Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-06-02
NASHVILLE.
The Eye Of the National Grange Upon
Tennessee'S Capital.
Fitness OF the City as u Location for
the Permanent Headquarters.


in the vicinity of this city to lay before the
| Executive Committee of the National
Grange the advantages Of Nashville as a
| permanent location for the Headquarters of
the National Grange, met at the office of the
Secretary of the State Grange yesterday,
/ and held a conference with Judge ]. Il.
/ Jones, of Arkansas, and Col. E. r. Shank
/ land, of Iowa, who are charged with the duty
/ of visiting various cities and inspecting
/ them with view to the location. There
was full attendance ofcommitteemen. be-
sides other representative Changers and
Mayor Howell and Superintendent Kille-
brew. The meeting was a very pleasant
| one, DR.. w. P. Jones, Chairman of the
/ Grangers' Committee, who had been assign
/ ed the task Of reporting Nashville's fitness
/ for the headquarters of the Oranges, read
/ the following, which received the approval
/ Of his committee:
NAsHVILE's ADVANTAGES.
| Gentlemen: The resolution Of the last
annual convention, iRstructing the Nation
/ al Executive Committee to select a suita-
bic location for permanent headquarters of
| the National Grange, was unquestiOnably
both wise and prudent, and it was greatly
wise to limit your selection Of a location to
| the territory embraced within the States of
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois Missouri, Kentucky
/ AMI Tennessee-States not only central,
but unequaled in fertility and mineral re-
sources.
| A committee of gentlemen representing
a number of subordinate Oranges in the
| vicinity Of the capital of Tennessee have
made it my agreeable duty to present you
a brief statement of the advantages of this
/ locality for the permanent headquarters Of
the National Grange.
1 therefore proceed to say, in the year
| 1860 there were s., 36S farms in Tennessee,
which were increased, prior to the census
| Of 1870, TO 1874, an evident tendency to
| small farming. Assessors returns for 1873
/ show Is, 464 ,S57 acres of taxable lands, ex-
elusive Of town lots, valued at 500, 673, 1858,
an average value of IS per acre.
! The entire assessed value Of property,
| after deducting 10 per cent upon real estate
and not including $1,000 worth of personal
property in the hands of every family, ex-
| empted by our Constitution, amounted in
the year 1873 to sos, ,T43, something
more than three-ffths Of the real value as
set forth by census reports. In 1870 Ten
nessee contained a population Of 1,25S, $50,
/ Of whom $50, l19 were white, 80, 33l col
| Ored, and 20 Indians. In the same year
the population in this fertile region was
| only 20 to the square mile.
Taking the six central States, to which,
| in the wisdom Of the National Convention
| you are limited in making your selection ola
| site for the location of the National Grange,
l propose, upon an exhibit of statistical in
| formation, to show that Tennessee justly
claims your favorable consideration and
regard.
nc .bo,o =, tI,a Cto4os y,apf;onad ro,,-
engaged in the various productive callings
of lie, there are in Kentucky So per cent.
of the people following agricultural pur-
suits; in Indiana, IS per cent; in Missouri,
81 per cent; in Illinois, so per cent; in
Ohio A per cent, while 70 per cent. Of the
productive population Of Tennessee are
practical agriculturists, in other words,
persons engaged in agriculture.
Now is il or not the wish of our Order
other things being equal-that our
great central interest shall be lOca-
ted among those given to agriculture?
Tennessee, with perhaps a single eXcep-
tiOn, is even even more central to the staple
commodities Of the entire country than any
other State. l do not Of course include
such succulent productions as are sold
where produced, or such as are Immediately
peTishable. In the near future, or as soon
as the South cheerfully adapts itself 10 the
new order Of things, the superior adj
VantageS Of Tennessee as a place Tor the
location of the National Grange, must be
apparent 20 all thoughtful minds.
Gen. Sherman who had himself trayerSed
and his army permeated the States, and who
was familiar with the productive capacity
as we'll as the physical and Intellectual
resources Of the continent, writing from
Tennessee said: Il WRITE PROM THE
SEAT OF FUTURE EMPIRE"
If, during the progress Of civil war, a
Federal officer prOverbially calculating, one
who had studied the character Of men, to-
gether with the topography and productions
Of the cOutrry, could see and frankly adj
nit that Tennessee and adjacent territory
would, in future, exert a covering power in
the cOuntry-may you not find in this an
additional motive fJr locating the National !
Grange where its influence may also be |
pOtently felt?
Our people, regarding intelligence as !
underlying all just judgment, and both in |
telligence and virtue as essential TO the |
purity and progress of the State, are now |
fully abreast of the times in regard to free /
public education. Tennessee is not sur
passed by any sister State in literally pro
viding, at public expense, equal educa-
tiOnal facilities for all the children Of the /
State: and this humane provision is made /
without reference to race, color, or previous /
condition. Our public school system, /
our academies, colleges and universities /
contribute ent.ally to the pride and /
glory Of native and adopted TenIeSseeans.
And our Order, so earnestly advocating as
il does, the necessity Of education, cannot /
L. IL
Visiting the suburbs, you will not fail to
observe, how closely our city was once en-
viTOnied By fOrtificatiOns, entertainments
and cOntending armies, but
peace hath her victories
No less renowned than war"
Nashville is now cirdled by beautiful
charities and costly universities. Though /
the sword may not have been beaten into
the ploW-share, nevertheless tented fields
have been metamorphOsed into iclassic
grounds.
Nothing, however, appears so significant
of future good, Of the early peace, prosperi-
ty and happiness Of the SOuth-may we
not hope Of the whole country?-as the re-
cent meetings in National and Confederate
cemeteries; where brave men Of both
armies, meekly kneeling, strew flowers
upon all alike. All hail those scar-wOrn
soldiers, who, when war is over, have the
moral courage to do right, and thus "tO
guide our feet in the way of peace"
My purpose, however, is to call your at
tention especially to Nashville, as a point
more desirable than all others for the lOca-
tiOn Of the interest you have in charge.
This, as yoU see, is beautiful city. 1t
is pre-enlinently healthy, as l might show
cOnclusively by reference TO reports OF
health officers, to which L refer you. We
have here a plexus Of railroads, furnishing
easy access to Nashville from every part of
the country. We have also telegraph!c
facilities not inferior to those Of any city,
large or small.
The National Grange is largely interest
ed in publishing and transmitting printed \
matter. Upon these points l have to say,
We have in this city, over and above the
secular press, two well-sustained Religious
publishing houses, and it is quite probable
we will soon have another; and the Nash
vile Postmaster, during the month of Jan.
collected alarger amount Of money on
newspapers aud periodicals Second class
mattCT), than was collected in the
Office in Albany, New York, or in
Hartford or New Haven, Conn.,, OF in In
dianapolis, Ind, more than was collected |
in New Orleans, more than Richmond, |
Il = I Z