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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1909)
3 Buffalo County's Riches ......... .. ' "- -"r.- pv ' i V - v ? .... , . .' ,i J fir . ". Flow in Response to Modern Agriculture flaw . hi V if f 6 .1:- V rj -.Tvl.i' s i i ! 1 1 Tii TTii i i tif fi t. iiV iMVriftrl i ' i i I. -i w .i. PIN MONET FOR THE FARMER'S WIFH. 8TATB NORMAL 8CHOOU KEARNET. B ITFFAJiO county not lone ago waa the richest of all the red men's huntiDK grounds. To(la.y it Is the richest of 'all the rifV'ftl 'wh'ta man's rraln and alfalfa UmmJ fields. It Is bo much easier to suppoM things than to know them that It reaily Is not surprising that we have lout a frontier which we supposed was a perma nent Institution. Yesterday Buffalo coun ty's history was one of romantic adven ture; today it Is one of not less lromlnent Industry. Tt wu wheat and corn that changed Fuffalo eounty from a cattleman's to a farmer's country, and made It modern and contagiously alive. What we are to re member la that Kearney once sold saddles and repeating rifles, and ht now a modern city. The Matte valley Is where tliey do things. This Is really the place where the frontier was abolished by the prairie rhoonnr. On the emabllshment of Fort Kearney In 1848, the War department, ordered a military reservation of ten nilles square surveyed. This was the first survey of record In the county. The county "of Buf falo, one of the first eight counties nsmed and boundaries established, was named and Its' boundary first established at the second session of the territorial legislature of Nebraska, which convened at Omaha, December 18, 1866. The county at this time was fifty miles wide north and south and wventy-ftve miles long. In 1871 the boun dary was changed to Its present size. Buffalo eounty extends thirty-seven miles east and west and twenty-five miles north and south, with Kearney, the eounty seat, rear the southern boundary. The soil Is equal to the richest In the state, every acre being capable of cultivation. The Platte, Wood and Ixup rivers flow through 130 miles, with several tributary streams, adding their quota, making It one of the best watered counties In the atate. Aside from Kearney, the county seat, there are twenty-five towns In the county, with populations of from SOO to 1,500. There are 107 miles of railroad In the county, and not a farm Is ten miles distant from a rail road or a telegraph station. The popula tion Increased from 7,410 In 1880 to C000 In 1890, and is now estimated at about 30,000. As an agricultural or a stock producing country It has no superior. Kearney draws trade from Phelps and Kearney counties on the south, and Dawson, Custer and other counties on the west and north. There axe 10.000 acres 1n the eounty, over 900,000 of which are improved. The county is growing consider.!; fru! for home con sumption, consisting of apples, peaches, plums and cherries, on more than 110, (no bearing trees. Buffalo county produced last year llCOOO acres of corn and 79,000 acres of wheat, together with 43.000 acres of oats. The county is one of the most Important in the state In the sale and shipment of live stock. T.ast year the farmers sold and shipped out over 30,0)0 head of beef cattle and more than 75.000 head of fat hogs, together with 48,000 head of sheep and 1,000 head of horses. They also sold and shipped out 1,177,000 bushels of corn. 718.000 bushels of wheat, and 400,00) bushels of oats. They also sold and shipped out ,500,000 pounds of flour and over 7,000.000 pounds of mill feed, together with 1,600 tons of hay. This county Is also one of the very first In the state In the dairy Industry. The farmers own over 12,000 head of oows and use 1,40 hand separators. I-ast year they shipped out 636,000 pounds of butter. 4S5.O10 dozens of eggs. 176,000 gallons of cream, together with 6o0,000 munds of poultry. The cattle Industry has been one of great Importance from the earliest settlement of Buffalo county and conditions have not only changed, but they are fast changing. The cowboy and the dairyman are tain brothers of the west, but they will soon reach the parting of the road. One Is looking forward, the other backward. Both can converse with a cow In its own lan guage. In drawing tholr picture the only background to these men must be rattle. There are no figures bigger than those which play ttu- drama of the cow, and there Is no drama which even today comes closer to the everyday l!fe of each and alt of us. In 1875 cattle were bought here In Buffalo county at about the following prices: Tearling teers from SS to 86; a-year-olds, 89; 3-yesr-olds. 113 to $14; cows from $10 to $12 The corn belt and the corn Industry Is the most Interesting tpye of Buffalo county, and the most Interesting type of Nebraska. Its culture maintains a larger number of our people than any other Industry, and as a nation, no other American product