Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1866-07-23
LETTER FROM NEMpHIs, TENN.
Correspondence Of the Alexandria Gazette
MEMPHIS, Tenn, July 10Th, 1866.

| MEMPHIS, lem, July 19lu, LOW
The reception of the GAZETTE reminds me OF
my promise to drop you IA line OCCASIONALLY
which promise now propose to make good
The appearance of the Gazettce IS indeed as a
familiar face in strange land, and Eshouid
like to receive it more regularly, but the mails,
| like the times, are sadly out Of joint, and your
subscribers here do not get more than one out
| of every four Or FIVE papers sent. Why IS TINS
The Richmond and Fredericksburg papers, and
that brilliant little sheet, the Charlottesville
Chronicle, reach their destination promptly ana
regularly This is the old complainant evil
we are unable to rcmedy-but which IS very
injurious to US.
| have now been here about three weeks, and
am prepared to tell you something OF the great
city Of Memphis. / say great lor she Is
emphaicaIly great, SO far as material prospect
ty constitutes metropolitan greatness. can
| scarcely venture, without the fear Of beng dis
credited, to tell one who is unfamiliar with the
magical growth of western cities, how rapidly
Memphis is progressing in commerce, and IN
population; but might tell enough to excitein-
credulity, and then be able to say did Sheba $
Queen, amid the glories of Solomon's Court,
'thc half has not been told" Seeing is be-
lieying,' however, and if you were here you
would no longer doubt the truth Of all you have
heard in relation to the prosperity Of Memphis;
on every side the most substantial evidences OF
the fact are to be seen. The ring Of the troW-
ell, and the busy clatter of the mechanic ham
mer is heard from early dawn to deWy eve,
and the effect is manifest in the large number
of MAGNIFICENT structures that are being erected
on every street. tits estimated that five thou
sand houses, of all kinds, will be built in Mcni-
phis within the next twelve months, and even
this estimate would be exceeded but for the
scarcity of mechanics. Money is abundant but
labor scarce. Carpenters and brick-layers arc
in great demand at IS Or 50 per day.
But notwithstanding the rapid provision OF
| ''house room the supply is not equal to the
demand, and rents are fabulousy high. A
first class store cannot be rented for less than
So, GOO or 81, 900 annually, and ordinary dwell
liDgs on the suburbs, are in great request at
from 500 to 5000 per month. There are but
few sales Of property in the city at this time,
but that which is sold commands New Y ork
and London prices. Unimproved lots in the
heart OF the city, with . depth Of sixty or
eighty feet sell readily for 81 900 0: So 900 per
front foot according to location. -
These rates may appear frightiUl to our
Virginia friends, who are so afflicted with that
inconvcnient maledy known, in the noDcncla.
ture of the 'Ferrets, as 'impecuniosity, > but
they must remember that all other charges arc
proportionate]y high, and the amount Of busl-
ness done justifos the seeming extravgancc Of
these rates. as is fully demonstrated BY the IA
pidity with which fortunes are accumulated.
Energy and industry ia any business here will
be surely and speedily rewarded with abundant
success and any young man who desires to
court the tickle goddess fortune. may DO so
without the usual apprehension Of being 'fIirt-
ed with"
The growth and prosperity C! Memphis, TOR
the last quarter Of a century has indeed been
wonderful. Statistics show that while St.
Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati have increased
at the rate Of one hundred per cent, IN the last
decade, Memphis has increased threc ta7adred.
During the war her prosperity was somewhat
retarded, but since the establishment Of the So
called ''peace" she has received an impetus
that promises to surpass al her former strides.
The source Of this prosperity is obvious. In
addition to the vast commercial advantages OF
the Mississippi river, Memphis has four rail
| roads (and others in course Of construction Or
| contemplation embracing within their iron arms
over two hundred miles, in every djrcctionr OF
territory, the most fertile in the world, and
tributary only to this city a single glance at
| the nap will show that she has not, and can
not have successful rival for this lucrative
trade, which must, ere long, make her the
| Queen City among her giant contemporaries Of
the South and West.
We have recently had abundant rains which
have greatly enhanced agricultural prospects.
1t is estimated that at least thrce-fourthS Of a
crop Of wheat will be gathered, and the reports
from the cotton crop begin to be more favora-
| bic; good yield is expected. The cane crop
in Louisiana it is said, promises better than
| any other branch Of productive industry; and
the probable yield will run as high as fifty thou
sand hogsheads.
Planters generally give favorable report Of
the disposition Of the freedmen to labor and Of
their general behavior, though there are many
vicious ones who make bad use of their freedom,
and are great source of annoyance to well dis
posed people, Many Of them lounge about
from day to day, in the most llstless idle
ness, and live by eleemosynary contributions:
or by plumber. These are, [ fear in too many
instances, the special wards, Of the Freed
| mems Bureau.