The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1917-09-13
TOLD ABOUT BATES COUNTY

lroLD ABOUT BATEs COUNTY
z. B. Silvers Kxtolls Bates County in
Talk to Kansas City Chamber
Of Commerce.
# On Wednesday, September 5th, Mr..
E. B. Silvers, Of Butler, was the
guest of the Young Mems Division
of the Kansas City Chamber Of Com
3merce and addressed them at their
regular bi-weekly meeting. On
August nth party of thirty mem
bers of this organization had visited
Butler, at which time Mr.. Silvers
took occasion to tell them something
iof the glories of Butler and Bates
County, and the opportunities they
were missing by reason of the policy
of their newspapers to practically
fignore this section as we'll as all OF
Western Missouri. Those present on
that occasion arranged to have Mr..
Silvers invited to talk to the whole
club at Kansas City. On the latter
occasion, Mr.. Silvers gave more de-
tailed description of the resources
of this town and county. After call
ing the attention of his auditors to
the fact that seldom ever this sec
ton is mentioned or given credit for
its accomplishments by the Kansas
City newspapers, Mr.. Silvers took
them on an imaginary tour to. Butler
and Bates County. In part he said:
About three quarters of mile
before arriving at the Butler station
you would see. upon paying us visit.
on the right hand of the railway 4
beautiful brick home, set at the TOP
of gentle slope, surrounded by love-
ly trees, with the lawn carpeted with
grass and dotted with flowers. You
might surmise that this is the home
OF some prosperous farmer or OF
some wealthy business man of the
| nearby town. But your surmisc
would be incorrect. Those who live
in this home own not an acre OF land,
| they possess no stocks or notes or
bonds. They are not rich; they are
not well to do. For this is the home
which Bates County has provided for
those who are SO unfortunate as TO
have no homes of their own. Thank
God there are very few of them. just
south OF this. you would see a large
sign reading, "Charter- Farm;
Big Type Poland China Hogs" Mr.
Charters, owner Of this farm, has
there 100 acres OF land, off OF which
he sells from $4,000 to $4,000 worth
of hogs annually. And he is not the
only fine hog breeder in Bates Coun-
ty. There are slso MIR. Piepmeyer,
w. A. Baker and Mr.. Frazier and
others, all of whom do large vol
ume of business. So that Bates
County is the most widely known
and highly reputed county in the
United States as a producer of thor
oughbred hogs. On the opposite side
of the track you would see the But
Ter Municipal Water and Light plant,
which would remind one who knows
that Butler was the first town or city
in Missouri to adopt the modern con-
venience of electric lights. This was
many years ago while Kansas City
and St. Louis still slumbered in dark
ness. A little further on you would
pass the stock yards. Not at all i'm
posing. But out of them last year
was shipped 100000 worth of live
stock. And Butler is only one of the
IS shipping points in Bates County.
SO that the annual output of live
stock in Bates County is from six t.
seven million dollars. When the
rain stops you get off at truly |
little station. This, gentle
men. is the one creditable thing
which the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Company has done for Butler during
he history of the town. Just south
f. the depot are two large elevators,
me on each side of the right of way.
these call attention to the fact that
Bates County in recent years (Which
We call poor years. has been ship
ing annually some two and quar-
er million dollars worth Of hay and
rain. And the statistics show that a
Iates County produces more corn
han any county in Missouri. Is
Taking the motor bus, we 60 down
own and stop at three story brick, $
,odern hotel. will not tell you OF &
s accommodations and service, but a
ill leave that to Frank Martin, Sec n
.tary of the Hotel Baltimore, who S
as one of your party which recently n
isited us and stopped at that hotel. u
cross the street from the hotel is
ne of our three large garages;
hich reminds me that Bates Coun-
!, has some 1900 automobiles; one
y every II people. But just to
low that all our money is not tied 5.