The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-01-30
A Word in Season.

A Word in Season.
That there will be an unprecedented en-
igration from European countries to Amer
lea during the next year there can be little
doubt. The contracted channels of trade,
which are narrowing their borders still
closer, the poor return for manufacturing
enterprises, the great financial pressure that
is bearing millions to the earth, the scarcity
of grain that makes bread almost a luxury
to the workingman, the impossibility OF sup
porting family upon the wages that even
skilled mechanic can command, all these
are the agencies that must of necessity force
across the Atlantic colony after colony of
industrious, economical, hard working peo.
Pile. Nor need we expect recruits from the
mechanical class alone. Men of small means
in looking around for field of investmen
where limited capital, supplemented by
energy and business tact, will command
an easy living, will mot fail to rest their
eyes upon the fertile hillside and plain
of the western world, and determine to
HAM tuCli ChCICs
Nor is this all. In consequence of the
prospectively improbable character of most
of the great mercantile pursuits in England,
and the ill-success that has attended many
of the investments made by British capi-
talists in foreign national loans, it is
probable that the tamount of unemployed
money held in London seeking secure in
vestment is larger now than it usually is
Already it is stated that on account of the
dearth OF investments, people are beginning
to look towards the United States four per
cent. bonds, and large quantity of them
have been disposed Of. Under these circum-
stances, if our business interests revive
within the next year or two, it would not
be strange if English cap ital was to flow
this way to supplement our own in the de-
velopment of our various industries.
1t is reasonable, then, to indulge the hope
that English necessity will supply the COM
plement Of our success-that English capt.
tai will be employed to vitalize the slum-
bering values which on every side surround
us. But we need not expect to reap our
share OF the harvest without an effort, nor
need we expect one shllling's worth for
which full equivalent is not given.
In competition with the attractions Of Vir-
ginia and the South, the great, fertile West
spreads out its teeming prairies and invites
all to make their home where never a
thought of actual want finds place, where
the virgin soil lies waiting forl the pillow to
cover its surface with the golden grain, and
where the richest and most productive of
lands can be purchased almost for song
IT'S true it cannot offer the. advantages of
schools and churches, settled society and
near markets, rich minerals and fine water
power, but men will submit to the inconve-
nience caused by these deficiencies, if by
SO doing they are enabled to secure a home
oftheir own. They would much prefer, how
ever, to establish themselves where their
children could be educated, their families
brought under kindly social influence, and
the product of their labors find ready mar
ket-and these are the advantages which
the South offers. Persons of limited means
who may desire to make their homes on this
side of the water, will carefully weigh the
inducements held out by the two sections,
and the comparative price of property will
govern their decision. They will be willing
to pay more for lands centrally located than
on the frontier. but they will not be willing
to pay exorbitant prices for the one, when
the other can be had for little more than the
asking.
1t will rest with the people of the South
to determine their choice. If a liberal spirit
is manifested. we may expect numbers of
them to settle among us, and many waste
place be made to blossom as the rose. If
we attempt to take advantage of what we
may regard as their necessity, tine effort to
grasp will lose all. We must come down
to realization of the fact that one dollar now
is a hundred cents all over the world, and
in estimating the value of the land put in
market, it should not be measured by the price
paid for it eight or ten years ago, but by the
percentage of profit now derived from it.
Men have become so accustomed to estimat-
ing their possessions by false standard of
value, that it is difficult for them to compre.
bend the changed condition of affairs. They
do not real ize that $40, 0O0. now is as much
as $50. 900 was seven years ago. If an own
er of real estate receives proposition to sell
piece of property at twenty-five per cent.
less than he gave for it in flush times, he is
wont to regard it as an attempt at down.
right robbery. and if necessity does not press
sore upon him, he either looks upon the Of
fer as good joke or. an insult, VIII list by
accepting he would actually receive hand
some profit on his investment.
This awakening to a realization of the
changed circumstances that surround us,
must come sooner or later, and the sooner
the better, for opportunities are fitting
by like sunbeams, and we may find too late
that other communities have not been so re-
luctant to accept the inevitable.
There are thousands upon thousands OF
acres in the Valley that are not returning to
their owners one dollars worth of profit
These lands are actually of no value what.
ever, and it would be better to give them
away than permit them to remain in the
condition they now are. There is, howev-
er, no occasion for any wholesale sacrifice,
for there will be purchasers enough, if fair
and reasonable price is accepted.
We ask our farmers, and those who haye
land for sale, to think over this matter for
themselves, and when inquiry is made for
their real estate, to dismiss all notion of
fancy figures and come down to the lowest
notch. 1t is only in this way that we may
expect to redeem much of the land now
wholly improbable, and enhance the value
of it all. Cut up.the large farms into small
ones, thoroughly cultivate those retained
and sell off the surplus at such price that
men can see in it safe business invest
ment.
According to the detailed account given
by the New York Herald, the victory over
the Cheyennes that escaped from Fort Rob-
inson was not glorious for the troops. Sew
enteen half.starved bucks held four compan-
les in check and killed three soldiers ont