Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1883-07-27
THE RUSSI1N REFUGEES
F4ILURE.

Faos by eolonlEing them 10 this count,
has proved failure. We are sorry f.
two reasons: first, becSusc of the hard
ships aud disappointment which thi
-.bsrseeu,ed little band has had To en-
dure and secondly, because If the un
favorable and. in most cases, unfair,
criticism which this failure hus prOvok
ssd sgains, th, fertility Of the soil aud
ather advantages which our county pos.
sesses. The Baltimore pers have
been rather bard 90 US. and, as in some
ether instances in which they have at
: tsnpted to give facts in relation to
"Charles county affairs. their statements
: aud comments are misleading and lack
just the explanation which. when made,
- would relieve our soil Of the imputation
. 81 'being too sterile to produce anything
; bsI shriVsled pStatOss, aud eur people
81 shs charge Of sIclssivsuess and in-
Hospitality. This is a matter Of public
lsaerssi, il concerns all our people, and
hence We offer the explanation.
We will admit that there refugees
we're placed upon tract Of poor land
but We do not admit that this land is
fair specimen Of most VI the land in our
county. II vas not the fault Of our
people that better lund was not provided
for this colony. Better land was to be
had even IN that immediate neghbor-
bsed The true ''inwardness" of the
asasier is, a. We are informed. that a
leading Jew in baltimore purchased,
some years ago, this very land for the
purpose Of cutting timber therefrom, and
for no other purpose. lie exhausted
oil the timber receiving full return for
his expenditure on the land, aud left
bleak, desolats spot with not even the
ssmblAnee of a habitatiOn upon it and
utterly VAlueleSs. as our people would
fssn it, for any purpose. To this
esert the poor Russians were shipped
kst year just in time to build up before
winter. by their own labor, a half dog
On or so novels which the scverest mas
Ger We uld not have thought decent abodes
~ bis slaves before the war. The land
would not bring forth wheat. They
seat upon it too late to plant corn or to-
baccO which might possibly have been
rAiSed BY fertiliEing, aud they left too
early this year to wait for the maturing
81 such crops, ifAny, as might have
been9raised.
And moreover the place in which
these people located was removed from
any Of our villages and public resorts.
Vi that they had no opportunity, even
IL their language and customs would
have permitted them, to associate with
ST. people aud become assimilated to
cur habits. No doubt they left in utter
DISCUS. and gave sery poor accounts OF
this whole section.
We do not assail the philanthropy
Of the gentlemen who sent them here,
nor the disinteresteduess of the mer-
chant Who had squeezed everything out
Of the land before Offering it as an aSy-
lum. but We submit it is not fair to as
ssii eur lsnis or our people because
these@ poserty-stricken outcssts could
not make living out of that particular
spot without even the advantages pos
sessed by the poorest tenant on the
mesnest land in the county.
We hope this failure aud the dismaI
accounts of it will not deter other
strangers from attempting a settlement
in our county. We do not care ah"u
sAsit coming in groups and budding to
ss!hsT in coops after they reach here. =
We would prefer that they should Pur
chase tracts Of land here and there, which
:key can do on easy terms, that the,
should mingle with cur people, teach u
new methods Of agriculture and horticul
tlre, new methods OF thought in som'
things il possible, aud help us to blil'
up 4 community as fertile in resource
a. most Of the counties in the state
,0ur county lice between two rivers
aastAer river and several creeks waite
aistyeat sections oft. and the LANDS OF
these water courses are as fertile an,
eaa be made as productive as lands any
where. Besides we have two railroad
RAINING completely acroas our count
which, With our rivers and creeks, ofe
the easiest sort of access to narket an
the rest Of the wsrld.
We do not wish to delude any strang
ers into our midst by Overdrawn state
ments as to our advantages. but we d
invite hsrdworking intelligent agricu
turists Of any nationality or religion I
examine our county; and il they wi
esme to n. With serious purpose and
determination to work We bespeak fc
them warm welcome, we guarantt
them material prosperity and We promi'
them The came liberty of conscience
wase1oyed BY the earliest settlers
this state.
HI Senator David Davis. Of Illino
en;oVs one decided advantage over Il