The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1871-06-08
IRE MOBILE 81 NORTHWEST
ERN RAILROAD.
To the People of Yazoo County.

To the People of YazOO County.
By a meeting of citizens, we were appoint
ed committee to call your attention to the
speedy construction ofthe Mobile and North
western Railroad to solicit whatever aid
you can give TO it in the way of subscribing
money, cotton and lands as individuals; and
TO ask that you consider attentiyeiy ana
carefully the question how far, and TO what
amount we may, as county. contribute 10
the construction of this great work.
No line of road ever proposed would bring
with its completion so many advantages 10
US as the Mobile and Northwestern. Con-
Meeting st. Louis with Mobile, it will give
US easy access to the business world. and fur
nish the many and great advantages ofcom-
petitive markets.
be able to buy where we please. and sell
where we please. By its construction we
Will open up what is now a terra fHcogHltd,
TO the travelling public: capital and energy,
and enterprise, taking up their abode with
us in consequence. BY its construction, we
| will reduce our freights more than one-halt
and increase the price of our lands TO more
than double their present value. BY its con-
struction the waste places in our midst will
be speedily filled up: healthy, industrious
and thriving population, with new houses,
new fences and happy faces, taking the place
| of decayed houses, dilapidated fences and
the desolation now existing on abandoned
estates. Among other benefits its construc-
ton will introduce skilled labor among us;
and the ring of the anvil, the click of the
hammer, and the hum OF the spindle will
soon grow to be familiar sounds. Its con-
struction will not only largely increase the
industry now existing but it will create
new ones. 1t will diversity labor and in
| crease its wages by finding a ready home
consumption for everything the artizan can
| fabricate, as well as everything produced
on the plantation, the farm, in the garden,
and the dairy.
With the richest soil, and the most genial
climate on Gods green earth, we have here
tofore been limited to a single pursuit. We
have earned more money in the same length
of time than any similar number of people
| who ever lived: and yet we are hard press
ed-in Strengthened circumstances. What is
the reason? We have paid tribute to all the
world. We have paid exorbitant interest for
money. We have paid double freight to ex-
port our product; and treble freight to i'm
port our necessities. We grow nothing for
sale but cotton. For the present we can't
afford to. Because the price of freight on
everything else is so high, that after paying
it, nothing would be left to the producer.
Shall we continue TO occupy this anoma-
lOus condition: now that we have an oppor-
tunity of getting out of it? Will we vOlun-
tarlly consent to resign ourselves to the yoke
| of the task-maSter, and continue to be the
| hewers of wood and drawers of water for
! the cotton buying world Or shall we throw
off the yoke and put ourselves in an atti-
tude to demand and exercise equal business
and commercial facilities with other commu-
mites?
Whether under the old order OF things it
was wise to live in isolation, and limit our
| selves to a single industry, is not now a sub
ject for discussion. For, a new era is upon
us. A new order of things has arisen. We
must cut loose from the dead past, linking
ourselves TO the living present, grapple with
its duties, and overcome its difficulties, or
! sink under them. We are not at liberty to
| doubt which you will do. As men of sense
| you will do that which it is your interest to
! do. If, therefore, we can show YOU that as
! a county we can make profitable invest
| ment by taking liberal stock subscription
| in the Mobile and Northwestern Railroad,
| you will do it.
LET Us THEN LOOK AT THE FACTS.
| The population of this county exceeds |
| twenty Thousand.
| The goods of various kinds imported an
| nually, to supply our wants, exceed i'm value
the sum of $2.6OO,OO0, at the point of pu--
chase. The total amount of freight (exclu- |
| sive of insurance) paid annually to bring |
these goods TO us exceeds the sum of $685. |
900. The amount of insurance paid annual |
| ly to protect these goods in transit exceeds |
$4,000. You all know that the freight and |
insurance constitute on the merchants books |
part OF the cost price, and that as cOnsum- !
ers you have it to pay. 1t follows that any
reduction in the price of freight and insu- |
rance cheapens the articles imported by that /
| amount, and puts that much money in your |
pockets.
OI
ly from the county exceeds in value the sum |
of $3,OOOO00. The annual amount of freight /
paid thereon exceeds the sum of Sl26yOOO: |
superadded TO which, more than $4,000 is |
paid annually for insurance. The amount |
thus paid on exports for freight and insu- |
rance of course diminishes the home value |
by exactly that amount, and thus takes pre- |
cisely that number of dollars out of your /
pockets.
1t will thus be seen that you pay
freghts on imports amopnts an
nually to more than. $20S, 900 |
Freight on exports more than. 10000 |
Total ..................... $3340OO |
In addition to which you pay insu-
rance on imports --.. 10000 |
Insurance on exports 10000 |
Grand total 1890, 900 |
In proof that this is not an over-estimate |
we insert a statement IN ade up by five of the |
largest and most experienced merchants of
the county. giving in detail the articles i'm |
ported and exported, accompanied by prices |
of freight and rate of insurance. We call |
particular attention to, and ask minute |
scrutiny of this statement. We do this in |
confidence that you will find everything un-
deT-eStiBldted, exec pit perhaps the number of |
cotton bales. On this point alone, there may
be some difference of opinion. Whatever |
difference of opinion may exist on this point |
cannot, however, materially alter the result |
Here follows statistical statement which
we have omitted for the want of room.
Now, we assume that you will at least be |
willing to give portion of what will be |
saved by a construction of this road Can |
you by contributing to build the Mobile and /
Northwestern Railroad, reduce this freight |
and insurance? If so, to what amount?
In the first place, even supposing the con-
struction of the road shall effect no reduce |
ton in the price of 5reights; you can by |
using it for purposes of transportation, at /
least get rid of all Insurance, the company /
as a common carrier taking all risks. This /
alone will amount to an annual sdring OF more |
than $4,000.
But it is certain that the opening of this /
road will reduce the rate of freight more /
than oNE-HALF. Competing lines and COM
peting markets will necessarily bring about /
this result. Mobile and New Orleans will /
each want our custom, and the lines ofrrans-
portation running in the interests of those /
rival cities, as well as boats on the rivers |
will cheaper their fare and freights in order |
to attract travel and business. No argu- |
ment is needed to prove this. 1t is i'm the /
knowledge of all and is the every day ex- /
perience where competing lines exist. In /
this connection, it is proper to state that a |
direct line to st. Louis will inevitably make |
it cotton depot and market for the rapidly |
growing manufactures of the Northwest
Thus creating for US third rival AID COM
peting market. thereby cheapening freights
and increasing our profits.
A reduction of one half the present freight |
list will save you annually the sum of $l67.-
600. This added to the $4,000 of insurance |
will make annual sdrigg to the county of |
$293 OO0 euual to 10 per cent on - 930000 |