The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-03-09
MAIN BUSINESS Is TO CARE
FOR THE VISITORS
George Sugden Returned Last Night
From Two Months Visit Through
the West; Saw and Visited with
Great Many Former Mankato People;
PIX. Wiser Is Anxious to Return to
This City; Rain in Plenty.
From. thursdays Daily.

From. thursdays Daily.
George Sugden, vice president OF the
National Citizens bank, returned last
night from two months spent in the
sunny south in company with Mrs.
Sugden, who will remain in California
for three months longer before re-
turning to Mankato. Owing to snow
slides, which caused frequent delays
on the railroads, Mr.. Sugden did not
arrive home exactly as he had plan
ned, but was detained enroute some
times for three or four days in the
middle west.
1--WE spent month in Arizona, .
said Mr.. Sugden this morning during
an interview with Free Press re-
porter. From there we went to Los
Angeles and San Diego, California.
We met many former Mankato peo-
pie in the south, and they are all well
and pleased with the country. Among
those we saw4were Mr.. and Mrs. l..
Patterson at Los Angeles, also P. K.
Wiser, who is very anxious to re-
turn to Mankato. Others whom we
met were c.. w. Babcock of Kasota,
Mr.. and Mrs. Doty of ST. Peter, N.
H. Olson, cashier of the Citizens
State bank at st. Peter and his fami-
ly, Mr.. and Mrs. Hanscom, all in Los
Angeles. At San Diego VIE saw
George Klein, Henry Busch, DIR. /. ID.
Webster, Judge G. N. Andrews, for
merly an attorney of this city, now
judge of district court there, and Mr..
and Mrs. d. d. Smith.
California was having little
more rain this season than usual, and
it has been rather cold there for
Southern California weather. We
were fortunate in moving around to
avoid most of the wet season, and it
rained very little where we were. We
spent a month at Yuma, Arizona,
which has a most delightful winter
climate, bright and sunny the year
around. While we were there the
sun did not shine for two days, which
was the first time in seven years that
there had been day in Yuma with
out sunshine.
Big Irrigation System.
"The big irrigation system has
worked wonders with this former
desert country, and made it one of
the richest spots in the country. The
government dam diverts the water
from the Colorado river, and it runs
lin a network of channels all over the
valley. Crops raised are cotton, al
falfa, maize, garden truck of all kinds
and livestock. The dry climate is
very healthy, and there are many
people living there, who when they
went there were in the last stages or
consumption or suffering from other
diseases, and are now hale and hearty
owing to the dry climate, there is very
little grippe or pneumonia. The farm
ers here this year realized as high as
$3.50 to $3.50 an acre on their crops.
In some ways people can live cheap
er in the west, but the prices of meat
butter and eggs are about the same as
in the east. There are few factories
in the southwest, but business condi-
lions are now improving.
1.-THE greatest crop of California is
the crop of tourists, which was ex-
ceptionally large this year, the larg-
est ever known. The talk of war does
not noticeably affect the people on the
western coast, and although there is
isome talk of coast defenses there
does not appear to be any undue ex-
does not
element The coast trade with Alas
ka and the orient still continues, and
business in general appears to be
good" 'i.