or group of products equals It In value. In tbt field of manufactures and mineral pro ducts there Is nothing to compare with wheat and cotton crops. Yet the corn crop of the Vntted 8tates considerably exceeds In value the wheat and cotton combined. Corn growing requires a higher class of fanning than any of the other staple crops. It Is doubtf Jl if corn could be grown at all, as it Is grown in the corn belt, if dependence had to be placed upon negro labor. It will not be difficult to maintain that corn Is our leading crop, and corn growing our leading industry. Though the corn crop of this country so greatly exceeds any other crop, it figures less In market quotations than either wheat or cotton, because It Is so larg. ly con vertable Into such secondary products as pork and beef, before leaving the farm. Of that which Is sold off the farm, the greater part is made up into starch, glu cose and whiskey. A much more striking description of the com growing industry of Buffalo county or of the entire corn belt could be given if it lent itself to bonanza farming. Our native American admiration for big things, finds a better subject in some of the bonanza wheat farms or cattle ranches, than in a typical corn farm. While it Is a known fact that "Corn Is King" In Buffalo county. It Is Just as true that alfalfa la queen. This plant has revol utionised the stock feeding and dairy in dustry, and has greatly Increased the farmer's income. There are over 50,009 acres seeded to alfalfa In the county. This plant Is older than the Christian era. From Italy it was introduced into Spain and southern France, and was carried to Mexico during the Spanish invasion. As early as 1829, years before It reached California, it was grown in New York, but seemed to have been little appreciated. It requires three, and under unfavirable conditions even four years, for alfalfa to reach Its prime, and after seven or ten years a decline may be expected. Alfalfa KEARNEY HIGH 8CHOOI unquestionably holds first place smong the dairy foods for the dairy cow. It hss been .predicted that the cow fed on alfalfa will in the near future set the price of butter for the world. Alfalfa has the two para mount qualities to enable it to do this, low cost of production and the superior quality of butter produced. The ordinary cow will eat elfalfa hay and corn In Just rroper proportions to make the balance ration. Clover Is a great favorite for hog pasture, but those who have tried both clover and alfalfa, find the alfalfa greatly superior. Alfalfa holds the same place in the estimate of sheep growers who have used It, as among rattle and hog raisers. The sheep growers of Buffalo county who have alfalfa hay can and do put lambs on the market In less time and at less cost and with greater profit than with any other forage. Alfalfa Is the greatest honey plant known to modern agriculture. It Is superior to white clover, sweet clover or buckwheat and under favorable conditions gives a honey flow from June until October. Alfalfa Is the greatest income producer, mortgage lifter and debt paying crop grown. The value of alfalfa, as a corn sav ing and stock growing food is well estab lished in Buffalo county. The growing of celery and sugar beets Is no longer an experiment. Over 100 cars of celery have been produced in a single year and vast quantities of sugar beets have been shipped from Kearney for many years. Persistent effort has Induced both freight and express companies to reduce rates until It Is now possible to compete with the Michigan celery on equal basis. Five acres of celery successfully grown and rightly handled will make more money THRE8HINO 8CENB NEAR KEARNET, than the average quarter section of lan4 in corn. But few penple apparently realise the Importance and the possibility of the dairy Industry In Buffalo county. The statistics side does not i-flect the best part of the dairy industry. Where dairying la Intelli gently followed, a system of agrloulture exists which preserves the fertility of the roil. Also a oow-keeplng people are a well fed people. One of the g;-at problems of the future, as well as of the present. Is economical dairying. This problem Is not easily solved in some sections. In a country where five acres of pasture and three acres of hay are required to keep a cow a year, dairy products will never be produced cheaply, but In Buffalo county, where two acres of alfalfa will produce more food than a cow can eat In a year, dairy products can be produced at a very low cost. This Is not only because cf the abundance of alfalfa In this county, but the quality of It. The cow more than any other animal can make good use of this al falfa forage. Dairying takes less fertility from the soil lii.in any other branch of farming. Butter Is a condensed product. Nothing made or grown on the farm will bring as much per round. Butter Is a finished product. Dairying brings In a con stant Income. Dallying gives constant and remunerative employment. Skill and brain work get better pay at dairying than in any other branch of farming. There is mo e room at the top, greater opportunity to improve In dairying thajt In any other kind rf farm work In Buffalo county. Dairying leads to thought fulness for the comfort of animals arid thus tends to morality. Kearney, the county seat of Buffalo county, had a population of 250 in 1875, in i . .