Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 July 1909 — GOOD CROPS IN CENTRAL INDIANA. [ARTICLE]

GOOD CROPS IN CENTRAL INDIANA.

The Democrat editor and wife took a pleasant little trip Saturday through central Indiana, going from Rensselaer to Frankfort on the Indianapolis division of the Monon and thence to Lebanon and back through Frankfort to Lafayette via traction line, and from there home on the Louisville division of the Monon. While we have better crops in Jasper county than much of the territory between here and Delphi or Lafayette, we are not in it with the territory between Lafayette and Lebanon, and especially between Frankfort and Lebanon, which has some of the finest crops we ever saw growing. Wheat harvest was well along down there, although there were still many fields to cut, the rains having delayed the w’ork considerably. Oats were very rank in growth and looked mighty fine where the rains of last week had not beaten them down, but thousands of acres were so badly lodged in places that they will be almost a total loss. Corn generally is even and of excellent color and much higher than the average here, while the hay erop, which was being harvested, looked to be extra good. By the way, a part of the country south of Frankfort is the most prosperous looking farming section we ever saw’ any place, and the improvements are simply out of sight, to use a slang expression. Great large barns and big fine houses, some of the latter as good as the best in Rensselaer, togefther with! growing crops that give promise of an enormous yield, made a picture that would be hard to duplicate anywhere in the United States. Not much of any land is for sale dowiM there, and when any is sold it runs in price from SIOO to S2OO per acre, depending on the distance flrom IJhe larger ttowins, such as Frankfort or Lebanon. The traction line has made it very convenient for the farmers and town people to reach Indianapolis, and a great deal of money that ought to be spent in Frankfort and Lebanon is now spent in the capital city, and especially Frankfort is showing the effects of loss of trade.

.Boone county Js preparing to build a new $250,000 court house, and a committee of business men has been selected to work in conjunction with the county commissioners to see that the county dpes not get “honswoggled.” Mr. Duvall, president of the First National Bank of Lebanon is a member of this committee, the chairman, we believe, and he informed us that they were considering visiting Rensselaer and inspecting our court house. We told him we had a handsome building; that the contract price was $82,500, but when it was completed the cost was $175,000. If his committee and the Boone county commissioners did as well, Boone, which at present is democratic, would likely be in the republican column politically. A Hammond architect is preparing plans for the biulding. Boone county is out of debt and has money to the good. The old court house is to be sold at public auction the 17th, we beleieve, and it must bring at least sls. It is not a very bad building, but is somewhat out of date for so prosperous a county. It is of brick and the public square is surrounded by a stone coping similar to our own.