The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1871-06-23

MIR. EDITOR-ln former num-
Der of your paper, the very grave in
quiry was made, GLOW shall we re-
move the great hindrance to success
full manufacturing here - 1t elicit
ed very sensible article from ~"
bearing strangely in the right di-
rection, but here the subject dropped,
and is probably forgotten by those
who may have given the articles a
careless perusai.
| desire to recur to it once more
in little plain talk. The truth is,
however. unpalatable it may be, that
Marietta has very little to hope for,
commercially. This is too plain to
need proof Its attractions, as a
summer resort, lessen, as railroads
penetrate the still more picturesque
mountain districts and afford easy
access to rival points. Still Mariet-
ia is beautiful, refined and healthy.
Now, if ever, something must be
done for her. She must be joined
to prosperity or wither and fade. -
Her fate, to-day, is in the hands of
her property holders. 1t is not now
too late to bid for manufacturing in
terests here. A thousand rich men
coming here, to live on their income,
would add very little to the prosper
ity of the town; but a thousand
mechanics, coming here to manufac-
ture, would more than double her
business, and raise her taxable prop
erty in value from ) to 20 per cent,
Very few intelligent men will dis
sent from this proposition. But the
lCay to get them here, is the cause
of disagreement and discussion
Some propose the grasses and fine
stock; others advise fertilizers and
improved farm culture, but if a
Kentuckian or an Indianian can
raise his fine stock twenty or TWEEN
ty-fve per cent cheaper than you can
here, this aeay of inducing immi-
grafton, must fail. Farm culture is
still more discouraging. A bushel
of corn, or a pound of butter, costs
more than three times as much to
produce it here, under our disap-
pointed, demoralized condition, and
ignorant, lazy labor, than it does to
produce the same quantity in the
State of Iowa. One intelligent la
borer there, is worth about three
here so testified DR.. Lanneau be-
fore a committee of our Legislature.
Yet the cost, per head, day, is
about the same. This very fairly
illustrates the whole range of agri-
cultural interests, when brought in
to minute comparison; so it would
seem hopeless to look in this direc-
ton for Immigrants. What our peo-
pie want and what they most need is
a thorough rousing up to what, it
must be seen, is their greatest inter
est-enterprise.
Something must be done or we
will die with "dry rot" if nothing
worse. We have an inviting eli
mate. We have railroad facilities
and it is possible for us to induce
men of means to come here to invest
in manufacturing enterprises, and
bring with them their laborers.
1t is not because they are afraid
of Ku Klux that they do not come.
1t is not because they cannot labor
to good advantage. 1t is not for
want of markets; but it is because
they cannot come here and live as
cheaply while laboring, as in manu-
featuring districts of other portions
of the country. One of the chief
items of expense to the mechanic, is
the tuition of his children, and for
this, they are quite as solicitous as
any other class of our people. Now,
unless this can be made as free for
him here as it is here, we may
hope in vain for his coming. Hence
it does appear that the very first
stepping-stone to the prosperity of
Marietta, is the establishing of a
thorough system of free schools. 1t
this is done, by direct taxation, the
-. v.o,,ar of ubotayar elass he NAV