The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-04-08
Kentucky correspondence.
The f., III. & n. RailrOad-The Pros.
poets of the Wheat, Tobacco, ana
Fruit CrOps-COngressi0nal DeDate
between Brown and Rlttef-hc'
marks by John Feland, Esq.
HopKINsvILLE, KENTUCKY,
April 1st, 1867.

The session Vi lHo OPAAnS A
of our Circuit Court has prevented
an earlier statement from me as to the
prospect of success of the Evansville,
Henderson, and Nashville Railroad
enterprise in our county.
For about twenty years our people
have talked of Railroad, but the
abandonment of work on the road
about two years before the war almost
crushed hope on the subject. Yet
when the sale, by the Commissioner,
of the old road. road-bed, &C., was, at
an early day of the term, confirmed
BY the Court, and General j. T. Boyle
was announced as President of the
new organization, confidence greatly
revived = U axs
These things, taken in connection
with the lively interest manifested in
the road by your City, Henderson,
and other points, have aroused the
long dormant interest of our people
in the project, and petitions are being
rapidly signed, asking the County
Court to subscribe 100000 to it.
The blighting influence of slavery
on enterprise and public spirit being
removed, we find great many of our
citizens taking an earnest interest in
this matter, who formerly opposed a
railroad tax, and who were contented
with ringers and mules, as means
of transportation both for person and
produce. I think a better day is
dawning.
The winter here has been the
hardest and most disagreeable, in
many respects, ever known to us,
and farmers are mournful over the
prospect of crop, or rather the lack
of prospect. Few plant-beds for
tobacco have been burned, and this
ought to have been done in January
or February; nor have farmers been
able to do blowing. Wheat is the
only thing that seems to promise
much; that is fine indeed; but the
drawback here is that but little of it
was sown.
Those who pretend to know say the
fruit is all killed; but as they almost
Invariably say this every season. your + !
correspondent still cherishes some
hope Of reveling in the delicious
juices of the peach and apple.
Messrs. Ritter and Brown have had
their opening discussion here to-day
Each made two speeches, and each,
of course, appealed to the people for
votes. Neither of them, however,
based that appeal upon any expressed
love of the Union, nor upon soul
stirring sentiments of patriotism. L
heard no love for the Union, nor rev.
erence for her traditions avowed. The
flag ofou country was not described
as entitled to any love or veneration,
nor yet was there any denunciation of
treason or rebellion. No; both gen.
tlemen evidently expected to win ia
vor, the one for his known sympathy
with the South during the war, the
other for what he had done for
traitors since their return, in secur-
ing enfranchisement and pardon for
them. I thought there was a good
opening for reply from a Union man.
Mr.. Brown, amid thewildest applause,
,avowed the authorship of the shoot
downs nion-men-who-volunteerplet-
ter, and yet, said he could take the
iron-clad oath" OF course. he can
take At; what rebel is it who can't?
During the applause, a prominent
Conservative remarked that he was
almost persuaded to believe Kentucky
ought to be reconstructed.
tiAfter the two gentlemen had made
their first speeches, John Feland,
Esq, made some remarks, in which
was announced the failure of the at
tempt to have Radical Convention
at Calhoun. He expressed the senti-
ment of the Radical party here, when
he said he greatly enjoyed the scene
we had just witnessed, and the wool
ing" the gentlemen were giving each
other, and that it convinced him not
only that neither of the gentlemen
would make us proper representatives,
but that there was the greater neces-
sity for Radical candidate; but he
said as the Calhoun meeting had failed