The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-08-19
Memphis & Knoxville railroad.

There are many strong reasons why
we should build this road, and that
speedily, but l shall only attempt to give
you one or two i'll this article. That
there are immense beds of iron-ore
along the track of the contemplated
road, through the counties of Lawrence
and Wayne, l suppose there can be no
doubt. That those mines will ever be
developed without railroad, | suppose
there is only very distant probability.
They have rested undisturbed almost a
century, while those counties have been
populated by white men, and only a few
have attempted TO reach their hidden
treasures, and unless the means of
transportation were improved, another
century might roll away before their
riches would be developed, That
those Ore-beds are rich and would pro-
duce immense revenues to those cOum-
ties, those who know anything of them
seem to have no doubt whatever, and
that the building of this road would be
the means OF developing them, l sup
pose is almost a certainty. This con-
sideratiOn alone, it seems to me, should
be sufficient to induce the people to con
tribute TO this road, especially since it
can be built at such little cost in COM
parisOn to the roads we already have
had built over the State.
Our great need in this country is
something to develop the resources of
the country, something to create wealth
in the country, and | contend that il is
by this means alone that we are to ar
rive at anything like prosperity and
Independence, financially. Our sur
plus produce, and we are "a great prOduc-
ing people, does but little more than
pay the expenses of raising, and the
other expenses necessarily incurred
outside of the expenses of raising our
produce, and unless the seasons are pro-
pitious, and the year is prosperous, we
frequently do not even succeed in max
ing those expenses. This has been the
case frequently since the war, and at the
close of the year we have found our
selves poorer, as n people, with less
money in the country than when we
started to pitch our crops. There is no
necessity for this being so, and it would
not be so, did We only do our duty and
act wisely with reference to our own
financial interests. Great as are our
agricultural products, they will not suf-
flee alone to make us rich and prosper
Gus. 1t seems to me this has been clear
ly demonstrated be- the experience of a
few years past, our country is getting
old, and lands are getting too much
worn, and we need something else TO
bring money into the country besides
the products of the soil. There are too
many facilities for taking money out of
the country, and not enough means of
bringing it in, and it does seem that ne
cessity would have forced Us ere this to
have looked to something else beside
the products of the soil, to have sus-
tanned ourselves financially as a people.
md while we have those means of ere
ating wealth in the country, of devel-
oping its resOuTces-of bringing in
money instead of taking it out, does it
not seem that we are blind to our own
interest if we fail to employ those
means. As this article is getting too
long, l shall have something further 10
say on the subject in your next. ".