Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1898-1906, 1902-04-16
RITZVILLE, APRIL 16, 1902.
A MAN AND A PAPER.

The following article, published II
the Tribune, Beaver City, Nebraska
is self explanatory. Our only regret
is that it takes time to educate some
people and great harm is often the
result of misunderstanding and ig
norance:
The following letter was recently re-
ceived at Stamford from a former resi-
dent of the vicinity, who is known by
many in Furnas county. He was consid
cred to be good citizen and his reputa'
ton for telling the truth is tirstclass:
RITZvILLE, Wash, Feb. I6, 1902.
Tell everyone you hear talking of com,
ing to Washington, for Gods sake to
stay away, as this country is just being
doomed by land sharks. There is moth
ing here for poor man, and any place
is better than this for man who has
money. | will tell you why. This
country was represented to US as new
country. We were told that there was
no railroad here until two or three years
ago. There are three different roads
through here. This one we are on was
put through in 1877, twenty-five years
ago, so you see the country is not so new
Horses are selling at from 500 to $3.50
harness at S35, and wagons at Sloo, be-
sides your farm tools and seed and money
to live on until you raise crop. Now
at that rate what is poor man to do!
Now about land. There are few home
steadS, poor ones, to be taken yet, say &c
acres of good land to the quarter sec.
ton. They will tell you of big yields Of
grain here, but let me tell you it takes
you might say two years, to raise crop
If man has I6o acres of land here he
farms SO acres one year and the other
SO acres the next year, or farms the Iec
acres one year and lets it rest the next
The land sharks don't tell you this.
am disappointed, but | am going to tr,
and get my money back before | leave
and then | will quit it cold.
Now, here is another thing. Every
man who has land here wants to sell out
You can draw your own conclusions
from that, and between the land sharks
and the railroad companies they are
booming in order to sell out Now, yor
or any other business man knows that
during boom is very poor time tc
buy, and the man who buys here now
will surely get left. The reason | an
writing this is to keep some other pool
devil from being out as | am. | believe
] will be doing a good thing if can keeE
even one or two from coming here as
have done. You see lots of people ano
can tell them what | tell you, or show
them this letter, then if they would rath
err believe land sharks than me, all right
let them come and hate themselves for
ever after. You may think fromimy let
tar hot I lor,a.;~l- I
have no home to be sick for, and have
about what | write. Yours truly,
Z. L. EDMONDS.
If the publication OF the above eff
fusion was confined to Eastern Wash
ington it would carry it's own anti
dote, but as the credibilty of the au
thor has been vouched for by repu.
table newspaper, published and circu.
lated among people, some Of whom
may be deferred by Misrepresentation
from carrying out a purpose to re,
move to this state, it seems to us de-
sirable that the letter should be briefly
reviewed.
We do not know Mr.. Edmonds, but
he may be a citizen OF Ritzville. l,
is also possible that his letter was
written in good faith, from misap.
prehension OF lacts; but by his own
statement he is without home either
here or elsewhere. 1t may be safely
inferred that he has been unsuccessful
elsewhere, and carries with him here
the same unthrilt that makes success
impossible anywhere. The man EN-.
FILTERED by failure sees no good in
anything.
He complains that this is not a new
country, but is intersected by three
lines of railroad, one of which has
been in operation q years. If the
state OF Washington had just been
discovered, apparently his idea of q
new country, the prospective settler
might well hesitate to risk his all
but the experimental stage has been
passed in the agricultural areas OF the
state, the. pioneers, who took all the
risk, having demonstrated the fertility
OF its soil, producing the largest yield
from the least labor, and yielding the
largest income from the smallest in
vestment of any like area in any state
in the Union. 1t is unusual to com
plain Of an excess Of railway facili.
ties, and marks the writer. of the let.
ter as industrially color blind. THAI
a railroad has been in continuous op
Grafton for quarter of century ii
itself an endorsement OF the value o
the country which feeds it.
But it is stated that there are nc
good government lands that may bt
homesteaded. 1t is true that in medi.
ately along the line OF the N. P. rail-
road the best homesteads have been