The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-06-23


NASHVILLE, VA, June 18th, 1905.
Messrs. EditoTs:-I am now in the great white
potato section of the Eastern Shore of Virginia
and the growers are busy digging, although the
crop is not full grown, the tops being green and
large, but the unprecedented high price is caus-
ing them to sacrifice the crop as to yield per
acre in order to get the present price. On FRI
day new potatoes sold at 81 per barrel in Phila-
delphia, IS In New York and s0in Boston. Those
shipping direct got these prices, but the majori-
ty sell right here to the shippers at $3.25 to
S350Fper barrel on the cars. A barrel holds
about 2K to TX bushels, as they are not piled
very high above the top of the barrel. One man,
Mr.. c. d. Nottingham. of Seaview. sold his So
acres for $500 as they stood in the ground, he
to dig and haul to the station two miles away,
the barrels being furnished by the purchaser.
He says it will take him three weeks to dig the
crop, so the commission merchant in Philadel-
phia who bought them must think they are go
ing to remain high in price. Old potatoes sold
last Tuesday for $1.50 per bushel at Edwards
vile. Ill. The old crop being scarce is why the
new ones are so high in price.
have been away from home since May 23d
and have been to st. Louis. I took walk over
the Fair grounds and saw the Ferris wheel,
which had been blown up by dynamite, laying
in huge twisted mass on the ground. 1t is to
be sold for scrap iron. 1t cost in the first place
$4,000 to erect 1t in Chicago and $125OOO addi-
tional to take it down, remove it to st. Louis
and re-erect it there, making total cost Of $780,
600, so they were not going to the expense OF
taking it down as before, hence the dynamiting.
Nearly all the grounds are cleaned up except
where the large buildings stood by the lagoons.
Festival Hall section is now in grass and lake
1n~~r Tlr6C
-A--Ax a-.s1a
When l reached Nameoki ILL.,, IL miles from
st. Louis, on May Goth. 1 found that potatoes had
been planted six weeks before, some of them on
Sunday, and that there had been no rain since
they were planted, except one slight shower
The people were talking of blowing them up and
putting in corn, but two days after copious
rains fell which made the wheat fill out good
and potatoes grow finely. The people in that
section are very ungodly. Every man you see
who lives there is very profane and drinks.
They cut wheat and thresh on Sunday and make
it a regular day for attending pcnics, etc. 1t is
the worst place have ever been in, yet the peo-
pie are hard working and keep fine mules and
horses, but have just forgot God and are serving
the devil. This same section was flooded and all
the crops destroyed in 1908 and again consldera-
bly, flooded in 1904. These and the drouth seem
to be sent by the Lord as punishment for their
wickedness, like the San Francisco earthquake
and fires. as it is said that city the wickedest
in the United States. These evidently are calls
from God to do better and we as a nation will go
down and be obliterated, like other great ma
lions have, if we do not do better.
About 8 miles from East st. Louis, between
there and Collinsville, ILL.,. is very large mound,
called Monks Mound, but the correct name is
Cahokia Temple Mound. 1t is 1880 feet long, T80
feet wide and 102 feet high. 1t is supposed to
have been built by the Indian tribes who came
there to worship. together with 80 or 60 smaller
ones near by. The smaller mounds are the
burial places of the dead and are longer than
wide and are built at right angles to each other,
running either east and west or north and south
and in line with each other. While in this sec
tion walked to the top of the large mound. 1t
is level on top and contains several acres of
ground. During the Worlds Fair many people
visited it from all parts of the world. 1t covers
at the base about IS acres and is located on the
farm owned by the children of man named
Ramey. w. r.