The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-10-08
Ne q Orleans Times Democrat


The Growth of tho south.
1t is astonishing to see how certain Republican
papers persist in their mistake about the South.
One great mistake of theirs is well brought OFT
in the following lamentation from the Cincinnati
Commercial Gaseae
The South is a very important part of this
country. It is very rich in natural resources.
Ii has every element of prosperity, except pop
ulation and capital. 1t has these in greater pro-
portion than formerly, but still the tide does run
In that direction 10 the proportion that the natu-
raj advantages of the country should command
distributedi Look at the overflow from the
East and Middle States. How is that distribu-
ted 1t does not go South. 1t does go North.
Why? There are vast forests in the South:
the lands are as good on an average as in the
North; there are vast deposits of mineral wealth.
On the surface and underneath are nexhaustible
supplies OF treasure-the very thing that men
seek and that enterprise Is beginning to develop
but still foreigners and natives prefer the frozen
North to the genial South. People iostle each
other to get lands in Dakota, where the weather
is cold enough to " freeze the smoke stack of
locomotive" and pay big prices for them, turn
ing their backs upon the comparatively Cheap
and yet fertile lands OF the South. See how rap
IDLY the Northwest has grown in population and
wealth, and how it continues to grow from an in
now from Europe an the older States The rush is
to that section. There is no rush TO the South.
While the former bOOms, the latter stands com
parativly still. The South grows. of course hut
II does not grow in proportion to the North,
or in proportion to its natural advantages. There
is cause for this and il must be found in the Or
ganization of society.
There is no rush to the South. While the
Northwest booms, the South stands comparative
~ still" This mistake can scarcely have been
unintentonal. The Cincinnati Gazette has
copy OF the census in its Office, and if it had but
turned ~ this book it would have seen that in
the past decade there was q much greater rush
to the South than to any other portion of the
country, and that it increased more rapidly than
the North. There was q movement of the
centre of population Southwark of seven miles,
showing that the drift of people is 10 this diree-
ton; and as for the great Northwest, on which
the commercial Gazette dwells so particularly
while it increased IS per cent in population, the
corresponding portion of the South, the South
west, grew "a per cent.-not sufficient difference
to crow very loudly over. The movement has
Kept steadily on ever since. Dakota, MINES
sofa and Nebraska have certainly grown won
derfully since 1880, but during these five years
the neighboring State of Texas has added as
many people to its population as Minnesota,
Nebraska and Dakota combined
What surprises us is the Commercial Gazette's
forgctlulness. When the late census showed
that the South had outstripped the North in the
rapidly OF Its increase, and that il would in con-
sequence largely add to its strengthen Congress-
the Gazette was among those papers that howled
over this fact and insisted that the census taken
under Republican auspices was incorrect 1t
was retaken in some sections, completely vindi-
eating Its accuracy and again demonstrating in N
most emphatic manner the greater rate of in
crease OF the South.
The 1fnes Democrat has labored very earnestly
to show that the past five years have been fur
more prosperous than the previous decadef
The Gazette will learn again 10 1890 that the
movement Of population is still southwark. as It
has steadily been since the foundation of the
government and Il will find with this increase
q far more rapid progress in Industry, ,nanufac-
lures and wealth. The South does not receive
much foreign immigration-this is an admitted
fact-but We see no reason for the Gazette sheer
ing al 1t because It's increase 10 made up mainly
OF natve-born Americans instead of foreigners.