A Valuable Suggestion from England.
A reader of the SOUTHERN STATES living at Florence, Ala., sent a copy
of the January number to a friend in England, and has received from
him the following very interesting and noteworthy letter, which we are
permitted to publish:
“Many thanks to you for the January number of the magazine, “the
SOUTHERN STATES,” which I received this morning. I presume you sent
it, knowing that the interesting letters relating to the subject of
immigration to the Southern States so fully coincide with the views I
have long held and have expressed to you concerning immigration from
Great Britain to the South.
“Those views were verified again only a few days ago in the following
manner: A friend of mine, who is a builder, wished to “talk with me
about America,” rather a big order if he had considered a little,
as having but limited means and a growing family he “thought of
emigrating.” _Where_ should he go? He spoke of many of the States I
know well, but he knew nothing of the South, except that they had
oranges and alligators in Florida. He was a fairly intelligent man,
too. After a long conversation, the length of which you will understand
when I tell you that I conducted my friend from the blinding blizzards
of Nebraska to the genial sunshine of Alabama, I promised to get him
some printed information from some of the emigration agents in London,
so that he could form an idea as to the requirements, capabilities and
resources of the South. Well, I tried to keep my promise, and called
on numerous agents. I could obtain _any amount_ of information about
any part of Canada and the Western States, but in this great city of
6,000,000 of people, I, an experienced Londoner, could not obtain a
line about Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana or
any other Southern State, except Florida, and as I enjoyed life in
the latter State for over three years I could describe a gopher or a
“Florida cracker,” better than the agent could. Is it to be wondered at
that people from England know the West and are ignorant of the beauties
of the South? There, you have your Southern difficulty in a nutshell.
We have over 35,000,000 of people on these little islands, very few
of whom really know anything whatever of the Southern States. We have
tens of thousands of men--small capitalists, manufacturers, skilled
artizans, farmers, dairymen, market gardeners, and business men of all
classes--who would give up the, in most cases, hopeless struggle here
(hopeless as far as a comfortable competence is concerned), and cross
over to the Southern States with their wives and families _if they
only knew_ the power of their skill, industry and perseverance in a
country where those qualities will give an ampler, fairer and a more
just reward than here. These people, the hewers of wood and drawers
of water, who are the backbone of every prosperous country, require
information, _official_, _authoritative_, _reliable_ information, about
Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, &c., and it is simply because
such information is lacking, difficult to obtain, or unreliable when
it is obtained, that so many go West and Northwest, whilst others, who
_could_ be induced to go South, stay and struggle on in the old rut
for want of being waked up. I feel perfectly sure that if a bureau
of information were established here in London and supplied with
literature, maps, &c., descriptive of the Southern States, and properly
advertised throughout Great Britain, the results would be quickly felt,
whilst the expense would be infinitesimal compared with the benefits
which would eventually accrue. Such a bureau, however, would have to be
managed by a man (or men) of integrity and experience, who should be as
unbiased as possible, and entirely free from sectional prejudice. An
agent should have sufficient business tact to know that he would never
benefit Georgia or Alabama by disparaging Colorado or California. I
know that many agents in England try to detract from every other State,
and every other section of a State, except the little spot they are for
the time pecuniarily interested in getting settled up. Their aims are
narrowed down to simply getting commissions on the railway and ocean
tickets, and a small prearranged percentage on any little land purchase
the immigrant may make from the agent in America, who has glowingly,
and very, very often untruthfully, described.
“A Southern States bureau of information, such as I suggest for London,
should be kept entirely free from the machinations of the unscrupulous
land speculator, who, we all know, has in too many cases most seriously
injured States and localities, simply to gain some small selfish end
of his own. In my opinion the expenses of such a bureau of information
should be borne by Southern railroad enterprise, and the London bureau
should work in conjunction with established agencies, or sub-agencies,
in all the large towns and cities in Great Britain, and also be in
close touch with agencies in the United States, working with the same
object, viz.: To induce immigration to the Southern States. The South
as it really is can stand on its own merits, and is good enough for
anybody, no matter what class--capitalists, cotton kings, iron masters,
coal owners, farmers, or earnest, industrious artizans. The South can
supply every requisite for all, from the raw material to the finished
product. These are a few of the facts that people here in England are
ignorant of and _should_ be _informed about_, whilst many of your own
people in the North and Northwest are not much better informed on many
points. A couple of summers ago I was laughed at at my hotel in New
York because I remarked, “I cannot stand this sultry heat any longer;
I’LL GO SOUTH, _where it is cooler_.” I was considered a “bullheaded
Britisher;” but I was right, anyhow, for it _was_ cooler in Florence,
Ala., than in New York!”
