Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-12-24
uaJ. WIN. >. sykes ON Immigra-


j. Sykes, on immigration, which
he delivered at that place before
large concourse of the citizens Of
Giles county. 1t j. full of solid
truths and well worthy the perusal
of every Tennesseean, and of all
who wish to find new homes in the
South. 1t is fair answer to the
wall of the pessimist and to those
who seek to injure their State by
preaching the gospel of despair"
Tennessee's attractions and adj
vantages a. a home are not surpass-
ed by those of any part OF this or
any other country. In the face of
this it is a startling fact that, in
stead of her population being swell
ed at the expense Of less favored
sections, it has suffered the drain of
emigration steadily for the past
eighty years, until native Tennes-
seeans are numbered among the
distinguished men of almost every
State in the Union. 1t certainly
could not be assigned Is the reason
for this emigration that our State
could not produce enough for the
people to subsist on, seeing that she
raises, according TO the last census,
p bushels of corn per acre, against
Is in Arkansas, 10 in Louisiana, 8
in Georgia and III in Texas, while
her yield OF lint cotton per acre IL
not exceeded by that Of any State
save Louisiana. The idea that
| farms are cheaper in Texas than
Tennessee is a false one. The cost
of improvements fully cOunterbal-
ances the difference in the price of
land. While Tennessee leads the
other southern States in her produc-
tiOns per acre, they do not equal
those of some of the western States
whose soil is naturally no better
than ours. Observation shows that
the cause of the disparity is to be
/ found in the difference in the Sys-
TENS of cultivation here and there.
In the Northwest wheat, for in
stance, is never soWn broadcast, but
is always drilled, the ground having
been plowed deep and carefully.
This thorough cultivation and the
small farm system have raised the
yield of wheat in Ohio from Al to Is
bushels per acre. A prominent
citizen Of Tennessee said in a public
speech recently that our poor men
are too poor to buy bread. If Ten
nessee, with 40 bushels of corn per
head, cannot feed her people, how
| must those of the other southern
States fare? Tennessee is the rich
est State south of Missouri. and is
not far behind her in wealth. An
increase in population brings with
il more than propOrtiOnate in
| crease i'm wealth. Illinois, with
about three times Tennessee's pOpu-
lation, produces more than five
times as much. Careful preparation
and cultivation of crops almost
guarantees immunity from the dis
asters of bad seasons. A want of
adequate labor for proper cultivation
is one which makes immigration
necessary to the future prosperity of
our State. That almost exclusive
cultivation of cotton is a disastrous
system, as is proved by statistics
| which show the comparative value
of land in the cotton counties OF
] Tennessee and those which raise
grain and live stock. Lands are as
sessed lower in Shelby, in the vicin-
ity of Memphis, than in Maury
county. Nothing adds so much TO
the prosperity OF a community as
manufacturing enterprises, and few
States afford advantages in this di-
rectiOn equal to Tennessee's. Until
her resources are developed by
manufactures, it will always be
true, as it is now, that one county
in Pennsylvania produces more than
the State of Tennessee. The pros
perity of the South never depended
upon the institution of slavery, but
upon that spirit of progress that has
wrought such wonders in the North.
All that is necessary to attract
the capital and labor that we
need is an adequate effort on our
part.
The national government has IA
vOred the North and West at the
! expense of the South in its appro-
priation for internal improvements.
Her natural advantages, however,
with proper enterprise on her part
of her people, will outweigh this
The proposition of the immigration
movement to be organized through.
out the State is to form associations
of property owners in every county
A competent man is to be elected
secretary, to receive from the mem
bers information of lands or Other
property offered for sale or lease and
make report to the COMMISSIONS
at Nashville. This is sure to prove
an effectual mode of advertisement
as Commissioner Hawkins bullet
ms, into which these reports will bt
Incorporated, are circulated all owe
the North and in Europe whereve
they are calculated to do the mos
, good. One of the greatest misfort
uneS that Tennessee has ever sui
! fered has been misrepresentation
with regard to lands offered for sal
i'm certain portions of the State
"Splendid lands for 81 90 an acre.
? is an offer that has caught many
| Northern man and foreigner VIII
E had no means of knowing that tn
lands were worthless. Immigrant
= thus attracted are not only disaI
T pointed themselves, but by their re
8 ports to their friends North do a
Y incalculable injury to the soutl
| 0llSS GOuHly AdnuS hT6 cheaper
: $40 an acre than those of some Othe
l. sections of the State at 40c. Worth
q less lands are dear at any'price; bU
good ones are scarcely dear at any
> A constitution which has been pre-
pared for recommendation to tn
s county immigration association fi2
:. es the membership fee at S1.00 an
n dues at SOC per mouth. OF cours
: different sums can be decided upor
n as expedient. If MANUFACTURER
y companies were organized in Pula'
II XII and neighbOring towns, and tn
,. proper representations made to til
. railroad companies, the discriminI
: tions in freight rates-the only bal
r rier to the success of such comps
v nies-might be relieved. The frs
s of the proposed immigration soc
!, cites has been organized in Frank
lin county. Let Giles follow su
: and give the movement the supper
it deserves, and there is nothing to
, bright to promise her.