Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-10-19
Murrayville, Illinois.

In my last l told you of the damage
to corn by the frost; since then, though
heavy rains have passed north and
south of US, we have had but little wet
and the dead roasting ears are drying
up on the stalk.
Considering the discouragements oil
the last three or four years, quite a
large acreage of wheat has been sown;
and as the land is in good condition,
the plant looks strong and healthy,
except near fence rows and pastures,
where the grasshoppers took it so that
some have had to drill over again for
several rounds.
Potatoes have been gathered, and
though not big crop, they were gen.
orally large of good quality.
The apples gathered will not keep
well. as nearly all are wormy.
Among my scholars, in Belleview,
was Geo. w. Sloan, whom it has al
ways been a pleasure to remember, on
account of his studious habits and ex-
emplary conduct. Though his oppor-
tunities had not been good, both he
and brother were, in technical and
general knowledge, ahead of all the
other scholars of their age. With
and pleasure to hear from him re-
Gently. He has been living in Cowley
county, Kansas, for sixteen years. He
has been deputy county clerk since
1896, and is now candidate for clerk
If he is as good citizen as he was a
pupil he deserves success.
A great many Republicans here are
opposed to McKinley's war. If it takes
forty war vessels and 10000 men to
handle the Filipinos we have not much
room to brag OF either navy or army.
A friend, who went to see Dewey's
reception in New York, tells me some
thing that illustrates how we'll it pays
TO get up a demi-god out of an ordinary
man. The house my friend staid at
made seven hundred dollars by letting
windows and points to view the
parade.
You may take exceptions to my re-
ferring to Dewey as an ordinary man
but there was a vast difference be-
tween his entrance in Manila harbor
and Farraguts entrance into Mobile
bay. Dewey knew, before he left
Hong Kong, where, and when, every
vessel he had to fight was built; how
everyone was manned and commanded;
and that the gunnery was farcical. He
knew the channel he intended to ap-
proach by was FIVE miles wide; ten
fathoms deep; and had swift current
In it; SO that there was nothing to fear
from torpedoes. He knew that he had
to pass two old smoothbores more
dangerous to their gunners than to his
ships; and he fought two miles out of
range of the two Krupp guns at Manila.
The world knows all this and laughs
at our concepts; but New York has
made more money out of him than it
could by showing the Sea Serpent or
the Missing Link. There are many
other cities who would like to use him
for the millions there would be in the
show.
Dewey may be as able and brave as
Farragut, Porter, or any of the naval
heroes of our own or any other coun-
try, but we must see him tried yet.
Wait till he runs into something that
will punch shell holes in his ironclads,
and make his decks as red with blood
as the Alabama's were or the Peruvian
Huascar's.
To the old soldiers, who saw more
men go down in a single battle, or
even in an hour. than were killed in
the whole Spanish-American war,
there seems to be lots of ink and less
blood spilled in war with the improved
arms. VIM. CANM..
Oetober Is 1899