A Letter from Western Georgia.
Mr. George W. Truitt, of LaGrange, Ga., one of the most advanced and
successful of the present generation of progressive Georgia farmers,
writes to the SOUTHERN STATES as follows:
“Noticing your commendable efforts to advertise the attractions and
resources of the South and induce immigrants to seek homes in this
country, I ask space in your columns for a review of some of the
inducements this immediate section offers.
“This county--Troup--is in Western Georgia with the city of LaGrange as
its county seat.
“LaGrange has a population of about 4,000 and is beautifully situated,
850 feet above sea level--on the Double Daily mail route from New
York to New Orleans, and on the new and splendid line from Palatka,
Fla., via Macon, Ga., to Birmingham, Ala. For healthfulness it has no
superior. It has two of the best female colleges in the South, and
an excellent male high school. The various religious denominations
are represented by nine churches. The town is lighted by electricity
and has a fine system of water works. Two strong banks furnish all
necessary money for business enterprises. The famous “Terraces” or
Terrell flower gardens are within a mile of the heart of the town.
There is a $400,000 manufacturing plant here, embracing the LaGrange
Cotton Mills, foundry and machine shops, oil mills and guano factory,
all under our management.
“There are two carriage factories, a plow factory, planing mills,
variety works and ice factory all inside the city limits. A canning
factory will soon be erected, and a public school system will be
established.
“LaGrange is surrounded by one of the best agricultural regions in
Georgia.
“The farm lands are fertile, easily cultivated and yield abundantly
under intelligent culture. There has not been anything like a failure
of crops in twenty-five years through this section. The climate is all
one could wish. Extreme heat and cold are rare. Our lands are rolling,
with natural drainage; plenty of timber and pure water. Farmers can
work their lands in half a day after the heaviest rains.
“The agricultural interest is undergoing a great and rapid change for
the better. We have abandoned the one-crop idea.
“Since January 1st, 1894, there has not been sold at this point more
than one car of Western corn and meat. It has not been many years since
forty cars of those two items were sold in about the same time.
“Lands here can be bought at a bargain. Our largest land owners see
the great importance of increasing our white population, and are
in thorough accord and sympathy with any movement looking to an
improvement in that direction, and stand with open hearts and friendly
hands to welcome a sturdy thrifty class with a little money and plenty
of will and energy.
“One attraction, of the many worthy of an immigrant’s consideration
in this county, is the fact that the farmer has a home market for his
surplus farm products. Within a few months from now there will be a
demand, within a circle of fifteen miles around LaGrange from the
cotton mills already in operation and nearing completion, for 10,000
more bales of cotton than the county raises; that means 30,000 bales;
we raise annually about 20,000. Many thousand bales will be sent direct
from the fields, as it is gathered, to the factory, where the spot cash
will be in waiting for the cotton and the seed, the value of the seed
amounting to, or adding to the cotton, at least one cent a pound. The
mill operatives furnish a market for thousands of dollars’ worth of the
farmers’ surplus food products.
“Clover and grasses grow to perfection here, the Bermuda grass
especially, which furnishes nine months pasturage and yields
bountifully of a hay second only in nutritive value to the purest
timothy.
“Here are some facts and figures from actual experience in farming in
this vicinity: $96 worth of Bermuda hay from one and a quarter acres;
$60 worth of rust proof oats from one acre; $64 worth of corn from one
acre; 2180 pounds lint cotton (a fine variety) from one acre, sold for
$174.40 and the seed brought $120.
“We have a farmer in this county who twelve years ago was not worth
over $1000 and who now owns unencumbered property worth over $30,000;
made it all farming; has never engaged in any other business.
“The thanks of every Southern man and woman are due you for the service
you are doing them. And every respectable immigrant who is influenced
by you to seek a home anywhere in this State, I know will not live here
long before his obligations to you will be expressed.
“This country and any other will be truly great when the man who pushes
the plow is landlord of the sod he turns.”
Interest in the South Extending.