(' t : ' A"-.,. 1 '-.' ' ji-Mi t.iw i." ! "gl.' .TV.'fi KEARNEY MILITARY ACADEMY, - J . V -U ; - zm '!l m f '. i '- . .mm mm. itmW 1M fri ! 'i I 1 I CENTRAL. AVENUE, KEARNEY. 1883 the elty had .W; t present the city has a population of about 9,000. As a water station on the Union Paclflo railroad Kear ney may be said to have first attracted notice. To the railroads and water Kearney owes Its present Importance. First came the railroads, locating Its tanks and saying, Here shall be a town." The town grew with the development of agricultural In terestsa few hundred each year. Then came men of brains and capital, and said, "We will add to the agricultural Interests of Kearney by making tt a manufacturing center. We will do this by creating a water power from the flow of the Platte river, which Is wasting its energy through the plains." Engineers pronounced their plan f ?.uible and the cai.al w. constructed, drawing its supply from the river, sixteen miles west of the city, and the water thus brought to Kearney is today developed Into thousands of horse power tor manufactur ing purposes. This water power, through the agency of electricity, furnishes light for Kearney's streets and homes, operates the printing presses of the daily newspapers and turns the wheels of many varied In dustries. This water power Is unique In the annals of town building In Nebraska. Kearney Is the pioneer this work, and has already leaped the berflt. The canal Is sixteen miles long, thirty feet wide and four and a half feet deep. The flow of water per minute is 18.000 cubic feet, height uf fall, sixty-one feet, which develops over 2.000 horse power. The flour mill, with a capacity of 200 barrels per day, waa one of the first mills In the country to use electric power. Kearney Is the "Mldwsy City," as !t is located at equal distance between the two oceans, 1,733 miles each way. The often vxafous su jeo. of city wster aupl,' nuver agitates the Kearney public. The city has a perfect system of water distribution and the supply Is Inexhaustible. It has a ca pacity of 3,000,000 gallons per day and six teen miles of water mains are now laid. Several hundred thousand dollars are in vested In Kearney In state, county and city buildings, all of which are handsome mod em structure. The State Industrial school building cost tSuO.OM. The Buffalo county court house $100,0u0. The Kearney Military academy Is the, only building of the kind In the state or any adjoining state, erected at a cost of $GVVj0, with adjoining buildings cosilng a t out the same. The city hall cost IX.mti. Ktarnry has thirteen church edi fices that would be considered a credit to any city. The State Normal located here Is not only one of the finest buildings of Its kind in Nebraska, but also in adjoining states. Kearney enjoys exceptional public school fscilltlcs. Seven school buildings accommodate 3.0"0 pupils. The High school Is one of the state's prominent building. No feature adds more to the attractive ness of a city than handsome, regular streets. This la a noticeable characteristic of Kearney. Its business and icsldenc blocks are of uniform size. Its streets are wide and well graded. There are 175 miles of graded streets In Kearney and flfiy three miles of sidewalk, mostly cement. The principal thoroughfares are lighted with electricity. Kearney Is one of the most important stations on the ma'n line of the Union Pacific lsllroad, between Omaha and Denver, with over sK miles of side track to accommodate local business. The Burlington 4 Missouri River railroad also makes connection at Kearney and handles Its share of the business. Both toads have good and substantial depots. The city of Kearney Illustrates what en terprise, perseversnce and Indomitable pluck can accomplish. From a straggling village, Kearney has within less than fif teen years g own to a progressive, flour ishing city, with all modern Improvements. Buffalo county may truiy be proud of what can be truthfully called "The Parlor City of the Platte Valley." Kearney's opera house, costing $140,0U0. has no ilval in beauty of design or equipment with any In the went. It has a seating capacity of 1,200. The public library is the pride of the entire city. The city has two weekly, a seiul-werkly and a daily newspaper, all well edited, and has lour banks all in a prosperous and flourishing cond.tlun. The city boasts of one of the best hotels in the middle west. Appioprlatton 1 as bte.i mads for a government