The Topeka state journal., 1913-05-29
A PUMPKIN EPISODE.
CBY NJ. Ouad.O

If at any time during the year 1903 you
had arrived in the village of Grafton in
found a restful, peaceful place. No one
rushed about. No one talked politics. NJ
one argued over Jonah and the whale.
there were no quarrels among men
dogs. If you had asked Deacon Somers
what thrilling event had happened IN
have taken five minutes to reflect and
then slowly answered:
Wall L can't think of nawthig' cep'
nin'!''
In that same year a man Travelled over
a good part of Indiana and Illinois buy
ing pumpkin seeds of farmers. He offere,;
70 cents a pound for all they would send
him in the fall to d certain address In
Chicago: and if farmer wanted some
got it During the last two months oil
autumn the farmers of the locality men
uoned shipped in several tons of pump
mail.
OF course, there was natural desire to
know what to be done with the
seeds The AMOUNT was too great for the
seedmen of the country to buy for one
season, and the sellers finally came 10
the conclusion that a new breakfast food
was to be experimental with.
1t was the same man that had bought
the seeds several hundred miles away
that appeared in Grafton early in Jan
uary of the next year. He had come to
terald the fact that a great medical dis
covery had been made by accident as
most great things are. 1t was that the
needs of a certain pumpkin grown no
where else except along the Lybian desert
troubles, kidney ailments, nervousness
and a dozen other things. They would
positively prevent consumption and can
GER and all sorts of fevers.
" hile it was fact beyond dispute that
the seeds would do this. American doctors
had not yet risen to the occasion 1t had
been left to a 1ayman to secure the only
seeds that would be sold to America fo1
the next three years. Meanwhile thou
sands of people must suffer and perish
for the want of the remedy.
Mr.. White had a few of the seeds with
him They were chocolate colored. in
stead of yellow-wtite. They could be
had only in Chicago. and no order exceed
ing a peck would be filled. Just hold a
seed in the mouth for five minutes ana
was the price up to the first hundred
and then a discount was made. Two nun
ored sesds would cure any family Of
Why had Mr. White come to Grafton
instead of selecting a great city. where
Why was he seemingly wasting time
and money?
What were the few lives there com
pared to the millions outside?
No one had asked him the question, but
he would ask and answer it. Mr.. White
had sent to Egypt for a specimen of the
soil in which the pumpkins We're grown.
Then he had collected soils from 800 diff
ferent localities in the United States. This
included from Grafton. That one
soil 1t would grow the pumpkins from
which millions of dollars were to be made
in the future
If the citizens of the town and county
could save their lives and fill their pockets
at the same time wasn't it business to
do 1t? If they went into Lybian pumpkin
seeds it would knock the sales of Egypt
colder'n a wedge, but no one need heSi-
tate that account. Wasn't America DC
knocking each other every. day in tbs
week
If the people in and around Grafton
! didn't want to grow pumpkins then would
they sell their lands to Mr. White2
Not by a darned sight would they sell!
| They had been put next to a good thing,
J and didn't propose to be pried off the
perch Mr.. White signed a contract with
each and every one that wanted to be
come pumpkin-grower to take all his
seeds at cent apiece He wanted only
| the seeds; the grower could keep the rest
| of the pumpkin Each pumpkin would
net the farmer at least dollar, and ev-
| cry acre of land would grow 6oo- The
( average village garden would turn out
] a hundred and leave room for lettuce,
radishes and onions.
Grafton woke up Bell county woke UP