Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1909-11-04
LETTER FROM A. DECKER
Editor Reporter:

Alter 1edVlnS Grdnd Rapids,
attended the Taft reception in St.
Paul. Heard the President speak
before an audience of ten thousand.
1t was fine sight to see this aud
lence, each provided with a flag, and
each waved it vigorously as the Pre-
ldent entered the stage. The troupes
especially the cavalry at Fort Smell
Ing, were called out and made a fine
display.
I also attended the Taft reception
IN Omaha, but it was not as well
Planned or carried out, as the one
at st. Paul. I had quite a treat in
visiting the camp of five regiments
OF United States soldiers, on their
march through Iowa. They formed
a procession over two miles long.
spent an evening with the officers
at the hotel, found them a very
cholce lot Of men. [ also attended
military parade in Omaha, where all
branches Of the government troops
were We'll represented. 1t was the
meeting of many regiments from all
parts of the country.
For the past four weeks l have
been writing in Iowa, and one can
hardly help being impressed with this
state. 1t, of course, is strictly a corn
state, yet it has other and varied
resources. 1t is the only state in
the Union that is entirely within the
corn belt. In this state as well as
in the whole United States, it will not
be difficult to maintain that corn is
the leading product, and corn grow
ing the leading industry
Taking three little cities of South
western Iowa; Red Oak, Shenandoah
and Clarinda, each have a population
of about five thousand, each have
five miles Of brick street
pavement, and each claim fifty miles
of cement sidewalk. Each are com
posed almost entirely of brick build
ings in the business part, and like
all the towns of Iowa, are surround
ed by good farming country. There
are some queer facts about some of
these little cities. Clarinda shipped
out in the past year one car of wheat
five carloads of corn, 125 carloads of
fat hogs, 1875 carloads of fat cat
tie, and 155 carloads of eggs. The
banks Of this little city have over
two million on deposit, eighty-five
per cent Of which is credited to the
farmers. [ havn't seen saloon or
a drunken man in Iowa.
In writing up Glenwood, the county
seat of one of the western counties
Of Iowa, I found it strictly an apple
country. From this one little town
Of fifteen hundred people, they are
shipping six hundred carloads of ap-
pies, such varieties as the Jonathan,
Winesap, and Ben Davis, sell for
$3.50 a barrel, or fifty cents a bu-
shell. [ found nine buyers and packers
at work, each packing from one to
three hundred barrels a day. Pota-
toes at this point were worth 80
cents per bushel sweet potatoes
$1.25 bushel. Meat and flour about
the same as in Wisconsin. In regard
to this little town of Glenwood, it
is decidedly slack and shiftless and
from all appearances, were it not for
the ladies club but little i'm
provement would be made. The
Court House is old and the trees a
round it are old. Everybody seems
to be prosperous financially and just
as stingy and penurious as they are
prosperous.
Fremont County lays in the south
west corner Of Iowa. It is the ban
ner county Of the State in regard to
the number of bushels of corn pro
duced per acre Sidney is the county
seat and I was compelled to get my
meals with private families in the
two days I spent there, as there was
no hotel that was endurable.
This county was first settled by
the Mormons about 184S, and in the
hills along the Missouri River, are
living many people just as they 1iv
ed fifty years ago. They are decid-
edly backward and backwoodsy, while
other parts Of the county are keep
ing pace with modern civilization. I
found in this county that there were
270 varieties of birds. The cause Of
this comes from the fact that it is
we'll supplied with streams and well
timbered and as the birds in their
migration, follow the Missouri River
for hundreds if not thousands Of
miles, were attracted to this coy
corner of the state. There are over
20 varieties of fur bearing animals
still left in the county.
1t is impossible to comprehend