The Mena weekly star., 1898-02-09
FROM AN IOWA EDITOR.
if. s. FairaIi, Editor Iowa City Her
 aid Writes of Mena and Polk
County.


 County.
 Editor Fairall, of the Saturday Herald. of Iowa City. who spent sever al days here recently, wrote his paper as follows of his impressions and what he learned here;
 MENA, ARK, Jan. sl, 1898.
 Before forming acquaintances in Mfnn among the business men gener- allv. 1 was taken under the wing" of a most genial gentleman, MT J. r. Laudes. the townsite agent of the Port Arthur Route at Mena. Thls gentleman has the vim to build j city anywhere and the record he has made at Mena in filling the city with new residences and other buildings is one that has placed him at the head of all the company's active men along the line Behind pair of lively ponies. in the bracng air of bright morning, MT Landes took us for drive that showed us the entire town and gave us d glimpse into the adjacent country. In this city it was easy to see that over 3. 0o0 people live here-a census just completed gives over 3,20O-for many blocks are occupied by stores and residences, over 100 of the latter being now in process of erection. The homes are neat and tasty, bnilt of lum Der, which is very cheap, Mena beng the center of large lum Der in- dustry. Spacious lawns, wide streets and the best of opportunities for sew craze are noticeable Good schools, several churches, and other evidences of progress are indications of what enterprise will do Tn a year and half The several blocks ot stores gave as- surance that the mercantile industry is s-e!i represented, in fact all the branches of trade are here to as great extent as is desirable. What is most needed is the development of the farming country around the city, the bringing in of more farmers to sup port and make grow this really magic city.
 With the farm land around it occu pied, Mena's future is most promising. Located half way on the Port Arthur Route. between Kansas City and Port Arthur. it Is a division station and will always remain one. It is also large cotton market, drawing this stable for radius of over fifty miles. In the mountains of this section are vast deposits of mineral, only awaiting development
 During my first day in Mena 1 gave particular attention to the agricultu- al and horticultural possibilities of the county of Polk in which it is loca- ted I did this for the reason that many Iowa farmers desire information on the subject. For seventy years the county seat has been at Dallas, will iage that never had over 200 or 300 2opul ulation, and located about four miles from here. Next month the county seat will be moved by al- most unanimous consent to Mena- There will no be other town in Polk county except the one last named. From reliable information and person. al observations I gleaned the follow ing facts:
 Polk county is situated in the south west part of the state, but it is not ln low, swampy country, as majority of the people suppose South Arkan- sas has the reputation of being somewhat swampy, but this IS over estimated. The southern part of the state is lower than Polk county. The low lands, however, are at least l,10O feet above sea level. The country IS not level like the prarles of the North west. but it is broken up with mountain ranges running east and west. with beautiful valleys ranging in width anywhere up to fifteen miles The soil in these valleys is as ferile as any man need want, 1t will grow one bale of cotton to the acre, or forty bushels of corn, while twenty bushels
 rtal1 nl thirty and forty bushels is a very common thing. Oats and peas are especially prolific in these fertile val leys and Irish potatoes are not sur passed in any country Tame grasses, such as timothy. clover and alfalfa, do exceedingly we'll when put in at the proper season Of the year. n fact. those who have tried tame grasses in an intelligent manner, in a year that was at all ble, have made it a good success. Sweet potatoes are raised here in abundance and are of a size that will astonish all who have ever seen those grown in other favora- ble localities. They grow to an enor- nous size, and the yield is exceedingly larQe-large enough to make crop a very profitable one to raise
 There is not a more delightful coun- try anywhere to engage in the grazing and feeding of stock than here. The climate is mild in summer and winter, and feed of all kinds can be raised in abundance, while the vast mountain ranges afford a magnificent free sum mer range for all kinds of stock. Cattle have been shipped out of here by the thousand the past year, and ,x,auv have haan driven tO the immense