Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-07-18
An Unfortunate Colony.


A correspondent of the Toledo Blade has Wis
tied the town of Greeley in Colorado, of which
we have heard SO many pleasant things in the
New York Tribune and elsewhere. The town
was settled by admirers of the editor of the Tri-
bune and named in his honor. 1t has many ex-
eellent peeuliarities. There are no barrooms,
and intoxicating drinks of every kind are ex-
cluded. The people are moral, temperate and
industrious; the climate is healthful the scenery
charming and the soil productive with irriga-
ton, for which water can be had in abundance
from natural streams, though very little rain
ever falls there. The leaders in the enterprise
were honest and courageous men, and had I'M
bounded faith in its success In many re-
spects they laid the plans for their colony
with remarkable skill and foresight. The cor
respondent to whom we have referred says he
was prejudiced in its favor; he liked the foun-
dation of moral ideas" on which the town was
built, and hoped TO see it a success, but he is
forced to the conclusion that a sad mistake wa
made in the location of the colony. There were
two reasons for this opinion: First, that crops
cannot be pro6tably raised by irrigation in com
petition with farmers on land equally cheap and
fertile, watered abundantly by nature without
labor or cost; and, second, because there is no
other business but agriculture, and no market
for surplus crops, if they have any surplus.
This last is a serious objection to the site.
The Greeley colonists cannot raise everything
they need. They must depend upon producing
more than they want of some things, which can
be sold to supply the means of purchasing
groceries plOfhinO o.
featured and imported articles that we regard as
necessaries of life. But in order TO carry on
this exchange on equal terms it is necessary to
be within easy reach of market. The grains,
which are the staple products of farmers in the
latitude of Colorado, will not pay for long
transportation except by water or railroad, and
Greeley has neither of these means of reaching
a market. To carry a load of wheat even one
hundred miles by wagon in a level country costs
almost as much as it is worth. manufacture
ing or a mining industry in the immediate
neighborhood would furnish a market for sur
plus crops and material for traffic with
the rest of the world, but there are no such
industries within reach of the Greeley colo
ny. Cattle can be driven a long distance to
market, if necessary, at small expense, and
wool will bear long transportation better than
wheat; but whatever may be the merits of that
portion OF Colorado as a grazing country, it
does not appear that the att sntion of the colon
lists has been turned to these sources of profit
and the fact that they have founded town of
fifteen hundred inhabitants shows that they
have not contemplated that kind of farming.
which necessarily involves a scattered ponula
ton. The colonists are already beginning IN
see their error, although the continued access
sion of new immigrants each bringing some
money and employing some labor in house
building and other ways. has given idhe place a
temporary appearance of prosperity The old
er residents, who see the difficulties of their
position, are blaming those who led
them into such a hopeless enterprise.
A basis of mora lideas is an excellent thing for
colony, but something besides is needed to
make ii prosperous. A fertile soil and genial
climate are also desirable, but while these are
to be found anywhere, all over our unoccupied
domain, settlement which neglects other con.
siderations, trusting for its success to these
alone, is pretty sure to be failure. Without
concerted action men gather in places where
there is profitable occupation for them, but
founders of colonies are not always
shrewd enough TO select such places;
they are. indeed, more likely to avoid
them, and choose instead some unoccupied loca-
fion where they can have the field to themselves,
90 carry out their plans and theories undis-
turbed by strangers If they have the foresight
10 anticipate the direction which trade and bust.