The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-03-31

Ohio respectively. Having done this I
! his own satisfaction, he cries out eureka
and bids the nation stand agape at oemoI
strated fact, which it has been so long lei
Tor his wisdom alone 10 discover.
| i; is really wonderful that a man VIII,
writes so smoothly and proves that he i
competent not onl y TO simple addition, bu
even TO understand the rule of proportion
has not been able himself to see the uttel
fallacy OF this idea; for the same mode o.
reasoning equally proves that Louisville ia
much more prosperous city than Cincin.
matt, that Lexington is vastly more prosper.
Gus than either of them, and any dilapida-
ted. decayed village, whose citizens have
not the energy to keep their houses from
leaking, is stdl more prosperous than Lex
lngion. provided the number OF villagers is
very small. How much more prosperous
would Kentucky be IL she had no inhabi.
tanis al all except the few who dwell in
some twelve or fifteen Of her richest coun-
ties; and still more so If she had only some
dozen citizens. provided il could be proved
that each Of them was worth fifty thousand
dollars! According to this argument, a
States prosperity is Just in proportion to
her approximation to the Kentuekian's
definition of trifiing fellow-that is, the
little end Of nothing whitfield down to
point,
In young, growing State like Ohio, Of
sparse population. and not afflicted with
pauperism, the small average wealth of
each citizen, so far from indicating want
of prosperity in the State. strongly TENDS to
prove the reverse. Ii tends TO prove the
presence Of a large amount Of laboring
who have but little properly,
and labor for wages. Constant demand
for large amount Of well-paid laborers is
the very highest evidence Of States pros
perity, and it is in precisely such State
that poor laboring men most largely con-
gregate and thereby reduce the average of
wealth.
If any single fact could be selected, as
best afiording the means Of testing the rela- |
tive prosperity of two such States as Ohio |
and Kentucky. it would be the average
value Of their lands. Statistics show that |
The average value of land in Ohio is nearly |
double what it is in Kentucky; with this
great difference, too, in favor OF Ohio, that |
here land is profitable mode of invest
ment for both money and labor-that is.
the man who purchases and improves land
in Ohio can readily sell it for the money
il cost and the value Of the labor he has ex-
pended in its improvement; whereas in
out Of the few richer counties,
improved land will not sell for what il cost
10 clear and improve it, il the labor ex-
pended he estimated at fair wages. L, is
true that in those sections Of the State our
people are every year opening new farms,
but it is because they have nothing else
upon which to expend their labor, and,
hough the farm when cleared and i'm
proved is but Of little money value, yet il
affords the occupant subsistence. But
the only true mode Of testing the relative
of two such States is by ascer.
iaining what, in a period Of years, has
been the growth Of each in population, ag-
yregate wealth. commerce, and manufac-
lures. In each of these particulars. Ohio
has gone far ahead of Kentucky. as every
,ne knows, and is rapidly making the dis
and the contrast every day still
greater. -aaaf FTts rr
Having thus Whitfield down to nothing
he big end OF "friend" Fishers bulky
the smaller end may be left to
he tender mercies of those who have the
eisure to amuse themselves by quizzing
lin and his magnificent pretensions to su-
,erior wisdom. JEFFERSON.