Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-01-22

NmmtSratfOm-The Climate Soil
and Productions OF Georgia.
Ee0l York Herald, 1sfA.
A representative of the Herald called on
Senator Brown yesterday to get his views
on the condition of the South, its future and
its duty. The Senator was found in his par
lor seated st large table on which was q
mass of correspondence and papers. He
was debating to his private secretaries,
whom he keeps constantly at work, his life
being very busy one. Besides his pollti-
cal work, Senator Brown is the most i'm
portant man of affairs In Georgia. He is
President of the Western and Atlantic Rail-
road, the most important single line in the
South; he has nearly half million invested
10 coal mining, owns several branch roads
runptng to various coal and iron mines now
being developed; is largely interested in the
manufacture of iron, has twenty year
/ lease on 300 State eonvicts, owns sew
eral hundred Thousand dollars worth of city
property Ia Atlanta, and has several
farms that he successfully manages. He is
President of the Southern Railway and
! Steamship Association, President Of the
Board Of Education OF Atlanta and Preei
dent OF the Cotton Exposition. In person
he is angular, tall, with firmly set jaws, u
long head, broad, high forehead and long
white beard, which he strokes snervously
with his fingers when talking. His fingers
are remarkably long, and he moves them
through the afr In peculiar manner IN the
way of gestures. He would be accepted at
a glance as man of power and intellect,
and talks rapidly, decisively and with EN-
phatic dlrectness.
DUTIES AND NEEDS OF THE SOUTH.
asked hiul what he thought was the first
duty of the South.
"fo get away from politics. he replied
without hesitation, 'fsnd to give the time
and attention of her people to practical
matters. OF course, l do not mean that we
should abandon any political principle, but
simply that we should not give sentimental
distractions the absorbing attention they
have heretofore had. The South can make
nothing By political agitation, while It can
make great deal by turning It's attention
to practical matters. think IL we could
have nothing TO do with politics for the
next eight or ten years 1t might be better
for us. am not afraid that the principles
OF Democracy will suffer from allowance
The question OF State rights, for instance,
will, am satisfied, have the earnest support
of New England, as soon as the West aud
South have grown a little more powerful
The Democratic party is based on essential
principles and they will live without per-
petual agitation.
''But the question Of practical advance
ment," the Senator went on to say, ISIS
pressing one. We have vast resources that
are but partially developed or entirely
locked up. We want our rivers opened, so
that our timber and naval stores can be
marketed, and we want our superb harbors
improved, 30 that the productions and COM
merce of-our own State and OF a half
dozen other States that seek these harbors
Hnd 0nflat W.
educated, their mines developed, and to
these ends our representatives should work.
The South is prospering, but there are GER
tain agencies of development that must be
employed to hasten and make easy her full
development"
"You think, then. that the South has
made progress In the past few years ?"
81 am certain of it. Any man who rides
through our section cannot fail to note the
advancement. He will see better fences,
better stock. better houses, better barns,
new factories, thriving cities that were
towns few years ago, and towns that were
villages. But the South Is just now pre-
pared for real development. We have Just
finished smoothing over the desolation of
war, reha6ilitatiug our farms and paying
our debts. The recuperatioB shown by the
South is almost without parallel. Just look
at her condition at the close of the war.
She had lost by one sweep Of pen about
1900, 900 600 worth Of slave property, there
having been freed about tour million
negroes worth $500 each. She had lost
quite as much more by equipping and sup
porting her armies for four years, for every
thing was paid for In Confederate notes or
bonds, which were valueless. She was
made to contribute largely to the support Of
armies of the North by seizure of her
property wherever they needed it. She lost
millions Of dollsrs' worth OF property de-
stroyed by both armies-as houses, stock
fences, etc. At the close Of the war her
people found themselves stripped Of almost
everything except their lands, and much of
that was sold for Federal taxes, their
farms desolate, their homes dis
mantled, the heads of families and
firms dead, the old order of things sub
verted and the people heavily ia debt.
We were then not only given our proper
tion of the national debt to pay, but special
taxes laid on our cotton and tobacco. These
taxes were purely and simply sectional, as
Gotten and tobacco are not raised North or
West, and took millions from our people
annually. The cotton tax was raised after
s-veral years, during which probably $40,-
coo, ,000 was collected; but the tobacco tax,
collected almost entirely from the South,
is still levied, and a large proportion of the
whisky tax is also paid by u. Nothing
but the courage and industry of our people
and the enormous incomes received from
their crops would have enabled them to
have recovered at ali from these crushing
losses and expressions, much less within
single decade"
GETTING RID OF DEBT.
"Have you about finished paying up your
debts and getting your affairs in shape?''
eyes, sir; our people are almost out of
debt. They have almost restocked and re-
fitted their farms, they are using improved
agricultural implements, have rebuilt their
cities and towns, and are now ready for pro-
gress and development The immense in
comes frou cotton and other crops that
have been for the past ten or twelve years
devoted to rehabilitation and settling up old
scores, will, for the next ten years, seek
new investment, aud it is the highest
duty of craftsmanship to encourage meas
ures that will lead to q legitimate invest
ment of this money. With this done, the
South will, In a few years, be wealthy aud
independent, and this is the shortest road
she can take to power and respect. Just
take our cotton crop alone. In 1865 It was
2 DDS, ,987 balet; in 1870 1t was ,352 317 bales,
in 1879 it was 8, ,625. 600 and the estimate for
this year is 100000. II this estimate is
correct-and / suppose it will belt shows
that we have nearly trebled the crop in fif-
teen years and have increased 1,700,-
ought to realize nearly $500 000, 900 for this
years cotton crop alone, do not claim
that the South Is alone in this progress. The
whole country has done well. We have In
1879 2, 434, 1884, SAL bushels of grain against
/ 629, ,027, 600 in 1870, an enormous increaee
in less than ten years. We have now 81 ,591
miles of railroad against 50, ,0S5 in 1865, and
52,914 in 1870 This marvellous growth
SHOULD admonish every statesman, North
and South, that there is higher duty upon
US all than mere abstract politics; that we
should address ourselves to practical Ques-
tions and should engineer with all prudence
and intelligence the onward rush of our
country for the next decade"
s'What do you think the course of the
South should be-"
"The first thing that the people OK the
South should do in a political way is to
convince the people of the North that they
have accepted In perfect good faith the re-
construction measures and the amendments
to the Constitution, and will stand by them
and carry them out in all that they legiu-
mately imply. We can Dever hope to win
national victory until this is done. 1t was
fear on the part OF the capitalists and sub
stantial men of the North of the S0uth's
sincerity, and appreheneions created by a
few Southern Bourbons, that defeated
US in the last election, and will defeat
US until 1t Is entirely removed. We
have nothing to lose by being frank and
Straightforward, and everything to Jose By
agitation, prejudice and passion. The
course OF her Representatives should be to
argue matters quietly and without intem-
perance, to discourage all sectional feeling,
to live on good terms with the representa-