Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1883-01-13

"
erection Of manufacturing establish
ments in our midst. but the old fossils
among us who have managed to clutch
a fair share of the filthy lucre, hang
to it like grim death to dead mig
ger, and will do nothing to enhance
the interests of the town in which they
live. In all communities there. are
such men men who will do nothing
to benefit their fellow-men they care
nothing for the toiling masses who
have made them rich in this world s
gear they give occasionally pittance
to be sent to the poor benighted deni-
zen of some far-off country, knowing
little and caring less of the poor we
have at home. With the pleasant
contemplation that they can have
large and capacious pockets in their
shrouds when they leave this sinful
world, they care not whether the poor
and unfortunate have the wherewith
to appease their hunger or give them
decent burial They see the young
men of our town daily leaving for
other and wider spheres of action on
account Of lack of employment here
giving no thought to the cause or lift
ing hand to stay the tide. These
young men invariably marry abroad,
and are lost to us as citizens while
old maids and widows (and they num-
Der among them some of the best wo-
men in the land) accumulate by the
score, and live on in 'single blessed
ness as constant reminders of the
greed and avarce of those who should
have been their friends and protectors.
Yes, these "enterprising men, drive
our young men away that they may
keep the present business in their own
hands, and sit counting their money
bags, while dolefully humming-
"Dimes and dollars, dollars and dimes
An empty pockets the worst of crimes
But we started out in this paragraph
to write of something more pleasant
and agreeable. We are happy to say
that some of the public-spirited citi-
zens of Middletown are forming a
joint-stock company for the purpose of
carrying on the manufacture Of agri-
cultural implements on an extended
scale. These works, together with
the heavy mining operations which
will soon be in progress on Belle Grove
farm, will give that town an impetus
toward thrift and prosperity enjoyed
by no other town in the Valley In
connection with this, we give place to
the following general advantageswhich
follow the establishment of manufac-
tories, and hope their perusal may
stimulate our Middletown friends to
renewed exertions:
l. A considerable permanent addi-
ton is at once made to the population
in the shape OF many skilled work
men who prove auxiliary to every
other kind of business carried on in
the neighborhood
2. The value of real estate is en-
HANGED by the erection of large build
ings in which to carry on the process
of manufacture, and by the appropri-
alton of large areas to accommodate
the dwellings built for employees.
3. The eudden increase of numbers
involves a correspondingly large con-
sumption of articles of necessity, com
fort and taste, on the spot, and thus
enlarges the sphere and intensifes the
activity of the various classes of bus
mess previously carried on, besides
opening demand for several new
kinds which are generally attracted to
community by any considerable in
crease of inhabitants.
4. The wages earned by the factory
hands on the spot, and help to energize
every material interest of the town,
making money plentier, trade brisker,
prices cheaper, sales larger, oommodl-
ties more various, and improvements
more ambitious.
b. The tax-paying power of the com
munity is much augmented, leading to
a bettered condition of roads, bridges,
streets, pavements, public buildings
and the like.
| ". IhOiO poiio man hiOiC OuiluIcH
and many more grown people, de-
mand springs up for better school ac-
commodations and for larger churches,
bringing not only higher grade of
talent in each department of human
needs, but decided advance in archi-
tectural excellence.
7. One factory having been estab-
lished it becomes easier to attract to
the place other manufacturing enter
prises auxiliary to the first.
s. So far as the people are consum-
ers of the articles produced in the fac
tory, they become direct purchasers
from the manufacturers, thus dispens-
ing. altogether with the profits extort-
ed by middle men, and making a gain
by greater cheapness of price paid for
the articles, such always being the re-
suit of placing producer and consumer
side by side.
9. Farmers in the neighborhood are
benefited by securing an improved
local market for the sale of their pro-
duce, and the number and character
of the articles produced by them is
creased to such an extent as to make
al L l.