New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-03-07
lN TIE BLUE GRASS REGION.

AGRREABLK FELLoW-TkAfFihNH-1 NNi
CONDITION OF Observation-Disclosures"
BULLDOzsR
Hrxp,yIrIE. Ala. Feb. 1911 have been looking
r,rnf il the Blue Grass Region and other parts oil
Eantueky: For some reason the people In general
4lere do not seem to be 80 hopeful and buoyaDt IN
f.eIiug as they are in Virginia. Georgia ana
southern Tennessee. One would think from 1he
fertility Of their SOIL and from the STIR about ne"
railroads. and the prospect Of considerable M
migration to their State, that they Should DC ID
good spirits There are some energetic men az
Frankfort connected with the state government
who SEQ the importance OF hearty coOpera'ion
with the new order Of things IN the way OF business
enterprises and they are doing all they can !"
seenre the immigration Of industrious and thrifty
y.ore WIN will develop the resources OF tho State
and by their labor add to its wealth. Some repre-
senasiyes Of prospective Swiss colony are travel
linz over the State under the guidance OF Professor
Proctor, the accomplished State Geolog;ss. Speak
ing of this reminds me that Kentucky sets an au-
mirable example 10 the other Ststas By maintanthK
an excellent geological and miDeraicSica C"hoc'lo"
Mt the State House with IN exhibition OF ssricu'-
tural products.
But this whole matter Of immigration INTO no"
mr. nfamar region is stillone OF great uncertainty
a haphaz4rd enterprise for most OF those VINO uu-
dertake it, in which the first adventures genersiy
fan and wise methods are only learned il OF ALL at
the coat of much loss disappointment and snnerng'
cannot find that the most important thing OF all "
evsr .old "a Immigrants or TO those who are pros
neetjnr y with a view to immigration any where
that IA the anount of the variOns crops which the
land will produce without manure. People are
easily led 10 believe that the specimen products
shown them or about which they are told are the
xa.i or average results of cultivation, When, very
Often these have been grown by an unlimited appii-
cation of fertilizers to a small piece OF ground,
taking no account Of the cost OF the manuree.
THE LABOR QUESTION IN KENTUCKY.
Hound many Kentuckians in a complaining mood
regarding the condition and prospects of labor in
their Stale In Virginia everybody seemed to I'M
derssand the negro, TO know how to manage him as
Iaborer, aud all spoke hopefully Of his prospects
and their own. But in Kentucky they say the negro
will not work, shat is. yen can't depend on him.
He stays away for all kinds of excuses and reasons,
or for no reason at ali, Aud II you demonstrate he
says, well, pay LIE what you owe me. Don care
'bout workin any more now.'' The Kentuekians
say they want white labor from the North, want 1t
badly. +" Fifty coed girls conid at once find employ
meut IN the houses of gentlemen In Frankfort"
Some gentlemen who talked with me even appeared
to think that the negro population constitutes
kind of incubus upon the life of the State, and
prosperity. / confess that this view. or perhaps
/ should rather say feeling, seemed to re
somswhst absurd. ] thought they might easily
find the remedy In their own hands Let these
Kentuckians go 10 work themselves. Kentucky
must be queer country ii she has not glrls-and
boys too-of her own who need to work for their
own fiying. But could not ascertain that anybody
had the least notion of gong to work with bis
own hands. So. too. they were all bewailing the
lack of capital and of enterprise among the people
of their State. They are looking TO the North for
both ospital and labor. But they have capital
enough of their own to establish many important
enterprises and to largely increase their wealth,
they would bat drop Of the absurdiies OF Ken
tucky civilization and 60 to work.
AMENITIES OF BLUEGRASS POLITICS.
Twas in one of the country towns of Kentucky the
other day. and happened to arrive when the place
WIS fairly abiaze with excitement. The editors OF
tho two local Democratic newspapers were rival
candidates for the nomination for the State
Legislature. They had begun the canvass with
some KIND of bargain about the use OF money and OF
yf,iskey az means 10 influence voters, and, as
leading citizen told me, up to last week both had
excellent prospects of success But as they warmed
up to the work, there were, to quote again. some
very serious developments" One candidate pub
lished card, in which he charged the other with
whsksy in the campaign. His antagonist
replied ut great length giving his own personal and
family history and that Of his opponent, and, at the
close II desire to say clearly and explicitly, that
his course toward has beer the result of delrum
tremeus or Of the most 6endish and vicious feeling
of jealousy and envy" and 30 on. ale is liar and
a cowardly puppy" "He is not in my way, and is
hereafter welcome to do whatever the promptings
of soul which Processes to believe there Is no God
may suggest" etc. II / had not seen the extraor-
binary behavior efthe entire population of the town,
resulting from this publication, the grotesqna and
melodramatie a5surdity Of it would have appeared
Incredible Everybody dropped his business or occu-
patton, II he had any. The men and boys swarmed
into the streets and the women looked
ont of the doors and windows. Leading
citIsens hurried hitbcr and thither and held con-
serenoes and receiYed "overtures from delega-
lions representing first Of the belligerens and
then the other all with an awful seriousness,
solemn formaity of proceeding, as if the fate OF
empires hung upon every movement. Meantime the
Infatuated antagonists, though thirstiag for blood
kept we'll away from each others presence At the
end Of day of stupendous and exhausting effort on
the part Of all the principal citizens to avert blood
she'd Mr.. Browns friends swore out peace warrant
and arrested Mr. Jones and Nh. JOness friends swore
out peace warrant and arrested Mr.. Brown. One
editor gave bail aud was released under bonds to
keep the peace The other editor refused to give
bail and was put 10 Jail. where he went on editing
his pspsr and appealing to the people for their
voteA Everybody SAID that his " incarceration" as
he called it. would give him a decided advantage
oyer his opponent.
This vas more like the old South than anything
had yet seen. There still many people in Ken
Z tucky, perhaps In other States, who enjoy such
feoiexies, aad call thsm by dignifed aud solemn
nsmes could not observe any sign Of the percep-
ton ON the part Of any person concerned that the
whole affair ridiculous but it seemed 10 North
ern eyes mere boyish nonsense. It's stiffness would
have made it impossible in Northern community.
IL