The Osceola times., 1882-10-14
How To Improve Our
County.


County.
Commupic ,ted
| Mn. EDITOR: Mississippi County
has steadily, but slowly advanced in.
population and wealth since the war,
but its rate of increase is small COM
pared with that Of the north west, or
even with that of other portions of
Arkansas. it is rather ike the
growth of an ordinary farm, which is
enlarged by the addition of small
clearings end the extension Of fences
from year 10 year. There are two
Especial drawbacks to such growth as
we ought to expect and to look for.
| !. That so much of our lands are
owned by persons who live in other
states, and who take no interest IN
any permanent improvements of the
country, but satisfy themselves with
collecting their rents, which at best
pay them scanty interest on their
investments.
| III. Our lands are owned by too
small a number of persons. Men
own thousands of acres, who have
but a few hundred in cultivation,
leaving the remainder wilderness
of cane-thickets.
Now while the lands of q county
are in possession of few men who
have not the means to put them in
icultivation and who refuse to sell to
others; and while the great bulk of
the workers are migratory people,
here to-day and gone tomorrow,
staying in one place only long en-
ough to enable them to elect county
officials and state Legislators, thus in
directly shaping laws for which they
haveno care nor respect, how can such
county prosper? with the first draw
back mentioned, that of absentees,
we can do nothing; but it is surely
in our power to do something towards
anchoring among us this migratory
population.
1t is mates of every day occur
renee in cities, that man purchases
o piece ef land in the suburbs; he
has it surveyed and divided in small
lots, some of which he sells for small
prices topcrsons who build upon and
improve them. These improvements
attract other parties, and presently
the land which was purchased in a
: lot for 500 per acre is selling foi
nearly or quite that sum per front
foot for the sub-divided lots, AS in
cities, SO it would be in the country,
only at reduced figures and Tor larg-
er portions of land,
1t will be for the interest of the
county generally, and it will also be
found to the interest Of the individu.
ais themselves, if the land owners
will dispose of small portions of their
lands, to actual scttlersi giving them
a long time to pay. If they do pay
well and good, if they do not pay,
the land will revert to the seller with
all the improvements thereon.
Our advice, therefore. to the large
land owner is, that when he finds a
person. white or black, who exhibits
a fair amount of industry, energy
and honesty, to try and convince him
that it is not to his interest to rent
! land or to crop on shares, but that il
is to his interest to purchase and to
own piece of land; let him have it
on reasonable terms; help him along
, while he is making a beginning, and
we venture TO say that the person
who acts on our advice will not re-
gret 1t. He may be deceived now
ard then by individuals, but in the
long run both he and the man he has
assisted will be greatly benefited,
and the county will lie helped to an
other nseful citizen to take the place
of the ordinary crop-jumping tramp,
who, while being under present cir
cumstances necessity, is none the
less a nuisance and an evil.
ARKANSAS,