The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1879-05-17
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REso,URCEs ESQ 81 Z d 3 0IEsUEsTtTIR--
GLNL1.
4ETalk syith Go vernon oldthe,re
-Progress Of the State IN Popu-
laion, Igealtl. and Iutettigence
--Indtaieeme ents 70 :Northern Set.
= Rers.
Governor Mathews, Of Vest Vir'
ginia, spent. alfew days in the the city
recently tile adjournmentsoff the
Legislature Of his lstategiying him
an opportunity Of enjoying, a briei
season Of rest and recreation He
Isl man about as, OF medium sta;
turc, with brown hair, side eawliis;
kers and Imustache, and a counts;
nance whose healthy color bcspeaksa
a good digestion and a fondness for
outdoor exercise. In its main
outline lis face resembles that oi
lAYadeI Hampton, but his figure u.
shorter, more compact and more
alert: than that ofYthe South Caro-;
lima hero! He is "a Democrat, ot
course, and;is in the middle of q
four years. term to which / he was
elected sins s1S76 BY q majority soi
14,O His Democracy is s5of the
liberal and progressive school, He
dsplores sectionalism and rejoices
that in West Virginia there is now
very little bitterness in politics, aud
that men ofthe highest character
are found in both parties. A lrcp.
resentativo Of the Tribune talked
to- GoysrnorlNfathews theiother, day
on heFcondition; resources and
prospects! !ofNyest Virginia, State
very littlsknownjto to Eastern people,
although Lying allnostFat their
doors rs rs
lis4NY q estimate our present apopu:
|lation / at 500, ,0O0p said the Gov:
ernor, Ga gain Of about 60,0o0, since
1S7o. This gainlhas been chiefly
from the natural increase lof Sour
own people. lFo have had very
little Immigration; not that We
lacSiplentY room for more inhab:
itants, Ebut9the! tide Of foreign emf:
grants: flows past tEus= 10 Ethe West!
Recently gnuabct Of ! Swiss gand
Scandinavian have como Ein,a and
their success will no doubt bring
more people Of these nationalities.
Our mountain counties, with their
fertile valleys and upland pastures,
arc particularly pleasing to these
people, reminding them somewhat
of their native countries. One OBJ
stacle to immigration has been tho
ownership Of large tracts Of wild
lands by d few individuals, who
have kept them out of the market,
We have men who own as much.
as 100000 acres each. These big
tracts arc gradually getting broken
up, however, Our mountains are
not all rocky and sterile, by any
means. The; sides and tops arc Of
ten fertile, and you have only to
clear off the. .underbrushs to got q
fine growth Of blue grass. The
mountain lands arc thus Of great
value for pasturagc. The cattle
and sheep industries are doyolop-
ing rapidly. Sheep do remarkably
well on the mountain ranges, and
the cheapness Of land makes Gthis
industry especially attractive"
g":Are the salt works in the Kama;
wha Valley in operation now?" !,
!, "Yes.; ! believe they are doing
tolerably vol. For q time this in
dustry was greatly depressed, but
it is picking up & rapidly, 9 e.. E,
eve hear very little of tho West
Virginia petroleum fields Of late.Hs
"a good deal Of oil is still pro-
duced in the neighborhood -of. Par
kersburg, but it comes from wells
of small capacity, and the business
has lostiits speculative character.
The yield of the old wells has fallen
off, and sfew new, ones arc being
1unt u 90 =, {s u tfi3'l; ,