Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1912-01-25
DON'T GRuMBLE!
\ Few Facts as TO the Condition Of
Life OF Many Whom Thought
less Ones May Envy
Emmons County Far Superior to To-
cations often Enormously Con-
sidered Ideal
BY f. b. sTREETER

Occasionally one hears mutterines
OF discomfort usually among those
who are comparatively newcomers
"hsil the thermometer begins to hit
the low spots or when there isaerop
failure. 1t might be some satstac-
tlon for such disconnected ones to
Know that there are other places ON
earth which have their drawbacks
places which from distance seem
much more desirable as a place of
residence.
/ During the past year the writer
as a police reporter ON "A metropolj-
tan daily has been in a position to
observe the actual conditions under
which the majority of the residents
LOT large city are forced TO live.
This year Emmons county peo-
/ rle are suffering from the effects
OF two consecutive poor crops. And
Vet there has not been a single case
reported in which poverty Imperfect
llte. In other words. a resident here
Is not facing the terror Of death from
starvation or exposure which is the
result of lack of means to provide
proper shelter. This cannot he said
of the large cities.
In Minneapolis during the past
winter suffering has been extreme.
Yet property values there are So
much higher that there is no COM
parlson TO he made with local con.
ditiuns. Land i'm Minnesota is
worth much more than it costs the
farmer here. This means that the
investment is so high that the an
nual profit there must greatly eA-
coed what it is here to provide the
llnterest on the Investment or to pay
the rent.
| In Minneapolis the temperature has
reached maximum of 3333 degrees
below zero, in Linton, approximate
| ly ~ degrees. Nevertheless, in Min
neapolis the hospitals are full of
people who have been found by the
police, the humane society, or 9th
ers, freezing in their homes without
| food or fuel. In one instance, an
old man was found with life almost
leNtinct from exposure. He had at
tempted everything to save himself
and as last resort had taken his
| faithful old driving horse into the
house to protect it from the cold, as
well as to himself be benefited by the
added animal warmth. In another
instance, fanny of six the mother
| and five small children were found
| by the police in small shack on the
river bank They had no money and
We're existing on some pieces of old,
4 hard bread which was left in the
| house They had no fuel. The
mother was thinly clad, without
| Stockings, and her feet protected
| from the cold only by some old scraps
of leather tied on by strings Each
of these instances is only one in a
idozen.
AT one time a man walked into po-
| lice headquarters and told the desk
sergeant that he had tried to steal
| a turkey that he might he arrested
and sent to the work house, as that
was the only way he could find food
and shelter. He had no money and
iicould find no work. Hardly day
passes that there does not appear ON
the Jail tab the name Of a prison
Ter followed by the charge. "Vagran-
ley. By Request Desperation had
diiVenthem to ask for imprisonment
The city Work-house is filled to
Iovertlowing with prisoners mostly
n Ilitil aDut VI NDl NlldI SSu7 Us va
grants. and only two weeks ago a
large addition of cells was made
ready for use. The poor depart
ment. the humane society and the
board of charities are working day
and night to relieve the suffering,
and the churches of the city are
joining in the work.
This year. for the first time, the
l.churches have attempted a new
; ms bod of saving some OF those IN
destitute circumstances. The base
Inlents have been thrown open as
places of shelter, and nightly hun
lreds If people seek them for pro
lection. There they throw them
selves on the hard floors and sleep
: a. best they may.
fine work of the charitable lnsti-
buttons has been 50 enormous that
girls from the University Of Mime
| sofa have volunteered their services
and spend part Of each day going
j about the city and picking out the
| most desperate cases.
The condition of those in better