Mexico weekly ledger., 1904-09-22
LETTER FROM ]. v. WILLIAMS
Writes Interesting Letter to Ledger
From Dunklin County.
To the Editor Of the Ledger.

10 the Editor Of the Ledger.
KENNETH, Mo-, Sept. POI have
just recently discovered a new county
ana a new country in the common.
wealth Of Missouri, which rivals il no,
a surpasses the far-famed county O,
saline in the fertility and depth Of III
SOL and certainly beats all other
counties Of imperial Missouri in thu
variety Of Its agricultural productions
l say discovered for in all my crayell
over my native State l have neye,
been in Dunklln county, for Rand 8
McNally maps Of the State cut of
everything south of New Madrid anf
leave out this peninsular which tut,
Gown into Arkansas, and places it up
on the northeast margin corner of the
map. For the benefit Of those who nov
know as little Of this wonderful coup
Try as | formerly knew 1 write this
article.
Dunklln county laps down into Ar
kansas alongside of Clay and Green
counties Of that state. In Dunklir
county there are six different and dis
tinct lines of railroad, and there is not
a farm In the county more than siy
miles from some railroad.
Kenneth is the county seat and is a
compactly built little city Of about
Three Thousand. 1t has all the church.
es and a fine public school building OF
nine rooms. IL has the neatest ma
sonic hall, where Knights Templars
Ohapter and the Blue Lodge meet,
tnat | have seen. 1t is SO admirably
arranged, and as clean and bright as a
new silver dollar. 1t has a city hall
that discounts Mexico's.
There is a large cotton gin there,
and last year the government report
shows that Dunklin county raised and
shipped th~irty-ive thousand bales of
cotton which brought its owners two
hundred and forty.fye thousand dol
lars. Just think Of that amount Of
cotton raised, baled and shipped from
one county 10 Missouri. No wonder
the spirit Of the green eyed monster
is around in the minds Of Virginia,
Kentucky, Illinois and Iowa people
when the whole truth is told them OF
the wonderful land Of Missouri.
The first wagon load Of balen cotton
raised this season came into town
while ! was there. The finest corn l
have seen anywhere In Missouri, Iowa
or Illinois this summer is In Dunklin
county and there's lots of 1t.
One farmer near Kenneth has one
hundred and sixty acres planted In
watermelons, for this is a great melon
and fruit country, and a large income
is realized annually by many farmers
from melons and fruits, but the staples
Of the county is cotton, corn and to-
bacco would be In order as to produc-
tion.
l met in Kenneth Mr.. j. r. Kelso,
a former Mexico man, who is one of
the leading lawyers Of southeast Mis-
souri, and has made Kenneth his home
for several years.
A visit to this county will convince
any one that southeast Missouri is the
coming county in Missouri and that
the man who invests bis money here
is sure to shortly reap a rich reward.
Asystem of drainage has been per-
fected by which millions of acres of
the richest land in the Mississippi val
ley has been converted from stagnant
sloughs into dry farm land and the
fertile soil simply has no equal In
depth, 1t goes clear down.
l confess that Dunklin county with
its railroads, cotton and corn, churches
and schools and Ethiopian climate is a
revelation and wonder to me. There
is not a saloon In the county. What
an honor 1t is to be a resident of such
a State and all thoroughly Democratic
too. ]. V. WILLIAMS.