The Hickman courier., 1868-12-12
- the Hiekn.an Courler.
Town TaIk.

Mr.. EDITOR - was much PLEASED
with your article of last week under the
above heading, and while itspeaks plain
ly of some matters, it does not strike a
the root, or causes which operate agaiuS
our town.
Faction or personal feeling and inter
est are the causes which A1ralyze the
prosperity of our town, a,S4while that
continues either in her corporate capaci-
~, or amongst her citizens, the town
never can prosper. Hy policy, n,y ob-
jects and Dly interest, while it holds sway
viii ever retard the general Improvement
and interest OF the place. Rash, incon-
riderate and hasty action on the part Of
! arg leads to disastrous consequences and
fatal results Your contrast of Hick
man aud Paducah furnishes evidence Of
! the truth of heabove propositions. The
/ legislation of Paducah has been Of that
character which has fostered and encour-
aged the good will of all her citizens,
instead Of melting disputes, law suits
and Illuminating bulls in regard to cor
porate affairs The citizens there, al
| though there are conflicting interests,
subsidies them to the general good, ana
seal their lips to condemnation if they
can not heartily approve They do not,
like the dog il the manger, neither eat
the hay nor let any thing else ca. it.
They build churches, and then are not
so bigoted and proscriptiye rs 10 refuse
the use Of them to those who may un-
fortunately differ with them upon reli
gious views. They maintain system
Of public schools, giving TO the humble
and poor the means Of education. In
fine, they act In concert in matters of
general and public character, trusting
that the incidental benefits viii fully
compensate them for all efforts.
The trade and business Of our town Is
declining, and all from the want Of lib
eral. public spirit Why Is it that we
have not over half Of the business from .
our Railroad that we had year ago. Il
mean local business let those answer .
who put themselves in antagonism with .
three lourths Of the stockholders along I
the line of the road from here to Nash .
vile. | am informed that freight Is
carried from Mckenzie to Nashville at
about the same it is brought from Nc +
kenzie TO this place. Why these dis
against Hickman? Why
were hundreds Of dollars spent by ours
'city fathers" in defending suits this
year2 Why was the Wharfage of the
city appropriated for years in advance
" hy was our common school system,
and a tax for the support Of the same
lbandOned? ? Why was our Seminary
suffered and permitted to IansuiSh and
lie, and not man be found who would
yive it helping hand Let the apathy,
and the hasty and inconsider :
tie action of our people answer.
1t is not. Mr.. Editor, the fault Of the
property holders. so much as it is the
ault of others, who give tone and course
o these matters. The property holders '
re few, and they are in the power of 5
thers in regard to these public matters, Y
et we see no effort made TO accomplish t
ny great and laudable objects. The .
nan who has done most for our town, (
he most public spirited citizen and one
f the largest property holders,-I mean
0. keith-is now poor, and many Of
hose who made their thousands out of
ne labor, energy and public spirit Of 2
nat man, would refuse him, doubtless, '
redit for plug Of tobacco, and chuckle il
} think what fool he wae. labor and &
Ill for their advancement n
| regret to say there is~too much Of Ii
lat spirit in Hickman, and never ~. d
lie succeed or prosper till a chaDge p,
rought in her public mind. Schem<a
q, cunning. wire working and design ~
g men are an incubus upon any place. sa
Iiques, factions and partisans make
lad iocl xvhara,-ar fauud Sb clocEe
I'd shysters are a fungus growth, but q,
rial, it will not support its own weight, -
1t must fall, and when fallen no one ~
i'll mourn its departure. Q. -