The Van Buren press., 1876-07-25
ARKANSAS AT THE CENTENNIAL.
Hdr State Building weII-fIIsd Store
house-CoaI, Iron, Fruits, Grains,
Cotton, Gems, Forests, Silver, etc,

AAnahSas uiSpiay VI enterprise ana re-
sources az the centennial as recounted by
Jason" the centennial correspondent,
of the St. Louis Republican, in a recen,
letter to that paper. --ss
ARKANSAS.
do not consider it compliment to
Missouri that DIR. G. w. Lawrence, OF
Hot Spring, Ark, centennial co m,s ssion.
er, should have had the wariess to say
TO me:
I'VE represent your state. Our re.
sources are hers. The marriage bond ol
railroads makes us one; her interests
and ours are identical. We are here to
do all we can for Arkansas, and in work.
ing for ourselves we consider that We are
advancing the welfare of our consort.n u
While that may be all true enough, it
seems to place the older state in the atti
tude of a dependency, and speaks more
for the yood-fellowship of Arkansas than
the selfreliance of Missouri.
That they are closely related the old
school aliases will confirm, where we find
them. both in the embrace of Missouri
territory.
The perpetual bond and surety of CON-
mon commercial interests are in the rail
roads that traverse both states and the
great river that borders them.
We can account for Arkansas warmth
while we are at loss to explain the cold
ness OF Missouri
Near the airy-towered building of the
Ia 30, a . tt,oa l. ~. 4
of the many sided one of the former. 1t
is broad. wholesome, liberal structure.
1t ism q residence, but young crystal
palace exhibition hall. 1t contains dur
ing working hours trio of wide awake
sturdy, western men, who present big,
honest, live, western show. Vitality is
written all over the homely building. 1t
are eight fronts-it don't turn its back
on you anywhere.
The oetagon base is surmnnnted bv a
dome, from which the United States flag
waves
Arkansas is asouthern state and shares
the sorrows of a" lost cause" But her
grief is not of the hopeless kind. She
isn't wastin many tears over split milk
Not that she loved the dear cause less,
but that she loved her independent pros.
perity more She is finding balm for
grief i. going to work, and the results of
her good sense are apparent here. Let
US go in. There is fine space and a
systematic employment of it. The ad-
vantage of an octae eonal form of building
omy OF space IS a rieetssleyE .yRen dem
onstrated here. The single exhibition
hall occupies the entire building from the
floor to the apex Of the dome. with the
exception of two or three small retaining
rooms and the office of the commission
ers, ranged at convenient intervals along
the sides. The ceiling is group of
streamers, red white and blue alternate.
gathered together in the center Of the
dome. and closely festooned to the top
of side walls The effect is as gay as
anything can be. The walls are pcrfo,
rated with wi dows-rddled with them
No breeze can blow from any point of
tie compass without rustling the corn
shucks and grain sheaves, and stacks of
hay in Arkansas. In the center Of the
floor is lofty bronze fountain, shedding
incessant freshness and making CHEEKY
dabbling mummur all the time.
hadn't heard much of Arkansas since
LEARNED at school that she was n oted for
the bowie knife, Hot springs and Ozark
mountains excepting, of course. the sad
period Of the war. I've had a vague idea
that since then she was sort of parade
ground for partisan soldiery led by rival
governors. A training place for legisla-
tive animosities, whence recruits were
forwarded to Washington, equipped with
gall and venom. A naughty boy whose
name was Clayton, and other rude little
fellows, whose names were legion, were
giving trouble to their father in Washing
tsn-they threatened to do don't know
what terrible things; he threatened heav-
en- knows what awful retribution. That
| thought was Arkansas But it wasn't.
Underneath the muddy political surface,
deep down, there was flowing silently an
uudercurrent whose elements were thrift,
industry and look ahead sort of wisdom
which doesn't count for much in mere
politics, hut comes mighty near to states
manship, as the political brawlers Of Ar.
kansas will discover some day, or this
show goes for nothing. l havn't talked
politics with these men. couldn't tell
YOU, to save their lives, or mine, wha,
party they belong to, if any, but by their
corn and wheat, and cotton and coal they
swear to " occupy de land;" and they
will some day.
As went in Mr.. VIM. Z Rowel ol
the Little Rock, Fort Smith and Arkan
sas railroad, met me courteously with an
offer to show me the products OF theil
state Arkansas has been called the crys
tai state, and her building has reason tc
be named crystal palace, other than the
conventional glass sided world s'faiI
style of ediice. She glstens with crys'
tails. In one case is contained u collec
of gems. Crude and cut crystals Of q
high refracting power, which are very
Ike diamonds at glance to non-expert
and indeed they take the title of Ho
Spring diamonds and wear it royalty
In the same group are two other speci
mems of fine polish, one with thread o.
what is locally known as " Arkansite,'
form of titanium; and the novicuat'
or Ouachita oil.stone with fernlikc sprays
running through the body OF it, making
resemblance to the moss agate, though
with better luster,
Other gems not so brilliant, but o