The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1884-08-07
Southern Improvement.

Railway Register: That the
southern states are improving in
every respect so rapidly must be a
cause for rejoicing to all who are
interested in the prosperity of our
common country. To the railways
ofthIs section especially this growth
affords peculiar satisfaction. The
condition of the people has steadily
improved so that the hopes of all
are raised and the future is bright
with promises.
The building of cotton mills in
Georgia and the Carolinas has Civ
en- an impetus to towns which 9th
erwlse would have languished. 1t
is now seen that the greatest profit
lies in manufacturing the raw mate
rial at home, instead of shipping it
abroad to enrich others. When the
cotton growers began to sell their
crop to home manufactures they
discovered one of the secrets Of
prosperity.
Alabama and Tennessee have
turned their attention to the mex
haustible deposits of coal and iron,
lying in close proximity, and the
consequence is that foreign capital
has poured into those states, caus-
ing the construction of new railways
and the building up Of new towns.
The Sheffield sale of lots, at a time
when distrust and almost panic ex-
listed in New York, indicated the
thoroughness of the transformation.
New furnaces have been begun, new
mines opened and it seems proba-
BILE that northern Alabama will be-
come as much of a manufacturing
centre as western Pennsylvania.
The forests Of the southern states
are just beginning to be appreciat
ed. For years it was known in a
general way that Mississippi, Ala
bama, Georgia and Florida were
rich in great tracts of timber, hard
ly touched by the woodman's axe.
The increasing scarcity of timber in
the north caused men to turn to
ward the south and they have taken
up much of the valuable lands.
The lumber industry of the south
is sure to keep pace with the devel-
opmeut of the iron and coal inter
ests and when the land is cleared it
will be available for agricultural
purposes.
West of the Mississippi the fer
tile sugar lands Of Louisiana and
the rich cotton and timber lands of
Arkansas are becoming better APP
preciated and consequently are in
greater demand. The latter state is
in its infancy yet and has not at
tanned to tIthe of its real capacity.
1t is sure to become one OF the
greatest states in the union. Inn
proved machinery and better trans
portation facilities are to bring q
new growth Of the sugar interests
of Louisiana. AS for Texas, it is
an empire in itself and need not be
classed among the southern states.
It's people are alive to the situation
and the rapid growth of the state
shows that they are workers.
All through this southeastern
portion of the United States there
Is an awakening. Lands are being
reclaimed and brought into better
cultivation, new railroads are pro-
jected and under construction, the
towns are growing and there is
revivified thrift and prosperity.
The rapid development of the mel
on, fruit and vegetable traffic is Civ
ing a traffic to the railways that
was not thought of few years ago.
All this is gratifying and enco1r-
aging to the capitalists, who years
ago invested in southern railways,
and it assures them of a reward for
that they have done.