Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-04-09
FIGURES THAT DON'T LIE"


The Union and american, with hour
ish of trumpets, attempts to break Ihe
force of our remarks relative to the tolefa-
ton of "KukluX MODS IN Mluule anu
West Tennessee repeIIing capital and I'M
migration. After abiding to paragraph
of ours where we make such an assertion,
it says:
Tba+ : assertion; now for fact or two. The
coI1s1s ro.I,rns show that the population OF the
tL-oo 1rSt CongressiOnal Districts embraced in
East Tennessee. increased during the last ten
-oars at the rate of Z! per cent, while that OF
IL &c other districts show an average increase
IF 11} Der cent. 1t does not appear that these
LntI1I stories have been very effective in re-
mcIIing capital and immigration"
Now for fact or two" In the first
place, there are no three Congressional
Districts in East Tennessee. Under the
old apportionment, tlCcyrc counties of the
Third Congressional District were Middle
Tennessee counties. Under the present
apportiOnment it is no better. So this is
one statement of the Union and american
which is not a "fact."
Now let Us look at the figures ir the CEN
sus reports, as they relate to Middle and
East Tennessee. In 1850 the population
of East Tennessee was 291, 0j6. The pOpu-
latiOn of Middle Tennessee at the same
time was 503, 6S4. In 1870 the population
of East Tennessee was 331 1913, being an in
crease of 70, 9I7, or a little more than ii per
cent. Attic same time the population of
Middle Tennessee was 5j9, 3S1, being an in
crease of 50, 797, or a little more than II
per cent SO that the statement of the
Union and american, which it would have
to appear as fact, " is not "fact." By
counting nearly one-third of the counties
of Middle Tennessee, in with East Ten
nessee, the Union and american makes
out case. Remarkably fair reasoning
The writer of the article knew better, but
he supposed his readers would take his
statement for " facts y without ever going
into an investigation of their truth.
But if the figures of the Union and
1mcrjcul did not lie, its reasoning is false,
any way. What if the population of Ten
nessee has increased within the past ten
Years, has the increase been anything like
that of some of her sister States in the
West, with less of natural advantages?
But for the unsettled state of society in
some localities, does any one doubt that
we would have had thousands of immigra-
ton, and multiplied thousands of capital,
where we now have hundreds? Our eli
mate is equal to any on the continent.
Our soil will compare favorably with that
of the wealthiest States in the Union.
Our coal, iron, marble, etc, is abundant.
Our hundreds of mountain streams afford
water power sufficient TO drive all the
manufactures of the nation. Our forests
furnish an abundance of timber, for every
purpose Why is it then that our wealth
leave any fair-minded, reasonable man to
form his own conclusion from the facts,
as to the reason why we do not, as a State,
thus increase in population and wealth.
We would not have alluded to this mat
ter at all, as the statement of the Union
and american was so inaccurate that it
needed no contradiction from those ac-
quainted with the facts. But it has been
copied into a local paper that never allows
an opportunity to escape, of making a
point against East Tennessee, and for this
reason we have given the figures relating
to East and Middle Tennessee, as they ap-
pear in the census reports, They were
published in the CHRONICLE of March Is,
1871, and have never been cOntradicted,
nor can they be.