The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-09-05
BARRE LOOKS GOOD TO HIM.
Decatur, ILL.,, Man Takes Chance to Tell
Illinois People About the City.

I
One of Barres best boomers is not
a resident of Barre. He is resident OF
| Decatur, Illinois. His name is A. Wait
a well-known citizen of Decatur but a
| former Nermonter He and his family
have been visiting in Vermont, and
they left last night for their home after
spending some time with Mr.. Waits sis
ter Mrs. Susan j Jones, of 2 Eastern
avenue. Mr.. Wait takes every opportu-
nifty to tell about Barre, ~ she follow
ing article from the + cur Sunday
Herald of September I. tals:
"One week ago, A IS at walked into
his office in the Wa building and aft
er looking over h<o Jail, said:
night
"That was q first time he had men
toned the That night he started
Writing to a Decatur friend under
date of Aug. 26, at Barre, Vt, Mr.. Wait
says:
1.-THE people of Decatur and Illinois
have the impression that there is not
much in the Green Mountain state worth
the consideration of the average Illinois
an. When | first saw this town of
Barre forty or more. years ago, the en-
tire township had population OF about
200 people to the 36 sections.
but these thirty.six sections here if
the rise and fall of the hills and val
leys were measured would probably
make a township of forty or more sec
tions in Illinois level land. There is
probably not a plot of ten acres of what
you would call level land in Illinois in
the entire township.
1T is hills. all hills, running up and
down from hundred feet to thousand
feet, and all the hills are extremely
fertile, producing large crops of nearly
all kinds of grain and vegetables that
we raise in Illinois 1t is simply won
derful to look at the gardens, the neat
farms and farm houses along the road
sides of the country. They farm any
where and everywhere here, along the
steep sides and on the tops of the hill,
and | believe the gardens produce more
than four times as much per square foot
as do the gardens in Macon county, and
in as great variety.
"Thelr Second Crop.
"'Ths is a great grass country. The
farmers cut their hay in July and Au
gust. and the second crop of timothy
and clover is now on the sides and tops
of the hills, six to ten inches high, as
thick as it can stand, and by the tenth
of next month the cutting of the Sec
ond crop will be started.
"'The farm houses average far and
away better than in Macon county and
the great money product of the farms
is milk and butter. Nearly every farm
has its dairy.
"'As | stated before, when | first
saw this town there were about twelve
hundred people in the entire township.
Now there are about fourteen thousand,
and nearly all laboring people, except
farmers. All except farmers are day la
borers. and | do not believe that there
is any town or city OF that number in
this country or any other that are a.
well housed fed and clothed as are the
PEOPLE OF this little Vermont city. The
houses in which they live will average
up as good in every way as will the
houses on West Macon, Wood Main
Prairie and William streets in Deca-
tur.
aside from farming. the principal
industry, and about all the industry
there is, is the granite and monument
work They draw money from nearly
every city and hamlet of the United
States. Where people live and die you
can see the product of the Barre work
ers and their handiwork is in all the
OF Decatur Decatur has con-
tributed large sums TO help erect the
fine homes in which the working peo-
pie OF this town live.
"Good Choice
"My father. when a young man,
lived with the family of Mrs. Stephen |
A. Douglas, the mother of Stephen A. |
Douglas, the friend of Lincoln and for
ncr senator from Illinois He went to
school with Douglas and for one term
taught school. and Douglas went to him |
rs pupil. When | was a kid and his /
I'D time friend and pupil had risen to
lame in Illinois. he would tell me that /
Douglas. after he had become famous
lften said that Vermont was good
state 10 be born in, provided a fellow
rot out soon after, and | followed thu
ldvice Of Douglas.
"Things look good TO me here now,
md | might possibly have done better
o have remained in Vermont picking
~ potatoes and stones on the old hill
arm than | have done In the West.
rave had all ] wanted to eat in the
Vest the quality might have been
little better here but not much larger in
quantity. Everything looks we'll here
Ii the old Green Mountain state, Peo
,le are housed better than in Illinois,
nd fed just as well, if not better