The Van Buren press., 1867-08-09
CRAWFORD COUNTY.

be because lin MY opinlon) questions oil
paramount consideration demand it, and
those whom / would wish to do so, have
failed
The stale maxim that self preserva-
ton is the first law of nature seems to
require that We as. I. community should
be assiduously engaged. And the i'm
portant question which addresses itself
to us first is, what most concerns us as a
communityi If this question was adj
dressed to the whole South its intricasy
and magnitude would involve more than
your humble correspondent has capacity
to solve, and believing the holy writ
which teaches that sufficient unto the
day is the evil thereof we propose only
to consider what lies Immediately in the
path of duty, before us as community,
and if possible to treat the subject prac.
tically, and with utility, / propose to
first negative the proposition by saying
that as the present phase of political af-
fairs is one Of exceeding moment and in
wolves interests and principles, the con-
sideration of which is very embarrassing
and to understand which, would prove
like pretended metaphysical analasys of
the Divinity, or the soul of man, most
Improbable and abortive. And Mr.. Ed
tor the great Sanhedrim at Washington
in their psuedo wisdom having detcrmin-
ed, that no man who had held any office
previous to 1861 in the South, and
who possessed the manhood requisite to
assert the rights of the South, should
either hold office or vote. Our self re-
spcct combined with our duties as patriots
and citizens, all require that we entirely
abstain from political discussion, and
this we would urge upon all, that as We
are not permitted to do anything at all
in political way, except in conformity
to the will Of a majority of Congress,
who are to review and sit in judgment
upon all of our acts and saying, after
completed now it does not seem that we
can at least save our self-respect, our
honor and manhood by letting them just
fix the thing up themselves. And as it
requires all the faculties of the mind to
see and understand what is necessary to
our well being, let us withdraw from this
confusion and we can probably fathom
what our other varied interests are
Then the question arises at once and
addresses itself to all of us with force,
what should we do, and upon this point
| probably differ from many of your
readers. But as write more for the pur-
pose Of awakening enquiry and enlisting
ADLER pens, than to give my own views, if
l can provoke those competent to the
task, to take up, carry on and elaborate
the subject, then l shall with pleasure re-
sign the task. But will now proceed to
give suggestion as to what in my opin.
ion would most promote the interests OF
this community, considering our fnan.
ces, etc. In my judgment Joint Stock
Company could, with little capital tc
start with, erect cotton factory at some
suitable point in this county with capacity
to manufacture at least all the cottor
produce in the county. This would al
once save to the community not only the
per cent United States tax as paid last
season, but the other 81 cents paid upon
each pound of cotton ere you can realize
it's value in market, in the shape of freight
commission, insurance, etc, which single
item in the aggregate, taking one thous-
and bales as the total number for the
current amounts to 9,250-00, which
sum would be used in our midst. But
the argument does not stop here, for this
money is usually reinvested in the East
or North, and the cotton factor makes his
per cent off of us, the manufacturer his,
and the merchants begin and all who
handle your goods from Boston to Van
Buren, must be paid for touching them.
Now to tell just how much would be saved
in this way by judicious management, is
a little difficult, but we will suppose there
are 5000 persons in the county who will
consume $40 worth per annum each, and
we will assume that the manufacturer
makes for his profits the same as.the Van
Buren merchants, and the jobber the
same, and the wholesale merchant the
same, and we will then assume that each
makes not less than 334 per cent, and We
get the handsome little sum of eighty
thousand (sS0,000) dollars saved to the
community. We will be asked if such an
enterprise could be started. | think that
q capital Of $50 to S35, 900 would be suf-
licent to start such mandatory to oper-
ating, while ten thousand would be suf-
ficent to begin the work and for some
time to carry it on. And if a sufficient
sum can be obtained for the purpose it
would cost but little additional capital to
add to the cotton factory material, etc,
for the manufactory of shoes, boots, hats,
ETC., when the law of exchange and barter
could be established, and the people and
stockholders would be materially bene.
fited. Much more could be said on this
subject but the limits of this letter forbid,
and other suggestions which call for at-
tention and consideration must be defer
red. Yours In the bonds Of
TRUE INTEREST.
Philip D'0rleans Makes and Unmakes a
Governor