Washington telegraph., 1852-01-14
From the Arkansas Wig,
PLAIN TALK.
"srARvATloN, EMIGRATION, OR RAILROADS"

A good surgeon must handle the knife and
seapel with firm, steady, un1iuchng hand =
Let US 90 to ascertain the exact size and depth
of the cancer we wish to cut out.
While corn has been selling, this fall in the
county Of Washington, fifty sixty miles only
from the Arkansas river, at eight cents busheI,
i, has been worth fifty cents at Little Rock, sew
enty-five cents or a dollar along the Southern
road, and much or more Red River: and
pork is from six to eight cents pound.
While -four is selling at SO rs barrel at ST.
Louis it is worth eight or ten dollars Little Rock
aud fifteen dollars at Washington
With great coal field extending westward
from the mouth Of the Petit Jean TO the Indian
line, containing many varieties, one of them as
fne as the very finest brought from Liverpool
convenient of access. close to navigation, easily
raised; it will cost you from thirty-f TO fifty
cents bushel to get it delivered at Little Rock
if indeed with great difficulty you get it de,
Gvered at all.
Cotton sells at FIVE and a half TO six cents
pound farmer in Saline county who raises two
sr three bales, will put it on his wagon. br three
or four days getting to Little Rock, sell his cotton
10 merchant, and carry home as the proceeds,
cotton goods manufactured in Lowell What,
think YOU, is the amount Of tax he pays for trans
pOrtslion
u
laid on foreign goods, in order 10 benefit The home
manufactures, aud thereby Indirectly taxed
But wha, proportion does that tax bear 10 the one
s-li-imposed upon us imposed by our supine azi-
se.s aud utter want of maaly energy in the shape
OF difficulty and delay Of transportation.
Wherever land lies remote from market. and its
products either not be transported there al all,
because the cost wouId be great their value
IL market, OF must be transported over b I'd roads
r., Lana dista st;s r,rfuafu TAR
the land which almost, and sometimes quite, an
initiates its value. Last year. for example, u fair
crop of cotton raised on Red, River. | re-
seived some, that was hauled in wagons 10 Cam
den, at - cents pound, i'll payment of debt.
IL went at once down the OIachta to New Or
leans and part Of it sold at l4 cents, and the
rest a, 1871 cents per pound. But almost all the
eo,teu above the raft had to await rise in Red
River and when it finally got to market j, sold
for about six cents That Was loss OF cents
. pound, or S30a bale, such bales as they
ra.ke on Red River. dc ne: know the number
si bale, made above the raft; but suppose this
loss must have heen incurred ia the Red River
country on at least $4,000 bales. Thst makes
the loss or tax Of transportation, for the suale
y.sr 1850, TO that one section of country. four
luudred and fifty thOusand dollars!
have no idea how mauy bushels OF corn are
raised in the Northwestern counties, that could be
sold. over and above what is wanted for locs con-
sumption. II is certain, l suppose that 100 dUU
bushels could be raised for sale: and l presume
that quantity could be spared this year 1t has
sold for eight and ten cents. IL it had been
brought here it would have sold for fifty cents,
and 40 il would at Memphis. Had th-re been
railroad from Faye,viile, by way of Van Buren and
Little Rock, TO Memphis. the cora would have
sold at the farmers door for at es~t forty cents
| bushel, and paid the Speculation who bought it
q very fair profit besides. That is tax for trans
Of t;r,, 4 ti,o,,s Srd
angle county.
This enormous annual tax is rot Only paid
everything the farmer sendS to market, bat he
pays both ways-on what he buys, well AS what
he sells: and the worst Of 1t is, ths. this is tax
which ben-fi.s nobody, 1t would be some conso-
ls:ou if it fed officeholder, went into
the pocket of northern manufactures. But
when a farmer in Washington county starts to
Van Bnrep with two or three hogsheads Of tobac-
60. to be hauled there with his wagon and mule
team, his loss of time, the wear aud tear of his
wagon and mules is him which goes into
nobody's pocket 10 the world
In this State this is enormous that it eats
sp all the farmers profits, and n.ahes his land val
ueess That is why we SEE deserted farms all
along roads, and lind the people of whole couu
ties of not very rich land, talking Of going to Tex
as. The cost of transportation is great that it
will lot pay to take crops TO market, and conse
quently it will not pay to manure land, and keep
It from wearing out.
Look at what comes to our market here at
Little Rock In the summer, waer-mellons, are
the great staple. 1t is trouble labor TO raise
them or else you would not see week.
Now, wild game, few tnrnips, now and then
bushel of po;otoes, aud little meal, aud
these sold at four times what they ought to cost,
are the staples Of the market. The reason is OBJ
rIous enough. There is market TO induce
farmers 10 engage in raising PROVISIONS our little
mar IL
ceases. Give them Memphis for market, aud
The iron road on which to get there, ane you Will
hnd that in Arkansas well as any where else.
meu will cultivate the ground skfuy. manure il
we'll, and raise provisions in abundance. whenever
they can put money in their pockets BY doing
III any of our present citizens will not, Others Wi
come in who will, aud shove them out OF their
places -rEe
See what has been the consequence of this
state of things. | have been in Arkansas nine
teen years. During that whole time have
travelled but road. The whole productions of
the State have never been enough aud are not
enough now, TO feed and ciothe her. Merchants
have gone to the east bought large stocks of goods
on credit, and come home and sold them out on
credit collecte1 little or nothing failed and their
eastern creditors borne the loss. Ii man will
60 through the old books of Pitcher g. Walters,
Richard C. Byrd, James De Baum, and othe rs
who have done business at Little Rock and Of
The merchants Who sold goods at Van Buren,. at
fine Bluffs, at Washington ten and fifteen years
ago. he will find how ma jority of the people of
Arkansas have been clothed aud fed. Pitcher Il
Walters, for example. fed the people Of Pulaski
and The adjoining counties. to the tune Of a hun
dred thousand dollars that was never paid AT
least as much is due Richard c. Byrd. l should
suppose that the unpaid accounts, contracted with
Litlie Rock merchants during the last eightee u
years. would amour: to considerably over half a
million dollars
And the same process has gone On throughout
Inc State. Men who have nothing in the world
Oot hteen or twenty acres in corn, pony or txo,
a'ew hogs and = coz % two, would run to q store,