The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-18
KANSAS COMMENT
PAST AND PREsENT

| Inc people who came to Lindsborg
anu McPherson county 40 or so years
| ago were somewhat different from US
moderns Their ideals were different
from ours. They looked at life very
much differently from what to do EV-
erytnlng was different. The early set
ters oio not come to the civilization
tnat we nave now, to our electric light
| ed, steam heated dwelling houses and
pubic buildings. to our broad streets,
our avenues and parks of beautiful
trees, our college, our schools and
churches, cur well established, idyllic,
permanent, smoothly flowing social life.
Ihey round no beautiful farms ready
broken to be. titled by their hands, no
banner corn fields bearing aloft their
rlcnes OF large yellow ears, no broad
acres or wheat either fresh with early
verdure or golden with ripe harvest.
Nothing of all this greeted the early
dauntless pioneers. There was mostly
green grass and sunshine. And there
were rains, of course, to make the
crops grow. And there were long and
cheerless years before modern con-
Venlences were introduced, which have
made both farm and country town de-
sirable as homes for the race.
what it then was The farm, especial
ly, has been transformed. And there
never has been a time since history be-
gan TO be written when the farmer
was as happy and well to do as the
American farmer is today. The farm
ers homes today are genuine homes
with all their cheers and comforts.
Many farmers have furnaces to heat
them homes with, and hot and cold
water for baths in modern bath rooms
Not few have ice houses where they
store their fresh meat, milk, and but
ter. Many cure their own meats, and
they DO not die from ptomaine poison
ing either. They have telephone SER
vice and rural free delivery of mails.
They read the newspapers and are an
Intelligent class of people. They send
their sons and daughters to college and
furnish large quota of the success
full teachers and preachers and other
professional men of our country. Then
all the time they are happy, contented
successful people in the world.-Linds-
borg Record.
THE POOR PRINTER.
One of the greatest injustices prac-
ticed by the government is the fact or
the postoffioe department printing and
selling envelopes, and at a price below
the actual cost to the printer of the
raw material. Then add to the injury
the government deadheads the delivery
of the goods and charges up any DELI
cheney, real or imaginary to the sec
ond-class postage accorded to newspa-
pers. And to top it all off some Of the
sapsuckers at the head of government
tai affairs are urging for an increase
in the rate of postage for newspapers
"a rate. if adopted, that would be the
means or putting hundreds OF country
papers out of business. We don't be-
lieve the people in general would stand
for this. The fact is, the government
uses the mails with a free list, which
runs up into many millions of pounds,
and the price paid the railroads for
carrying is charged up to the news
papers second-Class rate and noted as
deficiency. The dealings of the de-
partment are unfair, for putting out
commercial work is not. in line with
a square deal-Minneapoli Messenger.
p WHAT HE WON'T DO.