The Glenwood post., 1911-05-20
THE LAND BEYOND
THE HORIZON

Somebody is responsible for a whole
lot of msinformation regarding this or
that part of the country and the press
agents will have to answer for it some
day. These fellows are always paint
ing the sunset and are putting furbe-
lows on the rainbow in their efforts to
induce immigration to the heavenly
spots which they are employed to boom.
Our Colorado people have done so mucr
of this literary flibustering that we
are ashamed to refer to it and other
sections may have been taking lessons
from us. In any event we see a good
deal of unwarranted laudation about the
ent.cing beauties of California, of the
great northwest and now we are an
nointed with no end of twaddle from
Saskatchewan, which is probably the
most god for -saken country of them all.
Twenty years ago coffee raising in
Mexico was Il rosy dream under un-
chanted skies. Orange growing in Flor
ida was a game of tennis. These indus
tries all sparkled like dew in the flow
er's cup until we reached the so-called
orange groves of Florida and waded
knee deep in the sand with their dis
pir.ted owners or until we walked un
der the everlasting shade of the coffee
plantations at OriZaba in Mexico.
Many men who went down to Mexico
-, IN r,,Ih y,lo
tions came back after while on
freight trains. We thouht there was
big money in hops until while on
vacation we got among the hop raisers
in northern New York one summer.
We have all read of the purple blush
on the Catawba grapes in western New
York and the joyous maidens picking
them from the vines. The writer spent
some time in the east year ago last
fall where the grape trellises hung
heavy with the juicy fruit. There one
sees great herds of milk cows and farm
ers driving with enormous cans filed
with milk to the creameries, where
De Laval or some other cream separator
culls as fast as wheels can work the
rich cream from the milk. We saw
golden butter and luscious pungent
cheeses. We thought what a paradise
this must be and how the land must
dance with corn and wine. There they
make sixty to one hundred bushels OF
corn to the acre, while Kansas averages
only thirty We went into the farmers
cellars and saw great casks of wine
We went into their barnyards and saw
silos as large and as high as two-story
houses. We saw the COW manure saved
and counted part of the farm profit,
but it was not Arcadia by long shot.
Did we find cheerful farmers? Yes,
but only few, about in the same pro
portion as we find them elsewhere and
the most of them were in the banking
or hotel business. Did we hear of the
depreciation of their lands, no salts
factory market for crops, the good old
times of twenty or thirty years ago
and no profit in the business now. Well.
rather. These folks were all grumbllng
about their surroundings and asked us
all kinds of questions about Colorado
and irrigation. We probably elabora3-
ed on our glories quite as much as the
press agents who are paid to do the
lying for us. We also have suffclency
of poor and disgruntled settlers who
like to look on the dark side of the
bright side of life. Why do we contin-
ually cast longing eyes beyond the
horizon and neglect the greater bless
ings at our very handE-fleld ana
Farm.