The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-02

richest farmer In the world one OI tue host remarkable figures in the history of Illinois and the Middle West psssed away.
 l The lord of an immense area of the l most productive farm lands in many 1 States, he presented the strange phe- | nomenon of a landlord of the European | type, only on an immensely larger scale | than is possible there, holding sway ov- | CT nearly 1000 contented tenants, com posed mostly of free born American l citizens.
 Yet aristocratic as was this owner I of 100000 acres of farms under culti- | vation, almost autocratic as was his I rule, unchan geable European as he was | in his entire make up, he was himseif one of the pioneers, and fifty years | ago toiled through the forests ana prairie wastes, spade In hand, seeking I fortune in the untried West
 Mfr. Scully has made more money out of farming in Illinois alone than any | other man that ever came into the l State The amount of the annual rent roll from his little Kingdom has long been considerably over ss00.oO0. The l expense attached to the gathering of I his princely income has been summed | up in the salaries of few agents and clerks.
 This plan. with it's foreign coloniza- ton attachment, went along without 1 interruption until few years ago, l when Mir Scuiiy became ths main cb- ject at which an alien and-owners' law I was aimed by the legislature of Illinois. 1 It then became necessary for him to 1 become a citizen of the United States. | and he took up his residence in the old John A. Logan house.
 afr. SculIy's statement. Tn response to inquiries from a news l paper man, Mir. Scully, not long before his death, made the following state- ment.
 'The first thing you want to know is l who am. am William Scully, neith- 1 CT lord nor viscount, but during my res- idence in Ireland and England a gentle man of those countries. My ancestors 1 estates were in Balleconey and Shrone- I hill We were of the land-owning class. and people of wealth, but we have not been titled. The title lord" 1 was given me in Illinois years ago do not know how 1t originated. fer had never told any one was 2 lord
 T was a young man fifty years ago I had inherited considerable wealth and was ambitious to add to it. I was unlike the great majority of the young men around me I was studious and industrious. was determined to dc something worth while in my lifetime and never to lose a moment setting about 1t.
 JuSL AC t1o LlIIS Wncu was 5eSk- ing fields for my W ork was attracted to the United States. I was a farmer had worked in the fields on our Irisn estates and had learned rne economies of agriculture at schools. So I was more than a farmer. I was scientific farmer
 "The people of the United States were at that time very eager to in duce persons with brains and money to come and assist them in the devel- opmept of this wonderful country. ] was Interested. knew had the mon- ey and I was pretty sure l had the brains. A man must be sure of this to be successful. Reputable newspapers were printing invitations to Europeans to come to the United States. The Uni ted States government invited men to come. l mention this because I have been attacked as an allen since came ' here ana invested my money here. l khave nc complaint to make, wishins merely to say that I came upon tn, ernment.
 Selected Rich Lands. Just fifty years ago I landed ir the United States. had money tc invest in my line of business, whict was farming. People told me of won. derful stretches of rich soil in the Cen, tral West. determined to see them ! set out from Philadelphia upon a touI of personal investigation. rode thai horse and used that spade through the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mis. souri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. learned what I wanted tC know concerning the depth and quality of the soil. It was the richest in thC . world.
 After two years of investigation settled upon North Central Illinois as the place 1 sought. The prairie wal almost unbroken In those days, anC the farm houses were few. I chose my land with great deliheration. I no only selected the richest soil I could
 find, but I secured land on a straigh line between the cities of St Louis anC Chicago. l knew there would be a rail, road between those cities and that ricf prairie land close to that railroad would be valuable
 T secured my land very cheap. | commanded no value in those day. more than the governments price o
 SIPS for 1t. Numbers of men who haC gone to the Mexican war had been giv, en land scrip when they returned, en, titling them to 160 acres of land each A great deal of this script covered IIIi noIs land, and much of it was sold fo song by returned soldiers who di( not care to farm it.
 !
 bic I have. Farms around mine sel for from $75 to S110 an acre. My lana
 in Bates County Mo, Gage County
 Neb.. and Marion County Kan, wer, |, purchased in after years, some of it a.
 recently as three years ago. It is goot
 land, but does not command the rent
 can get for my Illinois land. This i
 not so much, because the Illinois soil t icher, as 1t is due to the fact that tn,
 settlement of Illinois is older, the farm
 ing more scientific, and the railroa,
 facilities better.
 Feeling Against Him SubsIded.
 T do not care to say much abou
 the feeling which arose againsL m
 here in the United States in forme
 years. IL has all subsided now I an
 a naturalized citizen of the Cnitet
 States and have my family here Tn efforts to secure the adoption of al
 s9ti-alien law in Illinois was duo t envy more than anything else l ha,
 done nothing to deserve any sucl
 attacks The adoption of the measur
 which compelled to me to pay my owl
 taxes was a fruitless measure. M
 tenants were paying the taxes mad
 their rents so low they could affor,
 to pay them. When the State com
 aelled me to pay them myself simpl,
 increased the rentals that much, whicl
 made mo difference to me or to n
 tenants except that it removed the ten
 ants duty of paying the taxes a prac
 tice which was helpful to him inas
 much as he expected to be landowne
 himself some day and wanted to b.
 familiar with the subject of taxes.
 My landlordism in the United State