Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1872-08-21
ItDMMGNICATEn

COMMUNICATED.
The annexed is cut from letter to the y
!. Tribune, from the Allegheny Springs. in
Virginia. | send it for publication, believing
there is much truth in it. p.
BY the way there occurs to me here a rciI.c-
ton generally on the post bcllum enterprise Of
Virginia, which think has some novelty and
| am sure has great deal of truth. There have
been too many of these great expectations" in
every department of her industry; and the news
paper press has committed very notable mis-
take in encouraging and dilsting them Para
doXlcal rs 1t may be, l am thoroughly per-
suaded th't main cause of the existing defects
of real enterprise in Virginia, and Its unwilling
ness To 60 to work to better any condition of the
present, is the great and perhaps undue attcn-
ton which, by an uncommon movement Of pub
lie curiosity since the war, the whole country
has been beStowing upon the great natural gifts
OF this State; the very exploitation of this theme
CT tie res urces' of Virginia has been her mis-
fortune. 1t has created, rs | can plainly see Al
indisposition for HI direct and hearty Industry,
and encouraged vague, aimless waiting for
some good time coming rs of itself. Our own
newspapers do much to encourage these idle ex-
pectations by ceasolesS pirate about resources
natural wealth, &c, and coming enterprise,
rs II said "enterpr!se' was something to be
brought to us in q box, without even the &. O D.:
and with this prospect of free gift and Of n
shower of wealth as from the skies, our pee
pie are but little disposed to take hold of IT,.
common implements Of industry, and to toll t.,
OF yore by the processes OF labor but slowly
warded. They prefer To wait in vague and
swollen expectations for the time when the coun-
try newspapers tell them our rivers are to bc
strung as silver threads with tokens of wealth
and industry, mills and factories; or when they
are to realize that remarkable vision of ex-Gov
Wise, THE great city-the rival of New York
Canes * "a
understand how injurious this initiation has beer
to the real industry of Virginia unless by one
who observes closely how IT has dStemperel the
Imagination Of the people, and how it er.ters in
to tnelr calculations Nearly every farmer IN
this Southwest Virginia lnagineS that he has u
mine Of gold or block diamonds on his land:
and know OF instances of hundreds of proprie.
tors in all parts Of the State who have actually
for years held their lands idle in the market
expecting fictitious price for them, rather than
work out OF them the remuneration which the
steady processes If farm labor might in tie
meantime, have given them. There is n fable Of
-Esop. ors me other honely wiSeacrc, that fur
nshts precisely the lesson to be recon- nd,d
to the people OF Virginia: The idle farmer was
told ola buried treasure in his lands, and the
consequence WAS that he turned up every foo, q!
the soil and when he protested to the good fairy
that lie had not found the expected toArd Of
wealth, he WAS made u understand that he had
indeed real ZAd it IN the Improvement and in
creased capabilities of the land he had formerly
neglected, not counting what else he had real
lzed IN the health and sweet sAtlSa faction OF doing
man 5 work. This simple lesson is worth NOR
than all Of that "Old Dominion and "New Nir-
ginia' braggadocio to be found in our ro>e-r"!-
orcd newspapers.
a st. Louis negro, seven feet Eve inches high
aud described as having u mouth lik" a canal
lock- has refused prlDcely offer from l}arnuln.