Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-08-21

they depend very largely for their
prosperity upon the crop Of eastern
sight seers and health seekers who
come in with full purses, and at the
time Of year was there the crop pros
lpects in this line were not as flattering
as 1t Is in other portions of the year"
What did you observe as to the in.
dustrial outlook? was asked, and Mr..
Epps said:
Unrest Apparent.
"Well d marked contrast from a trip
I.took through this section Of the coun-
TRY some twelve or fifteen years ago.
Aside from a few large buildings In
Los Angeles, and the building prepare
tory to the Panama exposition for 1915
at San Francisco. there was practically
nothing being done. Very little, II
public improvements of any kind.
No buildings or private enterprises to
speak of in progress and everything
seemed to be waiting. Many unem-
ployed men walking the streets and
gathering in groups around, and in
some places holding meetings. 1t ap-
|peared to me there was great under
current of unrest among the ordinary
people.
Canada At stardstIlI.
MANY places you could walk for
blocks and looking in the stores, may
be you would see the clerk at the desk
writing letters and the proprietor
standing in the door looking out, es-
o111y MOS <hic %p,,n ~, thof nnr<fnu
of Canada which was through. Can.
stand still, no public improvements or
building going on in her principal cities.
The banks were loaning no money 80
they told me and they were carrying
on no public improvements as they were
wont to do in days gone by l found
out that most Of her municipalities had
gone In debt away beyond their legal
limit and it was impossible to float
their securities any longer. talked
with representatives from bonding
houses who said that the municipali.
ties there were Offering them their 5
per cent twenty year bonds at 80
cents, but they could not float at any
price for the reason that the munici-
palities were in debt away beyond
their legal limit, and that the assessed
value Of their property was raised to
a fictitious valuation.
Laboring men were walking the
streets. They said they could not find
any employment, and still the farmers
were crying out for help to assist In
taking of the coming harvest. The
bankers told me they were not loaning
to ranchers or farmers. 1t looked to me
like serious proposition as to how
they are going to save. what harvest
they had, which Is only spotted. In
some places wheat, fax and oats were
cut, and other places not worth cut
ting. It all seemed to present a very
serious proposition to me as to what
would be the future Of the unemployed
labor both in that country and ours.
There is such great number Of per-
sons, from England, Eastern Canada
and the United States. who claim that
they were allured to this barren, wind
swept country by the imaginary hot
air castle erectors, who were largely
passing as land and soil agents.
Nearly everywhere I would goI would
find class Of, people, who
were not satisfied with their surround
ings and wanted to sell out their hold
ings and 60 away, or return to their
former homes. They were not. trying
to improve and build up the country
and make home in it. Their greatest
anxiety was to sell and go away. This
is not surprising. You take farmers
from Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska and
such states, and put them on wind
swept prairie, where nothing grows,
but grass, fax, wheat and oats, and
not a fruit tree, or berry bush Of
any kind growing and but very title
Of any vegetables; when they find
they have to depend upon these crops
alone for many years and In many
places, they are failures. They will
long for the soil of good old Iowa and
Illinois.
Hard Bread and Much Sweat!
when they tell you these stories |
about investors making so much money
In the new countries, it is not made |,
from the soil, 1t comes about in this
way: the fellow that gets there first i
gets land at a low price, through him
helf and agents boosting up the pros
poets Of the country. Thus Mr.. A. the
first man, unloads his holdings at
good profit to Mr.. B. the next fellow !
that comes in. and when 1t gets down !,
to the last fellow that has to look to
the soil for his income and he finds |!
that he has to obey the Injunction OF i
the scripture to eat bread by the sweat
Of his brow, he very often finds that |
he has a very hard piece OF bread and
a great deal OF sweat.
Some places you will find the
climate different from our climate-it