Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1898 — A Modern Arcadia. [ARTICLE]

A Modern Arcadia.

’TA few days since The Republican published the following paragraph, found floating in the exchanges, and asked, in sincerity, if the statements therein made could be true: ‘‘.Hoopeston, in this state, a town of 1,000 inhabitants, has never had a saloorft The mayor receives a salary’ of 50 cents a year. The remuneration of each of the councilmen is half that amount and no fees are accepted. Last year the combined salaries of the mayor and the city fathers were given to help a needy widow pay her taxes.’’ The Chronicle, a paper published at Hoopeston, comes proudly forward, and proves not only all of the above, but much more of a surprising nature. The Chronicle says:

>1 Hoopeston has 3,500 inhabitants by, actual count. This is not a but is the sworn result of the lass. school census. She has more tlram two miles of paved streets. Slite has a $60,000 water plant owned tty the city, an electric light plant, oqe daily and three weekly newspaperssj she cans onetenth of all the corn damned in the world, puts up more peasgmd beans than any other one town\in the whole world; has finer stores, banks and livery barns, meat markets, hotels and postoffice than any town of its size in the United States. And never since she has been a city has she ever harbored a saloon. The best business men in the town fight for places on the city council, and regard their preferment, in case of election, as the highest compliment that can be paid them by the people of the best town of its size in the United States. And there are about three Republicans to one Democrat in the town. Can you imagine a more Arcadian place anyw’here?—Joliet HL, Republican.