The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1884-03-01
E.etter from alIa Town.
ON TowE. Feb. %. 1884.

4
3 ] never see any reference to thu
;, subject of immigration, as regards
Louisiana, but that my old rusty per
is seized with a spasm of odc0tsei
, seribeRdi. just now it is suffering
with an attack contracted from an ar
j. ticle in late issue of the Echo al
luding to the number of immigrants
: giving the cut direct to our State by
deliberately passing through it to set'
+ tie in Texas. Why is this SO? Well,
there arc many reasons, besides those
mentioned by you.
Il To LCnisiana's unfortunately and
uniustly acquired reputation for gen
eral 'unhealthfulness-chilIs and
feyers"-may be added, specifically,
the yellow fever. "Paris is France"
j New Orleans is Louisiana, in the esti-
nation of the prepondcrance Of the
people who emigratc from our neigh
boring States.
Several years have elapsed since the
| Crescent City has been visited by the
pestilence; but the impression has
been made-it has reached the re-
moteSt sections of the Union-that
the city is healthy place to avoid :;
and as have said, IN a sense, "Nesr
Orleans, is Louisiana" This is n
point in the case not to be lightly
passed over. And now, permit me 10
ask, what has been done to remove
the impression, so inimical to the in
terest of our State, from the minds of
the secluded iliterate class who consti-
tute the majority OF those in search of
new homes? Then, too, there is that
terrible, all-destroying Gather of
Waters" When that aqueous pate9.
makes up his mind to spread himself,
the idea of the same class is that there
is not any too much dry land left for
the accommodation Of home folks.
What, indeed, do many of them
know of the area, geo
graphic and topographic features of
this State-or of their own, for that
matter? Anyhow, they are not going
to run any risks Of getting so much
as their feet wet in Mississippi water.
Not an inhabitant of the poorer
worn out sol of either Georgia or
Alabama-States from which Texas
has drawn most largely-but could
have found fertile lands within their
own boundaries. But the majority of
them have little more than a glimmer-
ing idea Of any except their local
surroundings, Georgia and Ala
bama have, so to speak, sat with
folded hands, while Texas has flooded
their hamIets with circulars and
pamphlets portraying in vivid col0rs
her own advantages. And this infor-
nation is gratuitonsly supplied;
brought to their very doors. Texas
believes In blowing her own horn,
and she does, too. FiguratiyeIy speak
ing, most of the country papers per-
form on that metophorical instrument.
They set forth in the most attractive
style the cheap land, healthfnlness,
saIubrity, fertility, ETC., of its own
peculiar section. They have standing
columns to this effect as permanent in
their location as were the head lines
Fifteen Days Later" of the foreign
news department of that veteran Jour
nal the Opelousas Courier, before the
telegraph flashed its light into the
then benighted inland parishes. The
country paper also states plainly and
positively that there are lands, dwell
lings, teams and their feed, and all
necessary family supplies furnished, if
the emlgrant chooses to work on
shares.
All this is made plain, and even the
impecunious tiller of the soil, who is
anxious to better himself" feels safe 1
in making the venture. He knows
Just where to go, and just what to ex-
pect. Again, Texas has powerful and
interested aIlies-the railroads. In
fact the railroads constitute the great
motive power Of the Texas immlgra-
ton boom. With their millions of |
acres of land--the Texas Pacific alone
owns 4,733,00O acres-to dispense of,
these gigantic corporations are indie
fatigable in making efforts to aug
ment the population of the Lone Star
domain and it may be observed that
the profits on transportation of this
rush OF passengers amounts to nice
little sum, which even railroad kings
think worth some trouble. Indeed,