The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-07-11

Immigration--!The CroakerD and 70.
gies Pitched into. ser
Correspondence Of the Chicago Daily Press. D

Immigration--.The Croakers and Fo-
giles Pitched into.
Correspondence Of the Chicago Daily Press.
yoRr ATKINSON, Northern Iowa, June 20.
A trip from Chicago to the Mississippi,
and visit to the principal towns on that nor
Bile river, between Burlington and Prairie
| du Chien, with an occasional inland explora-
ton of the interior Of this rich valley, enable
one to form some idea Of the general pros
poets of an important portion of the western
country and it is safe to safe that at no time
has better state of things existed than at
the present moment-the unfounded and
sneering squibs of eastern fogies and your
neighbor, the Chicago Tribune, to the contra
ry notwithstanding. The unfavorable and
discouraging paragraphs that 60 the rounds
of portion of the press in relation to the
Western aud Northwestern States and Terri!
tories will not be sufficient to check the tide
Of immigration into these profitable fields
| from the older Statec. The best brain and
muscle of the East continues to pour into
the inviting and remunerative West. The
towns on either bank of the Mississippi give
unmistakable evidence of q wholesome, health
full, substantial prosperity and are steadily
advancing in population and wealth. Daven1
port, Dubuque, and the new city of Clinton,
are conspiciously prosperous Let croakers
who attempt to discharge western enterprises,
point out the precise locality that is dimin-
lshing its influence and Importance, or becom-
ing faint and puny or in any manner manifes-
ting weakness in the knees, and they shall be
entitled to further hearing.
Those who came from the eastern cities
with handful Of land-warrants us their cap
ital, and q valise containing shirt collar and
piece of chalk as their baggage, and travel
ny lightning express trains /" through by
lamp-light,' expecting. to get lands worth
from $40 to $50 per acre, and to return home
Sin few days" with their fortunes made, are
| surprised to find, that, instead of being
f"some pumpkins" they are only "small DO
tatoes, and that western people would rather
see one cotton. .top-wagon" filed with bone
and sinew, than drove of greedy sharks,
| who have neither the inclination nor the abil-
ity to contribute to, or in any practical man
ner augment the public wealth, or develop
the natural resources of the country. Those
who have the patience, industry, ability and
energy to grapple with the stern facts of.
western life, are literally rewarded. The,
agricultural class enjoys prosperity to the
fullest extent OF that word. Farming lands
are steadily advancing in value. The chief
items of capital, ON which the enterprises of
of the West have been based, are labor and
talent, while eastern capital consists chiefly
OF money. The diversion of cash capital
from the old channels of Eastern trade, into
the more inviting and profitable investments
ic IN, nd hat s~
the spot where the shoe pinches. In the
name OF reason and common sense, what
can justify the farmers Of New England, New
| tivating lands worth from 800 to $500 per
acre, when western lands of superior fertil-
ty and greater productiveness can be procured
at tenth of their cost?
A comparison of the average crops, mark
ct prices. and profits in the East and West
respectively, will, in connection with the cap
itaf invested in each, clearly establishing the
preponderating advantage of the Western
farmer And as the agricultural interest is
the chief cornerstone in the social, CONNER
cial and political fabric. and all other inte
rests are necessarily Unidentified with it's pros
perity. The tide of emigration this season
seems to be tending strongly towards Kansas,
and consequently there are not so many per-
sons ascending the Mississippi this spring as
there was year ago. The class Of people
that are coming into the Northwest appears
to be more "wel! to do-sort of folk than
have generally arrived. The crowds of peo-
pie, with all the appliances and implements
for successful farming, that daily cross the
Mississippi at the various ferries along the
river, suggest the idea that many persons
have not read the disparaging remarks of the
aforesaid croakers about Western misery. or
that those friendly (?) admonitions have
been unheeded.
AS to the crops, the farmers generally
along the Valley of the Mississippi feel en-
cOuraged about their wheat and, and ordina-
ry crops with the exception of corn, which
has required in many instances replanting,
but even now appears to be doing better than
was expected during the unusually late plan
ting season.
Chicago is as intimately identified with the
prosperity of the entire Northwest, as she is
with any portion of the great breadth of
country that naturally pays tribute to her
commerce.
The enterprising city of Milwaukee has
reached out her vigorous arms to embrace the
trade of the Northwest, and she will have no
cause to regret having constructed the rail-
way to the Mississippi. Chicago cannot be
injured, but on the contrary, must be benefit
ed by it. The arrangements for passengers
and freight between Prairie du Chen, Mil
waukee and Chicago appear to be exceeding
" judcious. There is plenty of work for
both of you, and together you can absorb
large proportion Of the trade of the North
west. The establishment of such an impor-
tant additional avenue of communication be-
tween the Valley of the Upper Mississippi
and Lake Michigan as the Milwaukee and
Mississippi Railroad, in conjunction with the
Chicago and Janesville Railroad, will do much
to intercept the Northwestern trade, and
conduct it to tho seaboard over Northern rail-
ways and canals, and prevent that trade from
being tributary to St. Louis and New Or
leans
That line of railroad, however, is incom-
plete without an extension westward through
the rich agricultural districts of Northern
Iowa and Southern Minnesota. No stock
holder of that or any connecting railway
could ever visit the fertile and we'll cultivated
valleys of the Cedar and Turkey Rivers, for
one hundred miles west Of the Mississippi
without being persuaded of the fact that the
commerce Of beth Chicago and Milwaukee
would not be fully developed without direct
communication with thia increasingly impor-
tant agricultural district.
Chicago Galena and Dubuque can reach
this trade, but Milwaukee and Chicago can
also do the same. It remains for Chicago
and her commercial allies to determine at what
point on the Mississippi it is most expedient
and desirable to conduct that growing trade
of Northern Iowa and Southern Minneso-
ia.
Truly yours, CArpEwA.