Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-04-23
From the Providence Journal.
THE SOUTH.
Increasing Prosperity of the People OF the
south culture, Business and Manu-



TO the Statesman, she capitalist and the
Iaboring taxpayer, the early resuscitatlon
of the industry of the SoEth is important.
Our country, our whole country, demands
on political grounds, as well as for financial
ftosperity. that peace and plenty should
,reyail We welcome, therefore, every IN
lication shat the people of the South are
inclined to adopt and practice those means
which can alone advance in a community
permanent progress. One Of these lndlca-
tions we have found in the recent gather
ing at Atlanta, Georgia, of the representa-
tives of the Southern railroads, and the
policy there inaugurated. The object was,
by a reduction of fares to those intending
immigration, and of fares and freight in
favor Of actual settlers, to induce an influx
If population and property The numer-
n, = letters also sent 10 the Northern pa
uers expatiating upon the resources of the
Toriore Southern States and the kindly
,1;a,,0sitio,, of their inhabitants, tend to
sfren~tbon re belief that the Southern
ors lave raaIlv and heartily turned their
attention to the things that make for
peace.
Enabled to commel- zee the new year with
two hundred and fifty Unions u "o'lal'
as tho product OF last yea Z" olSiHooS' tl9
South may we'll, III 1869, "" crops "n"
raise the necessarie of life in socu aou.-
dance as to place it in independ> N5S FecuhA-
airy circumstances. The idea / Ss tahSn
firm hold of the planters that, UNI eF tne
new condition of things, smaller are Oh
land, better cultivated, must be the or, 'ef
of the day. Again, 1t may falrl y be a. '-
sumed that the freemen, having little re-
covered from the exaggerated Ideas natur
ally entertained upon their emancipation,
will work more steadily than heretofore,
while the planters will have learned that
tair wages and proper treatment are protita-
bic rs they are Just. Very little Is needed
to he done even now, and, with Congress
and the executive working harmoniously,
We may take it for granted that there will
be no more political troubles. The cotton
crop will be, OF course, the great product
of the South, but there will be manufacto-
Ties erected ere long, and with them will
spring up innumerable villages these will
attract NOrtherners, who will own and
work small farms, and, by degrees, the
steady industry, the habits, the schools,
he economy and the energy of New Eng
land and the middle States will vitalize
and give an impetus to the whole South.
Ia one direction an immense prepare
tiOn Is already made for the Incorporation
of the south. In the Mississippi valley
are there 761, $40, SIS acres of land drained
by the Mississippi river and its tributaries.
This land is now, and will be more and
more, as time rolls, the wheat producing
territory OF the country. The great ques-
ton Is, how most cheaplT Ia get the enor-
nous supply Of grain growa, aaG to be
grown here. to the Eastern markets and to
Europe. We all feel practically how much
It costs to get st. Louis flour. We know,
Toe, that very dlsprOportionate share of
the sum we pay goes, not to the producer,
but to the railways. The Mississippi river
is tie natural highway, by means OF which
We should receive our breadstuffS. Now,
through a system Of elevators in New Or
leans and St. Louis. as we'll as in Illinois,
1t Is proposed to take advantage Of water
communication to transport cereals from
the great West to the East Already til ere
is at st. Louis an elevator OF the capacity
OF ], 100000 bushels; one on the opposite
side of the river, and one at New Orleans,
capable of holding 100000 bushels of
wheat.
The Mississippi and its tributaries afford
ID 000 miles of water navigation. st
Louis is the focus Of railways, bringing to
her storehouscs the products of land as
rich as any in the world. Steamers can
run from Cairo to New Orleans in five
days allow ole day for reshipment, and
then twenty days to Liverpool, the ex-
pense from Cairo to Liverpool being thirty
two cents per bushel, and we see at once
that the Mississippi Valley is to be the
granary of the country, and afford an i'm
mense exportable surplus, always equal to
good. And this trade, with It's return
commerce, is to aid in building up the
South. Put this scheme once in full opera
ton let our capitalists invest il Southern
lands AMI mines, and the South immedi-
ately helps US to carry the burden OF orr
debt, and reconstruction will take care of
itseif.