A real estate and immigration agent in Iowa writes to the SOUTHERN
STATES as follows:
“I have been reading the SOUTHERN STATES, and am deeply interested in
its work. I have been engaged in immigration work myself for thirty
years, and I readily see some of the difficulties in the way of
promoting immigration to the South. These can be readily overcome. With
the use of proper methods, there is nothing in the way of bringing
about a large movement from the Northern States to the South. The
people of the North are finding it a matter of necessity to change
their location, and this matter of moving to the South is of as much
interest to them as it is to the people of the South. The matter
rests largely with the railroad companies. With proper inducements
and co-operation, agents could be gotten to go through the South on
tours of inspection, whose reports on their return would influence
large numbers of families in their communities. They would, of course,
bear their own expenses, but they should have free transportation over
the railroads. Facilities of this sort should, of course, be extended
only to men of standing and reputation and influence at home, whose
favorable report would lead to the removal of numbers of families
in a body. I have taken parties of farmers into the West and the
Northwest. I am in a position to explain to inquirers every feature of
every county, for example, in Kansas and Nebraska. It would be easier
to get them to go South; but I am sure of what information to give
concerning Kansas and Nebraska, while my knowledge of the South is to
some extent limited. I have a great many inquiries about the South. I
am solicited now by a number of the best farmers of Iowa to go South
and look the country over, get a list of lands for sale, prices, terms,
etc., and find out for them what the conditions actually are. There
is great interest in the South, and from all I hear and read it seems
to be infinitely superior as a place for home-seekers to the far West,
but the railroads and others interested have got to be as liberal in
developing and fostering immigration efforts as the Western railroads
have been, in order to bring about any extensive movement of this sort.”
No Hard Times in North Arkansas.
Mr. W. M. Duncan, president of the Citizens Bank, Eureka Springs, Ark.,
writes to the SOUTHERN STATES as follows:
“In this section of Arkansas, commonly spoken of as North Arkansas, by
which is meant the two northern tiers of counties across the State,
the financial condition of the farmers is better than at any time
during the past five years. They are raising increased food supplies,
and yet have very materially decreased their debts and improved their
properties. Very little cotton is grown north of the Boston mountains;
corn, oats, rye and sorghum being the chief cereals, while cattle,
hogs and sheep are raised to great advantage and profit. There has
not been a failure of any crops in the last five years. The outlook
for the farmers this year is very good, and that of itself makes the
general business situation of the towns and cities in this section most
favorable.
“The great financial depression through which the country has recently
passed was felt less in this section of the Southwest than in any
other, from all reports. The reason was, our farmers were all well
stocked with fat marketable hogs and cattle, and were able thereby
to quickly realize on the same and meet the calls on them from their
bankers, made necessary by the foolish alarm from lack of confidence so
generally experienced in all financial institutions.
“Our greatest industry, yet very small, fruit raising (especially
apples), merits the attention of all persons looking for a location
to engage in apple raising. The apples of North Arkansas have taken
the first prizes at New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston and the World’s
Fair. There are several thousand acres of young apple trees which will
bear the first fruit during the coming year, and as many more trees
have been planted during the past two years. Our climate is especially
adapted for this.
“The present status of business with the merchants and general stores
is a great deal better than expected, and by early summer it is
believed the return to the customary good trade will be accomplished.”
A Strong Disposition to Move South.
Mr. G. B. Randolph, of Anniston, Ala., writes to the SOUTHERN STATES
as follows about his observations on recent trip to the Northwest: “I
met many farmers and stock-raisers; also small fruit growers. (The
latter can do but little in that section). I find a strong disposition
among the people there on account of the severe winters and bad roads
to come to a more agreeable climate. This of course is to be expected;
people will naturally gravitate to a country holding out the greatest
inducements. Here we not only have mild winters but our summers are not
as hot as those in Illinois. A case of sunstroke is unheard of in this
State. Our soil is productive and easily tilled. The character of our
soil is red clay and sandy loam, and will produce anything that can be
raised in the temperate zone. A great deal of attention is now being
turned to fruit, vineyard and berry culture. Also we are proving this
to be a fine country for tobacco culture. We have a remarkably healthy
country. A case of lung trouble I never knew of originating here. As an
indication of the attention being paid to this section, will say that
within the past two days I have had inquiries for lands from the States
of New York, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Will be glad to answer any
inquiries from prospective settlers. We have heretofore been greatly
handicapped by excessive railroad rates to prospectors and immigrants;
now I am glad to say the roads are showing a spirit of liberality, and
we now have excursions the eighth of each month. Round-trip tickets for
one fare good for twenty days are being sold by the different lines in
the North for all points in this section.”