The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-01-20
WRITES OF COBURN.
Chicago Newspaper Mans Impress
sions of the Enterprising Kansan.

| sAouS u sAS GuG6FprlSluE Aansan.
| During the recent meeting of the
| state board of agriculture a number of
outside publications devoted to farm
| ing and live stock interests all over the
| country had representatives in attend
ance at the sessions. One of the bright
est of these was a young man named
Poole who is making a tour of the west
IN the interest of the Chicago Daily
Live Stock World published at the
Chicago stock yards In a recent issue
OF his paper Mr.. Poole writes the fol-
lowing under a Topeka date line:
The Sunfower state has a scroll of
fame, a scroll of utility and a scroll of
notorlety. Plumb, ingalls,, John Brown
and others have written their names in
del1bIy on the first, while a goodly por-
ton OF hunanity'S freak productions of
the last decade, crowd the pages of the
latter; but conSpicuOuSly engToSSed
the other scroll is the name of F. D.
Coburn, secretary of the state board of
agriculture COburn of Kansas is the
name by which he is popularity known
outside of the state; here he is referred
to as Secretary Coburn, and his official
quarters on the first floor of the state
capitol are the rendezvous of the en-
tire agrarfan population of the state
hooking hlther at regular intervals to
secure information and advice. Be
tween sessions of the legislature one
third of those vending their way toward
the state house have Secretary Co
burns office as their objective point.
Coburn is undoubtedly the most con-
sp1cuous man in Kansas today and the
most useful to the commonwealth. No
other state in the union possesses a
public servant SO devoted to the public
interest This in Kansas is agriculture
and its ally the live stock industry. His
reward is the gratitude of the public,
what it will be is open for speculation.
But for the fact that he is not a poll
ticfan and prefers to serve Kansas in
his present sphere of usefulness, he
could be elected governor by merely
giving assent Two-thirds of the voting
population of Kansas live on the farm
and they are with Coburn to a man. He
has their unqualified confidence and in
eradicable admiration AS a fayorite
son Coburn enjoys no rivalry. Even in
the urban centers of population this
sentiment toward him is marked. AS a
matter of fact Kansans are divided as
to what the reward of Coburn's IaborS
for the welfare of the state should be.
Some desire to see him elected COVER
nor, others would have him installed as
secretary of agriculture at Washington
While rapidly growing element insists
that nothing short of Ingalls, former
seat in the United States senate will
fully recompense him or do justice to
his ability.
Cordially and candor are stamped
on the features of this strenuous Kan
san One feels at ease on grasping his
hand In personal appearance he re-
senb1es Senator CulIom of Illinois, and
Uncle Shelby has been Hkened to Abb
raham Lincoln. A Democratic atmos-
phere pervades the working quarters
of this nemesis of Kansan detractorS
Red tape is no where in evidence and
the visitor is compelled to run no
gauntlet. All about are evidences of
Kansas agricultural wealth, for when
ever a Kansas farmer produces some
thing meritorious he loses no time in
shipping it to the secretary. In other
parts of the state house one encounters
politicians; here the gossip of the pri-
mary and convention is unheard-
''Epigramatic in speech Coburn has
coined attractive and catching titles for
the exhaustive cola bofations known as
the red line series devoted to the ex-
ploitation of Kansas resources. The
Helpful Hen has helped many q. thrifty
material aid in paying off the mort
gage; every stable boy in the state
knows The Horse Useful from preface
to fms; The Beef Steer and His Sister
has been guiding hand to feeders all
over the corn belt and The Modern
Sheep has been thumb marked wher- |
ever wool, and mutton is produced |
Cow Culture is as familiar to the Wis |
consin dairymans to the milk produc- |
ers in the Kaw Valley, while Mr. CO. |
burns more recent productions on |
Shorthorns and Herefords contain a
mass of information that inSureS them |
place in the agricultural literature of |
the nation Great labor has been ex- |
pended in making this collaboration but |
Kansas has been repaid
''Coburn is the inveterate enemy of |
the detractorS of Kansas Once they
constituted an army, but repeated |
broadsides from his trenchant type |
writer have so decimated their ranks |
that their caIunny is scarcely audible |
Nowadays he seldom experiences the |
necessity of Smelling the same piece of |
woods twice. In his lexicon the words |
'dreuth,' cyclone or blizzard do not |
appear. Never has he spent cent Of |
the public money in postage TO adver- /
tise the defects of the Sunhower state /
Long since discovered that II any |
of US possess personal defects the fact |
will be made public by our enemies |
soon enough he remarked Loyal |
Kansans have expunged from their vo- |
cabularies any word or phrase reflect
ing on her fair fame When the fu- |
ture of Kansas is the topic preached |
his eyes sparkle and he becomes en- |
thusiastic.
we have learned the resources of |
our soil and have full confidence in it., |
he said No state in the union has |
brighter future than Kansas Long |
since we discovered that methods suit |
ed to our old homes in the Wabash and
Sangamon valleys and other eastern |
sections would not do here We knew |
the value of sorghum, kaftir corn and
alfalfa. trinity that will make kan |
sas the richest agricultural commu-
nifty in the world Last year in COM |
m on with other parts of the corn belt |
our corn crop was partial failure, but |
the immense wheat crop we harvested
more than offset the loss and the value
of our farm products in 1901 broke all
records. Kansans have fully adapted
themselves to their new environment |
and SO eager are they to increase their |
holdings that every man wants his
neighbor's farm. That much dvertised |
DOGGY man, the Kansas mortgage, is as
extinct as the dodo, and strangers
coming here looking for bargains in
farming lands find little opportunity
the residents snap up anything offered
at its actual value or less before a
stranger can hear of it. With our
farmers now the problem is how to
find a channel of investment for their
money
Mr.. Coburn admits that dry weather
last SUNNI er caused temporary scare
and prompted some farmers to ship out