The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-07-08
OKLAHOMA CITY
INTERESTING VIEWS OF
LOCAL CLERGYMAN.
Rev. DR.. Martin Supplements Statement
of Saturday with Much
New Matter.

who recently returned form a trip to
Oklahoma. today supplemented a state
ment of his experiences published in the
EVENING STAR Saturday with the fol-
lowing:
I call Oklahoma City the wonder city
OF the West; 1t truly merits that name
when you think that less than seventeen
years ago this region was a rolling, PRAIRIE
with its uncultivated and tangled grass,
while today II is a town OF 49,0VVs VIII
towering office buildings and imposing
public ediices of stone and brick, churches,
schools and dwelling houses. and pullolhg
a hundred new houses a month. they tel
me; Another thing that impressed me me
tramps or loafers or idlers, and everybody
eau have work who wants 1t.
Another feature hat impressed me was
the predominance Of young people. Every
department of effort seemed TO be In the
hands of young men. Young merchants,
young clerks, young carpenters, young
sicians. Finally l made a special effort
to see il l could find a single person who
could be called elderly, and l declare that
did not see in my whole stay, IN Okla
homa City but two people that looked to
be past 60 years of age. You old
men of As here would be quite out of
place In Oklahoma City. Rev. Mr., Wander
berg took me to a law office to have the
title to our new church property In Okla
homa City looked into. and he said: we
am going to visit a firm Of the most ia
nous lawyers in Oklahoma" and l pic
tured myself in the presence of two aged
and venerable limbs of the law, when |
was ~roduc TO a beardless youth, with
thick black hair, in the twenties, who at
tended To our business.
Money is being made rapidly in this new
town by those who have the commercial
instinct. Building lots that were worth 800
five years ago are worth $1,000 to $1,000
low. A gentleman showed me a business
block in the middle of the city that he
had sold about q month ago for $llo,0oo,
for which fnD Uoafc apo he hod maid soma
thing like $3.50.
Do you wonder that I was surprised after
riding SO many hours over prairies and un-
populated tracts of country to find myself
In this city, with its wide, asphalted
streets, plate-glass show windows of de.
partment stores and beautiful trolley ears2
obliged TO go back to Oklahoma City on
business a short time ago and thought he
vas being thrust into the wilderness
where he would be obliged to put up with
all sacrifices and live in an Indian tepee.
Going down to breakfast the first morning
at his hotel, he stared around IN wonder
at the beautiful dining room. Finally ne
said: Can 1t be possible | am out In Okla,
homa? Why, do you know, / even found
a porcelain bathtub in my room" Wei.
said another man. drlly., Don't they have
such things In New York;" whereupon my
friend made no more observations.
A ii of Oklahoma State is feeding these
cities. The fertile farms and prosperous
farmers come to the towns to market their
The soil of Oklahoma is generally
red, from which it gets its name.
A man from Jersey does not feel so home
sick when he finds that red soil The
farmers are generally those who have sold
their WORKOUT Eastern farms at 2 fairly
good price and have gone, to oklanoma,
where they could invest their money In far
more fertile and productive land. land
which never needs any artificial stimulants
TO make things grow; Tickle II with a
hoe and t laughs a harvest. asked a
rich and highly respected business man IN
Oklahoma City how much he had in his
pocket when he went there Just slh;,
land and finally sold it for enough to start
a small store" It is men ike that WHO
have built the State.
steads brought to Oklahoma in the nrst
rush the froth of Spectators. some sue
%cessfnl. Others unsuccessful s ana Ss.a aI'f fo
mike the land fruitful
ASIA city Oklahoma does not differ from
any other city in It's general type. pos
people from all over the Union: 1t is
like attending a convention with Delegates
from every state, but the Southern States
come largely from Texas, Tennessee and
Kansas, but there is q goodly ~sprinkling
denotes of the people are decidedly South.
ern. The bfttor antagonism to the negro
is very marked. a curious anomaly. fof
they will use the negro for service OF al
sorts. and absolutely depend on him for
their labor. but despise him as a fellow
creature. ] found scarcely any exceptions
10 this feeling, This is one OF the Serl-1
ons problems facing those Southern and
Southwestern States Of our country, be-
cause the negro is increasing enormously,
vastly faster than the white population IN
proportion. There are some counties in
Oklahoma which absolutely forbid the pres
ence of negroes. A farmer in Caddo
County engaged half q dozen negroes to
help him harvest HE cotton last summer,
but when the negroes arrived they We're
met at the station by a vigilance commit
tee who said the sun has never set II
this country on a negro, and 1t never Will
We will give you your dinner, tnen you
can make tracks as fast as POSSIBLE.
7 did not find a very high degree of cul-
ture in the cities. Perhaps the people
have been too hard at work, breadwln-
ming. or specnlating to ave much 70 to 90
in Oklahoma City in order to read. up
on some special subjects that l had IN
mind. and in that city of 40,OW people
found one book store, and that only as a
small department. with a very beggarly
collection OF books, and nothing on tne
subjects I sought. | found a very hand
some Carnegie library there put NOBODY
But the people as a class are enterprie-
ing. and they want the last new things
in labor saving invention. They ave up
to-date electrical appliances and all other
things that we Fasteners boast or. Inc
people also are warm-hearted, good-na,
JuGeQ ana ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS l. nNNth ~
any trouble In getting questions answered
and finding my destination. There were
some people whose names / knew IN
Oklahoma City, but did not know. where
to find them. 1 went to the postof1ce and
had an interview with the postmaster,
who most cheerfully gave up q great deal
of his time to help me trace up the ad-
dresses 1 wanted. For example, ! wanted
to find the Rev. Mr.. Vanderberg, who had
been assigned as missionary In charge OF
our new Reformed Church at Oklahoma
Cifxy I foupdl him attending 8. CnT1Stan |
Endeavor convention. I did not know hi !
and asked the usher to point him out TO
me. He did 80. then l asked him II he
would not go down the aisle and tell him
a gentleman from the East would
like to speak to him In the vestibule. The
usher went and gave Mr.. Vanderberg the
message, but he refused to come out, and
the young mar came back and said, II
doesn't want to see YOU So | said: III
touched him on the should, expecting to
receive an ovation, when he looked at
me. with a cold, icy stare / put out my
hand to shake his, which was like taking
hold of a dead fish, and asked him to come
out in the v~estibule. He finally came, and
/ said: Il want to talk with you about
the work here, also at Fort Sill, because
I have to go there tomorrow could
not comprehend his Indifference to me and
my questions. till finally he said. o., are
you really DR.. Martini and after asking
me some questions to assure himself Of
identity. he said, You must pardon
my GOODNESS. but 1 am SO often struck by
men from the East who want to borrow
money 10 get to the next place that
/ have to be on my guard Let me say
that Mr.. Vanderberg fully made up In