Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-11-12
rH MvAf HoU1u.

TIE RIVAL HouGEs.
new DAsls lssssA = Rasssessos1
DssWssa sAs 0psagass eo1
Dsow0 aDA 1vo0.
lHna ~ Springfield aepsbiiess.l
4 tSeih-chattering shivsr pervaded
the marrow of Providssce, yesterday
aud day before. humors rot abroad
that the spragues, 4. / ". spragus,
manufacturers, were lisbls 70 fall for
~, ,0o0, 900. No one can spprsdsts
the significance Of such . portent,
who has not knows Rhode Island.
Rhode Island nsy b described - 9
pair Of shears, one side Of which II
the sprsgues, and The other is Brovn
3 Ives. II the 6pragues were to fall,
or II Brown q Ives were to fail, Rhode
Island would cease to exist - . com.
posite character. She would become
simply Brown 4 Ives, or the Spra-f
gues, according 70 which party sur.
vived. As perhaps no other COM
munity in the world 10 governed by
the alternate triunphs Of two great
rival manufacturing Arns, tAis threat
ened overthrow OF the spssGsss u .
proper occasion for elscidstiDg this
feature Of Rhode Island polity.
A. & w. Sprsgue arc the most
spreading 6rm, and In the nation ct
large perhaps the most illustrious.
Gov. WIN. Sprsgue, we ali remember,
offered to lead Rhode Island troops
to the Gulf In the rebellion, aud per-
haps did so-part way, at least. He
won tile senatorsb'p, which he still
retains, and the daughter Of Chief
Justice Chase for . wife. The two
brothers are youngish men, aud de-
cidedly "tolksy" and free and easy in
their dealings with people. Amasa,
the elder, married factory girl, and
made . wise choice, too, tits said.
The business habits OF the Spragues
are Of the very latest style Of enter
prise. Although the great bulk Of
their immense wealth 10 in woo!en
aud cotton mills, aud print works,
they have of late years extended their
investmen into . thousand extrau-
neous channels. Their ''irops In the
fre'' are almost numberless. They
have been attempting to erect great
water-power at Augusta, Maine, have
opened --.extsnsise-~e.sfsossries-i IN
Pennsylvania, invested some hun
dreds Of thousands in the treasure.
hunting expedition to South Amer.
icn, &c. All the profits from their
immense plant are speedily "plowed
in" to some new aud perhaps distant
enterprise, and cash surpluses are
never allowed to embarrsss the house
They represent, in short, the modern
American spirit of attempt all. Ac'
cording to the fashion Of the times,
they live muniicently, lend theil
gorgeous presence aud patronage te
tue Cranston races, aDd entertain
poor ministers during the summer
) months with . most unstinted gen
crosby.
Precisely opposite to them in al
things are Brown s. Ives. Brown 4
E~es are slishtly venerable, very aris
tocratic, very reserved, and yer.
E reserved gentlemen, who live in til
r grand, old way, don't trouble them
D selves to take of their hats to ordiu
, ary people, and would not feel at al
3 honored by the presidency of tn
Crsnston park association, the com
(, pany of impecunious clergymen, OF
e perhaps We may say, by seat in tn
3 United States Senate. Their manu-
featuring interests in the state o
Rhode Island are immense, and ex
3 ceed In value, it is said, those Of tn
!, Spragues. They keep their bushes
I well up, and iuvest sometimes in ex
8 tension Of it, but never go into an.
: enterprise out of their line o
e neighborhood. A gold mine il
3 Massachusetts, ora Niagara in Maine
: would be no temptation to their capi
e tai. Their surplus earnings are in
vested in real estate, and it is q com
mon tradition that Brown s. I've
own half the state. They own acre
upon acres in the heart Of Proyidenct
and if the buyer goes to them to as
the price of a lot, their invariable n
. . ply is: I'VE buy real estate we neve
i sell it," Their management savol
: of the old style-safe, cautious, col
u seryative, but remorselessly profits
" ble.
G These two houses of Rhode Islam
F.! not only manage their industries, bt
Il they rule the state and all its intel
% ests. Tic press of the state is OF on
u party or the other. The Press is til
IS alias ofthc Spragues, and the Journ'
cl only another name for Brown 4 I've
. Proposed Wholesale Irish EmiErs
tion.
w. The Liverpool papers mention tn:
- Mr.. p. O'Leary, who had just RI
ic e..,,, IraIond vrhithor ho "