The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1899-09-22
WHY KANSAS IS LOVED.
A Recitation Sparkling With Kansas
Sentiment BY f. ID. COburn.

Except as men make them;
Men are not great except they do and dare.
But states, like men,
Have destinies that take them
That bear them on, not knowing why OF where
Kansas is the product Of q courage
and fOrtitude never surpassed by the /
founders Of any commonwealth, the /
builders Of any state, and from the be- |
ginning has been an object Of contrO- |
versy and an arena for the conflict Of |
ideas, beliefs-cOnvictiOns.
She has been more written about /
and talked about and less understood |
than any similar aggression Of peoples, !
land, sunshine and air known in mod |
ern history; more praised by, those |
who knew her virtue best and more
aspersed by those upon whom in her
varying mood she frowned. There is !
no love like that Of a Kansas lover, and |
no hatred like that of a sutton from
whom, however great the justification,
she has withheld her smiles. She has
not smiled on all alike; as a rule those
who have deserved most have been
most favored. Those who have de-
manded much for little, who have ig- !
nored the properties of environment, !
who unless given their own way have
refused to play, are not bashing in the
brighter sunshine with those who have
studied and striven to know her ways.
Kansas is noted for having an indi-
vidUality distinctly her own. Having
/ accepted an idea she proceeds to act /
upon it without waiting for the advice
or consent Of any other nation. If the
policies and practices of a given politi- /
cal party meet with her appreciation
she proceeds to give that party a ma
jority larger in proportion to pOpula-
ton than was ever heard of elsewhere
when a free ballot and fair count were
permitted. If after a reasonable trial
she concludes this party is recreant to
| its promises and possibilities for good,
it is relegated to a cave of gloom, with
ample opportunity for meditation and
prayer, for sackcloth and ashes, for
self-pUrifcatiOn, while another is SET
up, on probation. This illustrates the
independent bent of the people in
many directions. They think for them
selves upon each problem presented,
and having thought, record their judg-
ment without waiting to hear or in
tquire how it may please Texas or be
accepted by Massachusetts,. Such is
the type Of men and women who in
third Of a century have redeemed from
the wild buffalo and her wilder men
the splendid and prosperous empire we |
know today.
How the true Kansan regards his
state and the contamination she repre-
sents is strikingly suggested by one Of
her sons who is quoted as saying "The
Lord said let there be Highland there
was Kansas" How strange her at
tachments are, another brilliant son
has described thus:
He who has lived in Kansas, tn ough he roam.
Can find no other spot and call it home
As ingalls, says, a Kansas man may stray
May leave, perchance depart or go away
In short may roam, but. be 1t anywhere.
He must return If he can raise the fare
Erratic, some say, eccentric, myster- |
ious, unfathomable, maybe, she has be- |
yond question, and as no other, the
homage, the affection, the undying de-
vOtiOn Of her children.
There were no white inhabitants in
Kansas in 1850; in 1856 there were less |
than 10000, and in 1860 but 10000. /
The 18th census showed that the en- /
tire United States in 1890 produced /
about 2,125, 1000 bushels Of corn; in |
the preceding year Kansas alone pro-
duced more than One-eighth as much. |
In 1892 the United States raised 516,- !
100000 bushels Of wheat, about one
seventh Of which grew in Kansas. Last
year alone she raised more wheat than |
all New England, New York, Pennsyl- !
vania, Delaware, Maryland and Georgia
combined She has q mile of railroad |
for each $50 Of her inhabitants, as
against one mile to each 700 people in /
the eight North Atlantic states. The
census shows that nearly 20 per cent
OF her farms are owned by those " no
cultivate them and only about ONE
third are worked by renters As co m
pared with hardships which the brus h /
cleaning, tree-felling, stump-puIlH9e-
swamp dredging farmers who pioneer
ed in Ohio, Indiana and the middle
states experienced, the Kansas farm 4
er's life to-day is lived On f1owery beds
Of ease.
There is neither space nor occasion
here for dwelling as might be upon the
thousand advantages Kansas affords to
those who would establish homes in 3
land where 50 nearly every prospect /
pleases; her Hmitless acres Of richest ,