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Show HARD TIMES IN COLORADO. A Dreay Subject Treated in a Eacy Manner by an Able Writer Utah Compares Com-pares Well. To the Editor of Thb Evening Dispatch : Elkhokn Hanoi, Colo., Eeb. 19. The times change and we change with them," Nothing could be truer, yet I doubt if I ever felr. rh fn f the maxim so sensibly as I did upon my return to Colorado three weeks ago. Populous cities like Aspen, Rico and others have become, figuratively speakin,(not very iizurativelv, either) resorts for the bats and owls. Men who were prosperous are in straits that are serious. Some people are heloiess, 7, morf nopetul, not knowing what else to do, walk abort as in a dream, aud inquire of each otber day arter day: "How much longer do you think it can last?" Of course the slump in silver is the bull in tht china ehop, and it affects every interest in the state in 1,,. and to an extent almost incredible to one woo has not been here to see for himself. Some jolly spirits there are whom nothing can daunt. Judge Wilev, of Aspen, considerable of a miner himself says: "When you were here before,' rank I was eating trout at 60 cents a j ! pound. For the past two months I have lived on suckers at 8 cents. It is a great saving. It also saves me laandrv money." "How is that?" I inquired. "f'm, so full of fish bones that I couldn't take off mv under clothes if I cried my eyes out." (The judge looks well fed. nevertheless The hard times have struck Grand Junction with equal force. A name less orphan was found on a doorstep in that city a" few nights ago, and -'the boys ' were getting up a purse for the foundling, with true Colorado generosity gener-osity Men were throwing in quaiters who had no idea where the next meal would come from. Chris Weiderscui-menthal Weiderscui-menthal was solicited. He said-Poys, said-Poys, I m proke. I can't give no money. But that poor .little nameless1 child shall go mitoud a name no longer 1 11 give it a part of mine and it can' fle d?JSn, or de end or take it out of de mittle." Of such as he had and of name he had plenty Chris was willing to give Jim Coughlin of Rico, says: -You fellows up laround Glenwo'od in'h know anything about hard times V hen your daikieB begin to commit suicide, then you may talk." "Are they committing suicide over around Rico?" someone asked. les. we had one to commit suicide over there and you will admit tha t when a negro commits suicide, tunes are tough. It was this way," he went on. We had a negro porter who had been complaining of hard times wish-ind wish-ind he was dead, etc., but nobody paid much attention to him until it was reported re-ported that he was down at the Rio Grande oepot dying from an overdose or uiorDhine.- A. lot ot was unconscious, but the boys were walking him about, drenching him with coffee and slapping him with thin pine siats lo revive his circulation. The only doctor present finally decided that the darkey would die in spite of all our efforts, and immediately we began be-gan to inquire if there was halt a dollar dol-lar in the crowd the price of an express ex-press wagon with which to haul the body to the undertaking rooms and you may believe me or not, Lut there was only thirty cents in the crowd," "What did you do?" "What could we do? We gave the darkey some more strong coffee. Kept up the slapping with the boards and walked him up to the coroner's office. Oh, I tell you times are hard in Rico.'" In spite of all this the day is not far distant when Rico and Aspen and the rest will aeain hear the boom of the silver blast, and see her wagon and pack trains ' coming out of the hills to enrich the 'miners and the dwellers in the valleys below. Meanwhile, let the people of Utah rejoice that their share of this financial storm is only a side zephyr, compared to that which hae laid waste the mining min-ing districts of the west and the crowded cities of the east. Times are hard in Utah, yes, but better than anywhere else in thi-3 country. And you have not, what Colorado has, a populist state administration to make times worse than they otherwise would be. Frank P. Wabner. |