The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-03-13


Commercial LIu1deTs.
Has New Orleans taken g bond of fate y in assur
ancc Of continued commercial prosperity? If not
why is she SO wanting in that enlarged and liberia
spirit of progress which makes towns grow as by en-
chantmcnt? We can only account for her supinenes
by supDosing that her old business men, grown ricl
By trade and the enhancement of property, have los
all pride of place. and seshy left the future to neg
Cleaners as the old miners leave the exhausted place
believe New Orleans must Advance or retroeade. Sb
cannot always be just what she is to-day. If she con
tests the palm for commercial supremacy with grudg
ing, selfish hands, her young neighbor down the Gul
VII, win the prize Galveston only wants what New
Orleans has got-captal-to outstrip her older com
peer in ten years. Galveston and Houston are bot
filling up with class ofkeen, energetic business men
and it belrooves New Orleans not to scorn them in TIN
lottery OF commerce.y
One Of the largest af1uentS OF wealth which has
helped to brim the commercial prosperity of New Or
leans, has been tie Red River Valley VIII it al
ways be so? Look at this glazing fact More HaN
one huadrcl and ftty steom5oats-of value sufficient
to buida railroad from New Orleans to Shreveport
lie Iottin5 in the Red Rycr and New Orleans has not
yet been able shake the dollars from Der closed eyes
sufficiently to see the immense commercial value Of a
direct rail line to the head Of Red River navigation
Since the close Of tie navigation las Seen unpre
ccGeuttd!v disastrous; many as five boats week
Lave been lost, and lone estimate the loss at less than
fifty boats. What must lie the result Of this: Nothing
less tIan freight a1 hch viii greatly discourage,
il not rretlievaby ruin, tic rodHct Of the great sta
PIE in tie hardiit Of which New Otlcars is largely
Interested 1t will contribute largely to isolate our
agricultural interests until speedy and cheap
! poIt&tion is furnished.
| Should the Federal Government, measure Of
prevention Of coast ovcrows choose to assist the Red
River in f~diug its outlet through the Atchafaaya,
{ mere it is gradually deepening channel Of its own
foycc.) whore should find market for cotton? Our
sole relief mu5tthcn lie in railway out!vt.
That the great airline road from St. Louis t. Gal
weston, ty Houston, will lie Lult is one Of those
problems of progress certain Of successful soluon4
as any prc?oltcd by commerce. 1t is a commercial
necessity 1t is demanded by the growing manufac-
tories OF the Northwest and is equally essential in fur
ili>hi'g reliable transportation Of the products of the
richest portions Of three great States 1t would not
only enable tie manufacturers Of the West to di>ri-
butte their steam engines agricultural tools, etc, over
the immense country it passed through, but would
give thtm advantageous outlet at Galveston to all
tie Central and South American ports. ShrcgeDort
IS On that oirLtme Let the Young giant Of the West
81 Louis, stretch out his &rns to the blooming CITY
Of the Bay and we will join their hands here and bless
the union, too! Don't talk Of old tics The ties of
commerce must be iron iies-not a watercoursc that
swclS into lakes here narrows to canal-wdh there
Drowning men catch at straws, and cities are dosh
indeed that do not catch at prosperity
THAT COTToN FACToRY-How is that cotton factory
coming GU? Is it to be brick fabric or fabric Of
the vision? We trust it will rise from the ground and
become vocal with the bcelAo hum of industry, and
that speedily
We 1uiied to remark upon one or two points in th,
published estimates, which struck Us at the time as
open to criticism. If *Iere is any andholder adioD
ing Shreveport with mind so narrow and crasDinc as
to withhold free ttc-deed to the land essential fer
a factory, he ought to be
Plunged in pit Of dark despair
Without cotton shirt to wear"
Why, your hberal-mnded man would see in a tv ink
ling that by giving say acres Of lis land he would
thus raise the remainder to more than the value Of tbo
whole. Nor that alone. Factories have sort Of hu
man instinct. They don't like to he alone Plant
one, ana 1t turns raw cotton into substitute for fa
leaves SO rapidly that help mate becomes at once cs
senl"l. Then, boarding houses grow, and with an
other factory more boa1dlng-louses become indispens
able Then there must be grocery, and ere one is
aware, viIIage is built All the time the land Of vorr
0''a' man mas been disappearing by lots till perhaps
out single corner lot or two remains, which, like the
asst lost leaves Of the SYPHILIS book, have become Of
more value than tie WHOLE
And then $500 for procuring opcratiyes1 Whv
IRE there no poor people in this region who could
'oud or should work? Are all so rich at the end
Il the war as to be aole to do without working? .
: mere are all the orphans and wives Of our "unrc-
urinng brave sOdiers? Are they to be battlel0orcd
et"c"n poverty and temptation, when the means of
Independence lies before them? Must it be admitted
hat for all skilled labor we must still send abroad
lille we depend Oh freedmen for the rorchcr ayoca
ions? We trust not. If this policy is pursued the
ncS''oh OF the extinction CT the negro will have
IS conGcherlc topic. No. Let the policy be to in :
urc all who need the fruits of labor TO plant As well
S reap II the stimuant Of compensation fails, try
be gentle forces of persuasion and want. Say, Here
money-o few drops Of sweat from your brow will :
ccnre it; or, Here is gold, mine it out, and not Iool,
Or gold in other peoples Golfers.
But, gentlemen, Start the factory. Begin it, Get
very CELLAR you can, and put into it. Encrcise the
lt4vdual colltr-mass the whole and mobilisc then,
l.! their united Efforts raise the first factory in Sbreye
ort When the factory is ready, few experienced :
icr2tl7cs from abroad will soon teach the raw re-
u2, and the hum of the machinery itself will anon
nAe the fire Of energy IN every worker People ,
ant be lazy amid machinery.
Mr.. James E. Phelps, for many years at the head Of
lat Old and reliable house, Phelps s Co., having n
ltAdra"n from that firm, opened house for the
he Of Western prolucc.on commission Mr. Phelps
ng experience in the grocery business, and bis ex Q
nsVe acquaintance with the merchants of the West
YES lin unsurpassed facilities for furnishing our a
antcrs with supplies at low rates We like to see Il
en- Of this stamp take hold Of the business as it is
1arantce that We will not have to pay exorbitant d
ices for provisions, large amount of which will be
scded here this summer t
Mr. PIelDS Is MISC AGENT fnr 49, n