Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-18
Good Crops This Year Begin
ming to Give the Farmer
Much Encouragement
IN TRACK OF A TORNADO
Wilson Describes Some Strange Antics
of the Storm Which Struck in the
Vicinity Of Carion-scourse of the
Liquor Agent in the country-other
News of Interest.
Special to Tlmes-Republican.

and granaries, thrifty looking farm am
imals, the many loaded wagons to be
seen on their way both to market and
to the farm, the experience Of listening
utes without hearing the expression
"hard times" all indicate a return to
something like the former prosperous
condition of this vicinity. The older
settlers tell that stories Of record
breaking crop raised here in 1895
brought hundreds Of Illinois men to
this part of the state to buy cheap
land. During the next three or four
years good crops were raised, the price
of land rose steadily and debts SO easy
at that time to pay were readily con-
tracted. Then came the wet seasons
and with them financial distress and
not until the present year has the out
look been at all encouraging.
The marketing of corn has only fair
ly begun here but all over the country
the big shelters are at work and al
most every market point is the center
of a busy scene. To the little village
of Holmes few miles west from here
where for four months a farmers CO.
operative concern has been doing BUSH
ness, farmers have been hauling their
grain from distance in some cases.
of more than ten miles. During the
first two weeks of this month man
was kept busy weighing the grain that
was brought in and the coal taken out.
AS many as It's loads of corn and oats
having been brought in, in single day.
$4,000 bushels of grain so per cent of
it corn. are at present in their elevator
the doors of which have been closed
because of the failure Of the railroad
company to furnish cars for it's trans
portation.
One day last summer a tornado vis-
tied strip Of country through which
a mail route from this place runs and
those living in it's track tell some stor-
les Of the storm that were it not for
their reputation for veracity, would be
hard to believe. One man lost the
upper half of his barn, the lower part
being left undisturbed. Some horses
ture when it was struck were found
outside, uninjured after the storm was
over. although the place where they
had been was piled full of debris. Eigh-
ty rods of barbed wire fence We're de-
stroyed the posts being snapped off and
the wire left in tangled punches. A dog
came limping back out of field half
a mile distant, with several broken ribs
and other injuries. A turkey was sit
ting on her nest in the top of straw
stack; the stack was scattered over the
country but the eggs were found un-
broken in the middle Of nearby public
road A summer kitchen was picked
up and carried away to destruction
while a chicken coop only a few feet
away containing hen and her chicks,
was left unchanged although biddy
came out of the ordeal with only two
or three tail feathers. The residents
of the storm visited district feel that
they have had their share of tornado
experience, one having wrought con-
siderable havoc in the neighborhood
few years ago.
The order books of the liquor sales
lIltLl WHO WOlA ClC al EiSltIClS III
some parts Of this state would afford
source Of some interesting statistics
to the advocate of temperance. In
some places two or three men call on
their respective customers every thirty
days and those in position to know
say that the sales of each of them
average $25 to $40 per day. In one
locality I visited a iveryman told me
that at least three men of every four
that lived within radius of six miles
from the town in which his barn was
located were habitual users Of liquor
and bought it from these travelling
agents The stuff is easy to sell, he
said providing the samples could be
administered in a place where the
wives, mothers and sweethearts could
not witness the deal altho in a few
instances the female relatives have a
voice in deciding whether the goods
as judged by the samples are worth
the price asked.
While working one Of these COM
,munities a short time ago happened
to travel along line which Liquor
salesman had visited few days be-
Tore. EIlLSTlIS d ldIIuSI ydlu we
inquired of some children where their
father was. The nature of our err
rand was not stated but the wife
looking out of the window recognizing
the driver as the man who had
brought the former visitor opened the
door and with a very belligerent de-
meanor said, addressing him, He
isn't here, but it's no use to see him
anyway" The affair worried the liv-
eryman who is of a sensitive nature
and unmarried and he wondered if he
was regarded as a scourge by the en-
tire female population. The energy
he displayed in hunting UP the absent
farmer and the interest he manifest
ed in getting an order Just to show
that woman her mistake was delight
to the newspaper solicitor who sue
ceeded in securing the desired name
when the man was finally found.
c.. f. WILSON.
DAMAGES RESERVOIR