The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-08-27
DR.. BERRYAvR1rEs OF HIS TRIP
TO EARLVILLE.

TO EARLyILLE.
Eariville, ILL, August "a. To the
Editor. I thought perhaps few i'm
pressions made upon southerne1 up
on his first visit to the north might
be of some interest to some of your
readers.
Mary and left Jackson, Miss, at
p. M, on Saturday the 10Th inst. and
reached Chicago about 3 p. m. on the
following day. Our train being about
four hours late, Mr.. Tabor was there
waiting for us. 1t being Sunday we
could not get train until 1920 that
night out to Earlville. So we spent
the rest Of the afternoon in Lincoln
Park looking at the animals, etc. We
reached here at 80 that night, pref.
ty tired, as you may imagine.
Earlville is a pretty town of about
twelve hundred population, little
southwest and seventy two miles from
Chicago, on the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy railroad. 1t is located
on the prairie and surrounded by as
fine farming country as is to be found
in Illinois, or anywhere else. The
streets are wide and we'll kept Most
of them are graveled and kept we'll
sprinkled when dusty. The building
lots are large so the houses are not too
much crowded. Most Of the sidewalks
are made either of brick or cement.
Cement being used exclusively now in
building new ones. The streets are
we'll shaded all over the town. Most
of the shade trees are elms or naples.
The maple is different from the south
ern maple. It isa harder tree and
has thicker foliage. 1t makes
beautiful tree. The houses are we'll
built, comfortable, convenient and ap-
pear we'll. Paint is used literally on
barns, houses, etc.
| There are many such towns through
out this country. Some larger, some
smaller, but all pretty and all bearing
evidences of prosperity.
But the thing that most interest me
are the splendi1 farms and the prosper
Gus condition of the farmers. The
farmers are the monied and indepen-
dent people here. Most of them have
bank accounts, live in good houses,
have good stock and are we'll fixed.
| The residences on the farms are as
good as those in the towns. They cost
from ST., 900 to $4,000. Many Of them
are heated by furnaces and have hot
and cold water and some of them
bave their own gas plant. The barns
cost about as much as the residences.
Both are kept we'll painted. These
farms all have telephone connection
and daily free delivery of mail Why
it is that young men want to leave
such homes to go to the cities I can t
understand, but they tell me that a
great many do seek the city just as
they do in the south.
| You may think from the above
that these country homes are splen-
did. Well, they are, but who can
afford one? The land Is worth from
1926 to $3.50 per acre. One hundred
and sixty acres is an average farm /;
SO farm of 100 acres is $24, 900 in
value to say nothing of stocking it,
and very little of it for sale at that
price. IF man owns a farm of 100
acres and is out of debt here he is
we'll fixed. But see what it would
cost to buy that farm. An average
crop is from so to rs bushels of corn
and 40 to so bushels Of oats per acre.
The people here are very sociable
and courteous. | notice but little
differenc in that respect between them
and the people south. The difference
in the cities may be more evident, I
don't know.
We found Mr.. Tabor comfortably
located and doing good business with
prospects of doing better. I know his
many friends in mississippi will be
glad to know of his prosperity He
and his entire family have been ex-
ceedingly nice to Mary and me- Mary
is enjoying her visit as much as / am.
But my letter is growing too long,
and must stop.
| j. T. B. BERRY.