Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-02-12
SOME VERNON COUNTY RESOURCES.
As Related Over a La Crosse Banquet Board by
Attorney C. J. Smith.

Attorney C. j. Smith.
The La Crosse board of trade eniovl
an annual feast of speech and exultatior
over the development and achievements
| of their city. At these annual festiv,
! occasions an outsider is sometimes in
/ vited to run his neither limbs under th,
banquet board and give vent to hi,
| thoughts and feelings. c J. Smith OF
this city, was guest and one of the
speakers at last Tuesdays La Crosse
festival, and his subject was "Agricul.
tUral Development of Southern Niscon.
sin, !" Concerning Vernon county Mr..
Smith said:
1t is wonderful county Her fertile
soil, her rolling prairies her lofty forests,
her beautiful valleys, her streams of pure
running water all unite in masking her
one of the most productive and wealthy
counties of the great Mississippi valley.
and the end is not yet Each year people
are adding TO the wealth and productive
ness of this fair land. Every acre of
tillable land is made to produce more
abundantly, and the barren lands of a
few years ago are now being rapidly
added TO the list of producing acres
Thousands of acres have, within the
past few years. been taken from the list
of probabilities and made to produce an
hundred fold, while thousands more has
been arrested from its barren condition
and made the home of numberless herds
and flocks, Our richer soil has ceased
to be cultivated for the few dollars il
returns in the raising of the ordinary
grains and Is now being used for the
nf hat ~.
merce, tobacco. The raising of tobacco
IN Vernon county has grown to be a
great lndustry-six thousand acres, one
million dollars from this alone; and hand
in hand with this our dairying and stock
raising has made steady progress and
today the beautiful valleys and sunny
hill sides are the feeding of thousands
of beef and dairy cattle, of wool and
mutton sheep This advanced condition
OF farming and stock raising has made
our farmers comparatively wealthy
fbey are extremely prosperous. This
prosperity means better living, it means
better houses and barns. it means better
FUR lture. better carpets on the floor,
better pictures on the walls; it means
better clothing, better living generally;
1t means higher education, better social
conditions; it means that our people
need more of everything that manufac-
turers produce, that our merchants keep
for sale, tnat your business men have to
offer. DO you want to supply themf If
so, why not2"
| hope the day is not far distant when
an electric line will reach out from your
city to the southeast up through the
rich and beautiful valley known as Coon
Valley ON over the hills to Westby and
Viroqua, bringing the very heart of old
Vernon county so near to you that you
can hear its every beat and feel its every
pulsation. Then the business and pro
fessional men of Viroqua, and the house
wives of that fair little city can leave
home after breakfast step into one of
these your suburban trains and N short
hodr be. shopping in La Crosse and -e-
turn in time Tor midday meal, or leav ng
home early in the evening our people car
come to La Crosse to attend the theatre,
the opera, the lecture, the educational
or social gatherings and return ere the
wee small hours Of the morning"
Mr.. Smith is reported to have related
to the board of trade how difficult it is
for Viroqua and Vernon county people
to make rational connections with east
ern and western towns, and especially
with La Crosse. He admonished them
of this inconvenience and that they were
losing an immense amount of business
because shoppers could not visit La
Crosse and return the same day.
In justice to his home community Mr..
Smith might. with much propriety and
truth, have told those about the banquet
board of the commercial interests of his
home town of Viroqua. He would not
have over stated the fact to have said
that La Crosse can scarcely exceed our
modest little city in large mercantile ex-
tent; that our business men have provid-
ed stock extensive and up to date in all
lines, and that they are sold at prices to
invite and induce even La Crosse buyers
Then again he might have informed
them that az a market place FOR nearly
all the products of the farm La Crosse
is not to be compared with Viroqua-
These are plain business facts. 1t might
not have been courteous as a guest of
La Crosse, 10 have stated them quite as
plainly as the CENSOR has done, but
every business man Of Viroqua, who is
struggling with sharp competition at
home and outside, appreciates the force
and justice of inIucing home support to
every worthy enterprise and interest.