The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-03-18

! union (Bty ~. Htck fn q n.
EDITOR CoURIER VIII you allow an
ex.citizen of Union City, and one who
still feels an interest in her progress and
/ welfare, to say a few words in endorse
ment of the position taken by you in
YOUR editorial remarks relative to the
/ Union City ARchOr's Survival of the
/ Fittest" article.
/ The Anchor, in its retort, twists your
answer so as TO bring the matter to a
point of argument to the relative Dres-
/ satconditions of Union City and Hick man
while his first peroratIon was merely a
! prophecy of @ brilliant future for Union
! City, which, comet-like, was to sweep in
| with its tail a considerable radius of ter
ritory and gather the towns and villages
therein to its own radiant centre Now
il seems to me that the fact that u. c. has
increased in population more in % years
than Hick Imam has in 40, while superficial
/ ly strong argument in favor of the
Anchor position, can. by no thinking
man, be considered conclusive proof of
that town ) ultimate supremacy.
To Judge the future by the past of
man is an axiom which will not hold
good in every, if in many instances. In
Auenees, bearing closely on the future of
this and our sister town, are now silently
10 work which were not during the peri
cd of Union City 5 mush- room like growth.
The question-':To what does Union City
owe her present population and her most
subs antial trade is easily answered by
any one who is acquainted with the his
tory of the town for the past 10 years
and the answer is-To the extensive, but
fastly decreasing, manufacture, rehand-
ling and consuming of timber from her
once fine, adjacent forests. That the pros
perity which accompanied this industry
has net given sufficient impetus TO other
branches of trade to render Union City
Independent of it as she shall have to be
in the near future) would be amply prov
ed were the lumber trade and its accom-
paniments to be removed from there for
one three months. But these are only
facts. So far no deductions.
Some Union Cityite may say-"ShOw
us some sign of retrOgression or even a
check IN our onward progress, admitting
our lumber trade to be on the wane, and
that it gave life to the town can do
it-and am sorry that can. The whole
country has passed through, or rather is
IN the midst Of, season of upexampled
good times, and yet Union City, to-day,
IS manufacturing less goods, and conse-
quently using less materials, and turning
w. iNSS HOhNl IMAM bht WAS u cur auu
a half or two years ago. OF her three
furniture factories one is almost silent
and another running at about one fourth
its capacity. There is decided check in
the improvement of her real estate.
Now capacity for rapid growth should
be, aud Is, accompanied by IA strong recu-
perative power after passage through
adversely. Yet, contrast Hickman and
Union City in this respect. Hickman OF
today is, in every way, far ahead Of
Hickman before the visitation of that ter
rible seourge which darkened her sky
and left her PROSTATE, with an impOver
ishe1 and almost demoralized remnant of
her population TO lift her up. Union City,
70 years after her visitation by the chol-
era, of believe -, was not herself again.
This comparison bears, of course, very in
directly on the subject, but yet is food for
reflection.
Now, admitting, as all viii, that the pro-
gress and material increase in wealth and
Importance Of every town in the South
depends on the growth of manufacturing
industries-the changing by mere appi-
cation of the brain and muscle of our
people of Inexpensive raw material into
costly merchandise-admjtti that the
material itself Is necessary TO the success
of the process-it is uncontrOvertably a
TACT that the III OSt fertile ueldS Tor such
labor are those in which the desired ma
terial most abound. or TO which, by their
peculiar position, it can be transported
at the least expense Union City will
always be q manufacturing pOInt-l0ng
may she wave-but the time is not far
~ ant when her raw material shall be
'pawn from points on our river of rivers
W hen this is so, when will men who con-
troll capital reach such sublime height
Of idiocy as TO prefer to pay freight, sc,
on material from Hickman to Union City
to placing their machinery right on our
banks Does any enc suppose that any
possible induce ment could 6e extended to
the propriet0rs of an oil factory or a cot
ton mill which would cause them to choose
between Hickman and L MON City in favor
Of The latterf No Union City is thriv
ing and stirring town, but is far from
possessing advantages 80 much superior
to those around her as to ever hope for
such a future of exclusive prosperity
the Anchor prophecies for her. Besides,
there il no reason why Union City should
be left blooming alone. St. Paul and
New York and Brooklyn,
aud other sister cities, flourish side by
aud net devouring each
ether, and why not Hickman and its
neighbors? Yours truly,