i tiding which will soon be erected. Kearney baa an elevation of 2.200 feet above the sea, and has on an average about thirty-one and a half Inches of annual rain fall. The city enjoya the benefit of free delivery with five or six mral routes sup plying the adjoining country. Nearly every manufacturer in Buffalo county and the Platte valley Is doing and Increasing profitable business. Kearney Is an excellent point for easier n manufac turers to locate. Tlie field for manufac turing in the near future Is the west. Famous Mexican Beauties (Continued from Page One.) straight and well formed. The young women have exceptionally fine com plexions, of a very light copper oolor, but as in all tropical climates they grow old and wither rapidly after paaalng their 25th year. Some of our party were deslroua of pur chasing one of the strings of besds, and after making Inquiries we were directed to one of the finer abode houses on one of the inalo streets. We were welcomed with every courtesy. The family consisted of the father and mother and two daughters, one about II or 17 and the other some what older. The parents looked old and dried up. As It waa about noon, the father was tak ing his siesta, sitting In an armchair on the -veranda, smoking a long, black Mex ican cheroot After making our wants known we were shown several strings of beads, on which were hung a number of the gold coins. The prices were $100 to $300 Mexican; that is, from $60 to $100 gold. One of the party had a camera along and wished to get a picture of the house, and especially of the younger daughter, who was really a beautiful girl, but It , took a good deal of persuasion to get her consent. Then It was necessary to have the older sister waive ber light to have her picture taken. It appears that in all things the younger children have to give way to the older ones. The older girl's picture was not especially desired, as she was not nearly so good looking as her sister. Tide delicate matter wa finally ar ranged satisfactory, but the girl then de murred on the ground that she would bave to dress specially. The photographer said he could wall. Then it appeared that wtiio weeks before some Americano had taken her picture, promising to send her one, but had failed to keep his promise. Aasurance that she would surely receive one of the pictures to be taken finally pre vailed and she retired to array hersolf in ber beet bib and tucker, reappearing In a few moments dressed In the civilised skirt before described, a bright olored blouse and a small white silk shawl, which she drew over her shoulders. This shawl waa an American one which they had procured somehow, and the pho tographer objected to It, desiring to have her In her native costume. But she in sisted on wearing it. The photographer tried to get her to put on her huipll, but she would not. It was afterward learned that this family Is one of the best and weallthleat in the city and that the young woman whose picture wss taken was one of a few chosen to assist the principal lady of the city in the reception given President Dias when he visited that part of Mexico some time before, and that she with the others had gme out to meet the president when he waa coming to the city and had ridden back with him In his private car. The market place Is of Interest to Amer icans. It Is near the railway station and ocoupies about a block. The principal ar ticles for sale were vegetables, meats, fruits, cloth of many snd bright colors, sandala, the peculiar headdress, calabash vessels and many curios. These articles were laid out on the stone floor or on boxes and stands, and some were hung on the posts welch support the roof. The stalls are tended mostly by women, old and young. Some of the young women wers very comely, vl aiious and kept a very sharp lookout for s trude. As ou were passing the stands they would catch you by the coat and smilingly show you their wares, all the lime keeping up a constant chatter m Spanish. Heretofore few Americans hae vlnlted i this cnurlous old city, but with the In creased traffic, passenger as well ss freight, which is bound to resrlt from the Improvement of the Tehusntepec Nstional railway Tehusntepec Is likely to become a stopping plsce for tourists fy Bachelor's Reflections You can lick anything Into a boy but sense. The most that a girl likes a Knit getting engaged it bow rxui mean old cat said she nver could. A woman ran reconcile herself to letting cine ma a make love to tr when it ought to be another by thinking how Indignant she c.'iud act If the right one knew. New Ifork Press, Pointed Paragraphs The holdup man does brain work with a sandbag. It takes a woman to have faith In a man when she hasn't. But for our troubles we would be un able to appreciate happiness. It Isn't necessary to tell a boose fighter that he should love his enemy. Lots of people wouldn't know what to do with patience If they had it Even when a man proves that he Is a .woman's superior she doesn't believe It. We blame Providence for our poverty, but take the credit ourselves when we get rich. Some people never get too old to learn, and some others never get old enough to learn anything. The improved quality of living nowadays may be worth the additional cost, but that Is poor consolation to the man who hadn't the price. -Chicago News. Carpenter's Letter (Continued from Page Two.) snails on Buddha's head, and each of them Is nine inches lug.i. 