Year: 1875

ty. The settlers are principally from
near Toledo, Ohio. They have all
come here with considerable means,
above all, a good supply of pluck and
energy, consequently, do not share
the deprivation Of those who are at
the head of the t.'Tonganoxie Beg
ging Association


Our county papers have been quar-
reling for some time about whether
there was destitution in Tonganoxie
township or not, our prominent men
claiming there was none, but what
our County Commissioner of the Poor
was able to relieve with the $4,000
appropriated by the County Com
missioners for that purpose; while
on the other hand there is a class Of
men here who have always lived
from hand to mouth-their principal
occupation being loafng, drinking
and running for Office. The last
season has been unfavorable for them,
as better men got the offices, and
the Grasshoppers their small crops j;
consequently they are now hungry,
their teams are dying for want of
feed, and they are compelled to beg.
They claim that the whole country
is on the verge of starvation, and
that something must be done for
them and that quickly.


There was call issued for dele
gate "Aid Convention" to be held at
Tonganoxie, on the 18th of this
month, which brought delegates from
five townships. After due consider
alton it was decided that destitution
prevailed, and aid must be had, to
procure which five soliciting agents
were selected, with instructions to
proceed to the most favorable local
tiles for obtaining supplies by dona-
tions. A committee was also ap-
pointed to wait upon our County
Commissioners, requesting them to
appropriate a sufficient sum to meet
the freight bills upon the donations
that may be secured by the above
soliciting agents. Whether those
agents propose visiting Ohio or not,
1 am unable to say, but the sympa-
thies of some Eastern community
will be appealed to without doubt.


Now, Mr.. Editor, it is right the
hungry be fed, the naked clothed,
but several questions arise just at
this point, and justice demands that
they be not dismissed too lightly.
It is incredible that q region of as
well improved farms and sturdy far
mers as the western part of this
county, should have SO lamentably
failed to raise enough even of the
common necessaries to feed the scan
ty population living here, even allow
ing that the Chinch bug was num-
berless and Grasshoppers a burden.


This destitution is undoubtedly
due, in this section, to a great ex-
tent, to unskillful and shiftless tillage
of the soil on the part of many farm
ers and to laziness and dissipation on
the part ofmany others.


Again, it is not clear how q party,
with good grace, can accept the char
tiles of the charitable, when he has
been squandering his time and mon
ey for that which debases and
destroys.


Where is the destitute widow, or
invalid family, who have been unable
to provide in the proper season?
They need those charitable dona-
tions, but will they get them? For
evcry one aoho In justice needs and
gets this aid, there are a half dozen
able-bodied, lazy, shittless .fel1oacs,
ready to go66le it as fast as issued.
They will not work, if even offered
good pay. There are men here who
have good farms, and three or four
grown-up boys, claiming if they can
not earn enough to live in good style.
they will not work at all, but will let
the Aid Committee keep them!


There are goodly number of far
mers here, who own farms and pay
tax on property, who would feel as
though they had lost all self-respect
and justly forfeited the respect O
the community, if they should ac
cept charity of any kind, were theil
condition tenfold worse than it is


yet they see their neighbors, whc
own twice as much property, marcl
off with full rations, while the near
ly destitute have too much self-re


spect to apply for aid. This is no


only an outrage upon industriou
farmers, who are striving to built
up the country and maintain some
degree of respect for our new State
!. but it is an imposition upon ou
Eastern friends, who are appealed t.
to give of their hard earnings to fee'
the hungry. GRASSHOPPER.