The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-04-24
LETTER FROM "YoRK STATE
BACON HILL, SARATOGA Co., N. Y,
April Z, 1878.

BACON HILL, SARATOGA Co., N. Y,
April 7, 1878.
Dear Old Democrat -
am writing you this from the
banks of the Hudson, from classic
ground, scene of Burgoyne's Surren-
der, on the eastern boundary of the
wide famed Saratoga, and in sight of
the Green Hills of Vermont, where l
can see the sun getting up from his
snowy sheets, surrounded with strips
Of light, reminding me that the Yer
monters are not entirely burlesqued
with the worldwide saying of the
crowbar, but, indeed, it has an ideal
resemblance and looks as if those
broad bands of rays might be using
"Georgum Situs" for a fulcrum, to
pry the sun out of his ice warm bed.
l am at the house of our old friend
and townsman, Leon Chantz, and his
little Southern wife, where I've got
my first look at the LA. DEMOCRAT
since leaving home. I read it
through to the last advertisement,
and do assure you that it makes a
wandering lover of its columns feel
good, feel like he was boarding at
SANS.
This country is literally running
over with skilled labor of all kinds
good farmers, good mechanics, good
Democrats, all looking out for some
region to emigrate somewhere away
from the hard times, fast settling
down on this country. Texas, Ar
kansas, Kansas, Virginia, South Car
Dina and Georgia, are filing their
counties full of circulars, with in
ducements to sell their lands. Why
can not something Of tLat kind be
done by our people who have lands
to sell !? Chantz and wife are doing
much toward directing their attention
our way, and if some step was taken
TO confirm what he tells them, it
would soon depopulate this and ad.
joining counties of good democrats.
With their skill, taste and close man.
agement, it would soon make our
Parish bloom again like a rose gar
den. They are all cultivated, well
posted in the goings on in the world,
except, perhaps, about Rapides,
where nothing comes from, and where
nothing reaches. I am speaking
now of the citizens of New York
State, that make the bread and butter
for the citizens of N. Y. City, who
after all, are a different people, be-
longing to the genus "sharp" suspi-
cious of every body and thing, ex-
cert, perhaps, slice of a wooden
ham, that doL't fool them q bit, they
know how that is themselves-but
such as l meet around this section,
(and I have visited among them very
freely, would add strength to out
side and soon become of us, if they
were only certain how things we're;
they argue that we perhaps don't
want them there, that if we did, we
would take some means to induce
them to come, but as you know, 1
did not come here to look after emf
grafton, l have despaired of that long
since, and would as you, like to see
it. But my object here is to over
come the want and necessity of a
dense population, by putting into
working condition, my long cherished
and matured plans and designs for
steam machinery, to do all the work
required in reclearing and cultiva-
ting our southern land. Steam is
fast taking the place Of muscle and
mules, machinery is becoming so
cunning in its continuance, so exact
and skillful in its effects, so certain
and untiring in its operations, that
it is rapidly taking the place Of all
labor. It makes the fabrics we wear,
makes it up for use, carves, moulds
and joins; builds, propels and draws,
does all things beautiful, useful
and model, except the one great want
oflife, (what we eat. That we are
still making by the sweat of our
brow. Still using what Cincinnatus
invented for US, and with very slight
change during the lapse of two de-
cade of centuries, still with the
power he used, only changed into the
stupider mule. There has been some
clumsy efforts at steam plows, but
the result best shows the possibility.
not the practibility. They have
gone to work with the irrepressible
idea of Cincinnatus' OK in the front,
and the consequence is, it takes more