'ihe n.akiiig el u woik like thic wt-uld bt ill rum. I ..uuy li i til. i tij, the skill of our itutext artists. Vhis Buduh waa U'lidtf Ly the Jd;ne-- M years bjfore Columbus started acroa the Atlai.liu anj found the new wrid. At ihut time our ancestors were still eating with their fin gers and sleeping n straw. An evt:i greH r Buddha, although less known, Is one which I have Just seen in the templo at Nurs. atuut twenty-five miles freni hue. TVs I'aJl'na s under cover and It Is almost lui;o.-ihle to get a good viwlcgrapb of it. It stanis In a building, filling a apace larger than the dome of the rwpilol ut Washington. It is made of bronze, and it slis upon a lotus flower of solid br.iiie. against a back ground of carved gold. The flower Is btg eDough for the foundation of a good-sized nous", and each of the l .tus rta!s would carpet a parlor. This Buddha is fifty-three feet In length I measured one foot where It lies upon the knee. It is Just sixteen feet from heel to toe. The slatue is s.. in metrical and the (ace u wotidei fully beau tiful, personifying contentment and repose. This statue Is almost twice as old as that at Kamukura. It was made many centuries ago, along about the time that little Mo hammed, the founder of the great religion which bears his name, was a htilf-naked boy, playing In the sands of Arabia. The head of the original statue fell off and was burned several hundred years ago. The present head was made during the sixteenth century and the remainder of the body was made more than 800 years before that time. Here, In Kyoto, there is a Buddha which Is all head and shoulders. It fills a temple, and Is bigger than either of the Buddhas I have mentioned. It has eyes five feet long, nostrils two feet wide, and It measures forty-three feet across the shoulders. It is almost sixty feet high and It has a nose nine foet long. Just outside the temple Is one of the biggest bells of Japan, which Is rung now and thin to wake up the statue. It weighs sixty-three tons and Is about as big as a haystsck. All of the above Buddhas are old. I saw one at Hyozo, about two hours' ride from here by train, which was erected In 1S91 by a pspt.r n aniifactuter who had mude a fortune and was grateful to tlio gods. That Buddha la of bronze. It measures eighty-five feet around the waist, snd the dismetrr cf Its lap is twenty-five feet. The eprs are six feet long and by my taps line it Is Jest two feet around the thumb. It has an electric bulb In its fore head. Rellaiow and the War. Tl.eie has hern a decided rexivui among the native religions here since the Russian war. Many of the priests went to the front to give rpirltual ccno'st'on to the Ko'oleis This was so of both Buddhists and blilntolsts. When the war closed hs er per or added to thu revival by vlsitine tie great Bhinto shrine at Ise, where he proclaimed to the imperial ancestors that the war was successfully ended. Since then many other famous personages have visited Ise, snd Shiutois'n and ancestral wort-hip stand higher than tl ey have for yrars. Many of the cinnon and other lrot ..ic wliUu were cai'lurtd lu Manchuria were brought to Japan and given to the temples, where they are kept as monu ments. Among such tliiiigs Is a great water tank, which shows the marks of many cannon balls. It now stands In the grounds of the Yakasunl temple In Toklo. During the fighting In Manchuria the peo ple here showed their faith by the way they went to the shrines to pray for their loved ones. Many of them took slabs of cedar or pine, upon which they had written their prayers. The back of each piece cf wood bore the name of the person for whom they were especially praying and also that of the god whose, intercession was sup plicated. Such prayers were laid on the altars, the worshipers at the same time giving something to the church to Insure the assistance of the priests. Japanese Liberality. As far as I can learn the Buddhism . which is proclaimed by the most advanced of the priests today Is as broad as all outdoors. This is the spirit of the new Japan. Indeed, the people are so broad In religious matters I mean those of the up per clssses-that they are ready to accept the best of any and all religions. Indeed, they believe In a combination of Shlntolsm, Confuclsnlsm and Buddhism, with a sprin kle of Christianity thrown In. It Is said that there are thousands of Japanese who would