Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-02-02

ton of the State, am told, is found
northwest and southwest from here ;but
lone thing is true. and that is, it is hard
to beat this section in its grass product.
1t is far ahead of southwestern Missou-
ri in these respects, and probably not
excelled anywhere. The growth Of ma
tive grass is luxuriant and succulent,
and as it disappears from use, it is i'm
mediately succeeded by a strong, luxu-
rant growth of sweet blue grass, equal
I to that of the famous Kentucky blue
grass region. Then there is plenty OF
water; good grass is almost king in an
agricultural country, and that is had
here. This part is dotted all over with
large herds of cattle and sheep, and no
complaint about water. The water had
from wells is of excellent quality both
for stock and domestic purposes, and
abundant in supply. There are public
swamp lands here to be had for S1.25
per acre, that are excellent ranges for
stock. There ars also ridge ranges for
stock. There are also ridge ranges near
the Grand River, utilized by the stock
men here at very low cost. Bottom
lands can be had on Turkey and Locust
creeks at SIS per acre, that in time will
make excellent farm lands, and are now
very good meadows and excellent pas
lures. Lands here on the prairie can be
bought now at S17 to S22.50 per acre
Just as good land as one need want. and
some of the pretty well improved, as the
word goes out here. But there is an
incubus hanging over large portion OF
the State, that has held it back for
years, but it will soon free itself, and
then assert its place in the progress of
States. Eleven years ago, the writer
visited this portion of Missouri, and
found many farmers discounting their
paper at rs and 33 per cent, and secur-
ing the mortgages with deeds of trust
on their lands. The best farms could
have been bought then for S15 per acre
we find many of them still cucumber
ed, and liable to be sold on these same
deeds of trust, and others that have
been placed since. Rates of interest
prevail now at 10 per cent. You will
observe lands have advanced $3.50 per
acre, and rates of interest reduced 23
per cent. After these lands are unen-
numbered, which will be in few years,
they cannot be bought for less than S35
or $40 per acre. Now is the time to in
vest in farms in Northern Missouri.
There is something here in this con-
nection relating to the currency Ques-
tion. That question may be obsolete in
Ohio. but it is not in Missouri. The
people out here, Democrats and Repub-
licans, are silver men. That is, they are
bi-metalists, and would not support Hon.
John Sherman, because they believed
he did all he could to retard the circula-
tion of silver, and played second fiddle
to the goldites of the East. The condi-
tions stated above exhibit on their face
a great wrong, and an abnormal condi-
ton, when money in one part of the
country is worth and per cent, and
in another 26 and 80 per cent-or as it
stands now, 4 and per cent in one case,
and 10 per cent. in the other. The West
had hard times for years before the
panic of '7S. owing to scarcity Of cur
rency, but owing to its incomprehensi-
bly, great agricultural and mineral re-
sources, it has been enabled to pull
through, and now, while peering into
the coming light of day, it has already
begun to compute its vast greatness in
ghe near future years. Think for mo-
ment of the millions of money required
to move the cereals of the West alone,
|
the farmer has his land, stock and ma
chinery clear of debts shackles, he is a
rich man, and his country is rich coun-
try, and what he sells brings him gold,
silver and greenbacks, and he keeps it
for his own purposes.
Speaking of the currency reminds me
of statement made by the business
men here with whom / have conversed,
that silver coin was denied the West.
There are dealers at points through the
States whs deal largely in the agricultu-
raj products-corn, wheat, wool, cattle,
hogs, tobacco, ETC., and during the NOV
| ing season handle enormous quantities
of money. 1t is said that when the paper
money was exhausted it was impossible
to get anything but gold from the East
silver was not to be had (; and now the
people reason this way: The goldites of
the East were mono-metalists and as
such were welded to gold and determin-
ed to debar the circulation of silver if
possible. Hence, rather than aid to put
silver in circulation, they would ship in
their golden god to the West, ship in
just that which they worshipped, with
view to getting it back again in the COM
mercial exchanges of the future. But
this order of things is destined to be re-
versed in the near future, as between
the Mississippi Valley at least and the
East. We may all live to see Chicago,
Cincinnati, st. Louis, Kansas City and
New Orleans controlling collectively the
exchanges of the great valley on the one
side and the great money center of the
Appalachian water shed on the other
side, striving to fasten and maintain
their insatiate talons on the tribute the
West has for so many years been un-
complainingly paving to the East. But
the day of tribute is almost over, the
darkest of the night is past, and the
coming day is already illumined by the
refractory rays of the the rising sun.
The Mississippi River Commission has
a great work before it, one of National
Importance, one that must inevitably
control these exchanges in the future
Some years ago, the writer, in an article
published in the Bellaire Independent,
laid down the proposition that the tr1e
province of railways was an Office later
al to the navigable water courses of
country and especially our country. We
hold to that view now as firmly as then,
and believe that the opening up of the
Mississippi Valley will be the death
knell to the great trunk railroad line
monopolies, and that in this valley we
will see these great trunk lines now ex-
tending acress the continent, severed at
the Mississippi river and bearing their
enormous burdens to the barge lines of
that stream and its tributaries and the
great lakes. There seems to be only one
railroad king in this country who grasps
the situation and is trying to fortify
his hold on the people by buying in the
barge lines on the Mississippi, and that
man is Jay Gould. But our water cour-
ses are open to all the competing capital
that may see proper to embark therein,
and right here is the saving CLAUSE in |