The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1909-10-21
KANSAS THE B0UNTlfUL.
A Resident of the "SuniIower State" Gets
Off Composition Dazzling in Dc.
scriptiOn and Ideal as a Speci-
men for State Boomer.
Written for the "News. {"

w ilJJ6n IOI Jile NEWS.
The imagination has perform
ed many strange feats, but sure
ly none stranger than the crea
ton of commonly-accepted pic
ture of Kansas as treeless, wind
swept, barren land, ''as fat as
pancake" 1t is a strange sur
PRISE to the man who has carried
such a picture on the walls of his
Imagination for as long as he can
remember and who now sits IN
one of the many great trains that
traverse the state to find a panO.
rama of wonderous wealth and
beauty unfolding itself continu
ously before his eyes. He stops
at prosperous cities, with sub
stantial stores, Offices, and pub
lie buildings. He looks in vain
for the b 'om shacks, he passes
through lovely suburbs and vii.
lagos, with tree lined walks and
flower gardens rioting in colors-
past fields of gram waving above
mans head, and gently bowing
their golden load before the
breeze;by miles of corn above the
wagon tops, along by tree border.
ed water courses, where sleek
cattle browse; past long orchards
down whose deep vistas busy
ones are plucklng the rich fruits,
and where spelmen hangs so IN
vltingly that he U. consciously
reaches for it; by lmmease fields
Of alfalfa, looking, IN Its deep
green like inland seas. He talks
with the people and finds them
free hearted, intelligent, friendly
souls, men and women who came
out to this state with little in their
hands and large courage IN their
hearts, and who now enjoy com.
fort, plenty, independence. He
sees all this new wonder and
beauty sweeping by him and lean
ing back, says softly to himself,
"This is Gods country"
ltls a great thing to be "ln the
middle of things" That is where
you are when you are IN Kansas
In the middle of things geo
graphically, so far as the United
States is concerned. In the mid
die of things commercial, agrl.
cultural, political and financial.
You are in the middle of the corn
the wool, the wheat, the beef, and
the butter of the United States.
In a word you are IN the middle
of prosperity when you are In
Kansas. This is the actual hub
Of the United States. Diagonals
drawn from Duluth, to Galveston,
from San Francisco to Washing
ton, from Olympia to Tallahassee,
from Sacramento to Augusta, In
tersect IN the very center of Kan
sas, Through Kansas flow all of
the great tides of our nation.
She is at the heart of things; she
has well been called "the core of
continent.
Our heritage from the tribe of
the Kansas indians, our easy ac
QUESTION from France our lmper
lal daughter of the west, she is
just coming into the DOMINION and
glory that belongs to her, and
more than all her past and her
present, she is "the land of prom
lse Her future, easily and de
hnltely prognostical from her
past, invites the man who is fac
ing toward better things to come
and make his home and find his
fortune IN her broad domain.
The difficulty in telling the
truth about Kansas is TO tell the
whole truth and not to scale down
the facts so as TO make them cred
ible to the ears of those who aaN e
not seen the evidences OF the won
drous wealth and prosperity of
the state. Kansas raises over
three bushels of corn for every
man, woman and child in the
United States. Kansas has the
largest orchard In the world and
furnishes apples for the royal
households of England and Ger
many.
sweeter TO me than the salt sea spray,
The fragrance OF summer rains;
Nearer my heart than the mighty hills,
Are the wind swept Kansas plains.
J. W. Brown,