readily accept Christianity by pla cing the Image of Jesus with that of Bud dha and those of their ancestors, if the Christian religion did not insist In there being no other god but one. Their consti tution permits all religions and the gov ernment does not question the faith of Its employes. Count Katsura. the premier of Japan, says that this country is at the head aa to religious liberality and that a man may have any religion without suf fering for It Prince lto told me that he considered the Buddhists mors liberal than the Christians and that thsrs is today a considerable Christian element growing up in Japan. At one time the government actually considered the adoption of Chris tianity as the state religion, proposing to modify or revise the Bible and our doc nines tr, suit Japanese requirements. Centuries ago there waa a big Christian element In Japan. The Jesuits came here and convertod the people by hundreds and it Is estimated that there war no less than 6O0.OUO professing Christians. That' was more than 410 yesrs ago, and at that time Japanese missions were sent to the pope at Rome. A little later the tide turned and Christianity was wiped out. .the convert being killed by the thousands In the most horrible ways. There are, It Is said. Home thing like 1(0,000 native Christians in Japan today. Maar Baadhlat seels. Bhlntolsm and Buddhism, as they are practiced In Japan, have almost aa many sects as Christianity. Bhlntolam hss ex isted in Japan longer than any one can re member. It recognises the immortality of the soul and the existence of supernatural power. It teaches reverence for ancestor and cleanliness of soul and body. Ita Ideas of conduct are honesty and straightfor wardness. It especially teaches reverence for the emperor, and the children In the schools are taught that their loyalty to him Is a part of their religion. There is one sect which makes a specialty at rever ence for the Imperial family, another In which the sun goddess Is the principal object of worship, and a third, the Jikko, which boTleves that Mount Fuji Is the soul of the globe and which vows to pray for the eternal exlatence of the Imperial family and the nation. The Buddhists have twelve divisions, with forty-nine subdivisions. One of the most advanced of these Is the 0hin sect, which teaches that morality Is as Important as faith, and which declares that women may be saved. The Shin priests believe In education. They are allowed to marry and to eat flesh and fish. Many of the other sects are vegetarian. It being a general principle of the religions that no one ahould kill any living thine, soma even straining their drinking water. In order that they may not unknowingly swallow a fish or frog. Among the most intelligent Buddhists of Japan are the Zens, whose followers are largely smong the Intellectual classes. They believe In education and aim at sal vation by an understanding of the princi ples of nonexistence. With them medita tion and Introspection are the mean of attaining true wisdom. And then there Is the ghlngon sect, on of whom Invented the Japanese alphabet; the Kegon sect, whose headquarters Is at Kara, and the Jodo sect, which has doc trines for the initiated and doctrines for the masses. Nearly ail of the sects tolerate a belief In other religions, and a large proportion of the Japanese people have sacrificial altars In their homes for both the Buddhists and Bhinto faiths. Many of them ax ConfucianlsU aa well. What m Fa stems Priest lays. One of the most noted Buddhist p nests of Japan Is Renjo Akamatzu, who waa educated In Europe and who studied there as a pupil of Max Mullar. He Is connected with the big Hongwanji temple her In Kyoto. He makes no bones of saying that religious tolerance la growing In Japan and that Christianity is a permanent Institu tion here. He says that there is no rea son why the two religions should not exist without friction, because both appeal to the hearts and minds of man, and that on Is better eulUd to soma men than the other. Akamatsu teaches bis students that they should study Christianity, saying that it will make them broadmlnded. He does aot bellgye In proselyting and says that vio lence In defending religious doctrines is contrary to the teachings of both Christ and Buddha. During a Ulk with Mr. Akamatsu be told m be believed In the doctrine of trans migration, and those who did well In this world would rise step by step until they reached the nirvana. I asked him what he meant by the nirvana. He replied: "It la hard to explain that In English. It doe ' not meaa soul annihilation, as many suppose. It is not a negative atala, but a positive one. It means eternal hap piness, a state In which all the bad in man la eliminated and the good continue to grow. The man In nirvana appreciate the true, the beautiful and the good la it perfection; the vice have all gone and the virtues alon ar left." FRANK Q. CARPENTER,