i'm
preston that a death-like staRnation has set
tied down upon the little towns and hamlets,
The huts and sod cabin homes scattered here
and there do not lmpart cheerfulness to the
picture. and the traveller. 10 he does not stop
and talk and mingle with the people. is liable
to get an erroneous idea about their condition.
A sample boom town In Northwestern Kan
sas IL Goodland. the county scat OF Sherman
county. which adjoins Colorado en- the west.
In 1890 this town had a population Of more
than 5000. 1t was made a division point on
the Rock Island Railroad. At that time Sher-
man county contained 1000 people. several
thousand OF whom lived In the deserted sod
cabins which dot the prairles as monuments
ofsdisappointments. The population OF Goo
land now is less than 1,000-and that OF 'Sher-
man county Will not exceed $500.
Soon after the building Of this town droughts
came and many OF the settlers were forced to
leave. but there was one class OF citizens who
were able to stay and fight out the battle with
the elements. These were the old soldiers.
who were drawing pensions Of from So to $3.50
a month. They. with several hundred rail-
road men who came to man. the shops which
were built at Goodland. made up a'eommun-
ity that could afford to wait for seasonable
rains. While a succession OF droughts visited
the country the settlers managed. by means OF
windmills. to produce small gardemcrops suf-
fcient for their families. and their pensions.
provided groceries and clothing. They kept
out OF debt. and now the big wheat crops of the
last two years have made them prosperous,
The people Of Sherman county have an abun-
dance OF everything. even OF money In the
bank. and wheat stacks are so many and
threshing machines SO crowded with work
that the task Of threshing out the crop will not
be completed before Christmas. The people
OF this region have no time to talk politics.
They answer questions with impatienee. and at
the first chance turn to subjects nearer their
hearts. They are making money.so fast that
they boycott political meetings. Two years ago
an advocate OF the sixteen to one doctrine
would be greeted by thousands Of people and
cheered to the echo when he denounced the
money sharks OF Wall street and the corpora
tons:which.had their heels upon the necks Of
the people" Now he would not dare make such
. speech in western Kansas. for the abundant
prosperity would give the lie to his statements.
There are men In Goodland who have a stand
ing offer OF 500 TO any silver advocate who will
visit the town and make the same speech he
did two years ago. As yet none OF the free sill
yer champions from Senator Teller and Jerry
Simpson down has accepted the proposition.
In the region around about Goodland irri-
cation was applied to coax wheat and other
crops to grow. Here the State Irrigation
Commission created by the Legislature Of
1885 began to spend its appropriation OF $780,
600. A public-spirited citizen gave forty
acres upon which the commission sank a
drive well. and a reservoir and a pumping plant
were erected at q cost Of $4,000: When all
was READY the lrrieatlon experts OF the west
were summoned ior a ceiepration. Inc
Mayor and Town Council lined up at the rail
ed by a brass band. they were taken in car
was fu,I and the nrmn worSod nioo,r Ell
the beavens cont rihnted and ali daS q r,in.d
although 1t had not rained before for three
,na n,n,t,.n ae es ven u eApeLts auaressea
'underfow." That was the end OF II. as 1t was
the end Of a dozen similar experiments in the
western hait OF the state-they taught the set
tiers nothing that they had notalready learned.
namely. how to get the water out of the ground
abolisbed the comm ission Snd orSerad az
plants to be sold, Goodiand Bought the plant an
Thirty miles east OF GoodianUd. on he Rcc,s
Island Railroad. is Colby. one OF the most re-
markable towns in the IInited Statas Far
and near II ia known Az The TvtrHmin ton,n
There are I4D windmjJls In this Town ~ i I'M
neonIe and tbev are ortndin1 awav ali TIA
lime sucking the water from the great Inder.
ground lake several bnndred feet heIow tha
surface. Ranks fnrnisb the bead.snd fhe Tyatar
ia distribmted nv Mines into The bousss ma ana
barns and Upon The lawns and eardens' The
homes are pretty cottaees. and surrounded
Nv the foIiaSa Of hoy eiders the orean 81 tSa
lawns and the 0rowtb of the oardanS tho AZ
feet is beautiful.
NebrssPS S0p have nrGGiH scnVere Se fbat t Kansas Sn1 hn9
efop is the surest tbnt am he ra;sed IN fbat
arid reeion. Wheat corn. and caftie NAV taIi
but cb;ckens tnrEevs and dncts dc hsSinas::
the yaar rn,,nd EreSnsntiu t5eno sar4 tha
family They are the eheiSpest biin ave t iae
crows In that country: chesper even than
Grass for II takes labor 10 NOW hale and in@add
nav upon the cars. and ponitTy" IL no carr mil M
II comes 70 Temnyin1 bead fat and 1aetbara
and daliyerino The nsoduct nj the w. reat er'
nreas offina Snn,a farn,ars raisa 90 many
t,irReys that rbev driv. them 70 the gaiIir4nS
station I'm droyes lie catiIe and isbin tbem
alive in car lots Before n drive ~ tbis tinmSS IL IL
made the WINS ~ 1Sa III rJs n oIIiinna1 a. ~ nra 10
Vent them from 6yinS away' Not inf9eoneptlv
a settlers income from poultry IL = S3o0'a' YEAR:
enoueh to ciothe n family and Inv 1roceries :
In Merton county Kan Which Ia for out On
the oiains Two yo1n1 Women have nrnoticoiv
dem onatrateG that noMItrv raisinI 10 uroaf.
abia Misc EIoranca Chad viii oni h ar Sistar