The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1914-05-14
FIFTY YEARS IN MINI.
Excerpts From an Interesting Paper
by Albert L. Ward in rlartin
County Independent.
People Were Happy and Contented
When They Lived in Dug. Outs
and Had no White Bread.

editor, capitalist and phi]anthropist.
He recently gave the city of Fair
mont 100000 for hospital or char
liable Institution of some kind. He
is between 70 and so years of age, is
a candidate for the state senate and
expects to be on earth rs years
hence. We hope his expectations
will be realized
On the anniversary of his fftieth
year in Fairmont he wrote an inter-
esting article for his newspaper, the
Martin County Independent, from
which few excerpts are given here
with:
''Fifty years, Tuesday, the 2Sth
day of April, 1864, being the same
day of the week as in 1914, we first
saw Martin county and Fairmont
Have been a continuous resident,
and expect to be for twenty-five
years more.
''No desire to change. An evan
gelist was holding protracted meet
ings in Missouri. Wanting to en-
thuse the people, he asked all that
wanted to go to heaven to stand up.
They all got up excepting one man.
The evangelist looked at him, and
repeated the invitation. He still re-
manned seated. He then requested
all those who wanted to go to the
other place to stand up. This man
still remained seated. He then said
to him. My dear sir, you don't want
to go to heaven, you don't want to
go to hell, where do you want to
go?" He replied, L don't want to
go anywhere. Missouri is good
enough for me-.
minnesota is good enough for me.
''Fifty years ago, not a mile of
railroad in this state. In this
county, no roads or bridges, no school
houses, no churches, no villages,
and not hundred acres of land I'M
der cultivation.
1.-The United States soldiers were
stationed at Fairmont and Fort
Chinesky on Elm Creek. Soldiers
patroled daily between here and Fort
Ridgley to keep back the hostile In
dams. Over 10000 acres of land in
the county were open to homestead
entry Mail was received only once
week. The residences were small
log houses or dug-outs in the side
hills. The man who owned a span
of horses and a lumber wagon was
then a millionaire. The usual mode
of travel was either on foot or with
an OK team and a cart.
1.-THE trails wound around the
sloughs: lakes and creeks. Nearly
ten miles travel were necessary to
go five.
= ::
FIFTY years ago it was a question
of daily bread, with -four and the
necessities of life required to be
brought in from long distances.
With those and clothing at wa,
prices, there were many to whom
the question of daily existence was
was no employment for labor. One
dollar per day, the highest wages,
A man dug bitches to drain the low
lands now occupied by fine residences
in this city for Is cents per day, anc
took his pay in canal flour, now
called 'middlings' at $500 per hun
dred. There we're no doctors and ne
graveyards. Not needed. The
simple, strenuous life banished sick
ness. The salaries of all the county
officials did not amount to 5000 pei
veal. There were less complaints
and fault-fnding of the hardship!
and means of living than at present
lit is unnecessary to recapitulatt
and tell Of the wages of the present
of the modes of ayocation. prices O
farm produce, cheapness of merchan
disc, means of travel, Of the high
ways, the fine clothes and apparel
the churches or the saloons. thu
bowling alleys, moving picture show
and theaters, the newspapers, and O
the thousand advantages and meth
DDS of amusement of the present.
Yet, the people are more restless
and disconnected than then. Then
there were no sham nor hypocrisy
They were friends and foes. If the
said they were glad to see you AM
invited you to call, they meant it
There were no society gushers.
"Will the advancement in the mex
fifty years be as rapid? Or, are W
reaching that period of profigacy