The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-06-16
LOUISVILLE KY: SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 1919

}. population rs nearly Tie same win mat 7
. Virginia. built 324 brick houses in III
!, year. Virginia built 4O2, or nearly OF
n fourth more. Massachusetts built 124
. wooden houses; Virginia 2604, or moi
y than double. The cost OF the houses
: Massachusetts was $2,767,1S4 in vi
. ginia only 1867, $685.
From the greater number and less co..
: Of the Virginia houses, Mr., Fisher inlers
, greater diffusion of comfort in the "Ol
, Dominion" than in the 'Old Bay State
Now let any man conside; these facts
I moment. The brick houses were nearl
all built in cities and towns, and coul'
scarcely have cost less than $4,000 each
Deduct their cost at this late from the who'll
cost. and the average cost of the woodeI
houses was in Massachusetts, $500 and il
Virginia s 1856. Now make allowance 70
genteel frame houses in each State, aud th'
houses Of Massachusetts may be all Of Thu
description even il We underated the cos
OF hel brick houses but the wooden house,
of Virginia must be generally so mean, as
to indicate ride diffusion of poverty ana
discomfort in Mr.. Fishers 'rlchest com
munily in the world"
And this indication of the census con
forms exactly to the fact, as observed by
every traveller in the two States. In the
cities of Massachusetts, the houses are most.
! y OF brick but the village and country
houses are nearly all remarkably neat,
painted, frame buildings, which look to a
Virginianis eye, as if they were all new
so clean and tidy are they and every thing
about them.
But in our dear native land, so fruitful
in slaves-what Notifying contrast
About the outskirts of towns, in most of the
small villages, and through the older parts
Of the country, we see scattered here and
there few elegant mansions, surrounded
often in old Virginia with 20 OF 30 shabb,
suuc,ures-and in the old felds-in the
rocks and corners Of the whole land-we
see thousands OF that Southern sort Of dwell.
ing house, almost unknown in Massachu-
seIts-populsrly called the log cabiR.-
Great numbers Of them are composed Of
dirt floors, low wooden chimneys, clspboard
roofs with press poles instead Of nails;
wslls of round logs, the cracks open or
daubed with mud; no window; one door
Of clspboards, without nails, lock or metal
hinges; the dimensions Of the whole, those
of respectable pigsty; and the whole
looking, some years after its construction,
as il it had been smoked for century in
Puto's OZARK dominion"
Now we imagine that we hear Mr.. Fish
CT eXclsining ndignanily-"Why, friend,
thou art describing the inferior sort Of ne.
gro houses!"-"Well, friend Fisher, ere
not houses houses, even when negroes in
habit theml Now thou shouldst know that
many such dwellings there be throughout
the land of Virginia; and II thou wilt
count houses instead Of UaluiRg them as
evidence Of prosperity and comfort, thou
must allow us to describe them, as evidence
to the contrary" "WeII but, friend re-.
viewer, did not consider the negroes as
people. bu. only as slaves, mere black cat.
tie, walking on TWO legs instead of four
Then at least, friend Fisher, thou shouldst
the people, to prove the diffusion Of human
comfort. Now we will for once be so
unreasonable as to humor thee in this thy
notion, bred in the pestlent rice swamps Of
the Disunionists, that white people only
are human, constituting The whole people,
and the sole people worthy Of being CON-
Portable. Knowest thou not that in Viz.
GINA about half the people-the genuine
stuff. the rural hOusehOlders, whom thou
didst compare with the New lorkers-do
also dwell in log cabins, or something
equivalent?
Truly, these cabins are divers in size
and quality: the floors are, some of dirt,
some Of ptslcheo1as (hewn slabs some OF
rough plank, some OF smooth and so these
differ 10 other respects. some
have window, some have none some are
spacious, tight and clean; some are con-
tracted open dens, defled with nastiness.
But as thou art said to be ViTginian, thou
knowest all these things. We will there
fore leave these unpaIarable descriptions,
and close our dialogue BY giving thee
statistical bone to gnaw."
'lt eppeareth that 1889 was dull year
for building in Massachusetts,. BY refer
ence to the American Almanac for 1916,
page 2t3, thou nlayest find, that in 1S45,
there were built in the city Of Boston
alone, no fewer than 1925 houses, OF which
9O7 were Of brick. Now as thou art a
skiIful statistical arithneiician, may hap
tho1 canst cyPher out the whole number
and value Of those built that year in the
State OF Massachusetts, and compare the
same with the new buildings erected in
Virginia. Here endeth our dialogue"
Is it not strange that Mr.. Fisher should
pretend that Virginia exceeded Ohio in new
ia 1899, when Ohio built 970l
brick and 2764 wooden houses, at the cost
Of S3,776, 1898, nearly three times the cost
Of the Virginia buildings? And he will
have even Kentucky 10 have beaten Ohio,
because she built half as many brick |
houses and came only 1907 short Of Ohio
in wooden houses. What a reasoner
He that can draw evidence Of Southern
superiority out of such facts, could argue
blood out OF stone.
Lastly, he endeavors to make an argu-
ment out Of the quantity and sorts Of food
raised in Virginia, to show that Virginians
live better than Ohioans and New Workers.
Ten years ago, Virginia and Ohio had
about the same number Of hogs; Virginia
,te up all hsr own hogs and more too, but
Ohio exported part of hers. Well what
s Mr.. Fishers inference why, that