The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-01-03
NO. 44
The Golden Epoch for sEse
south.

industrial South.
\ Under the operation of those in
scrutiable laws, not formulated in the
human brain, by which the inherent
resources of every habitable land must
always be worked out to their best
practical ends, the Southern States Of
this Union are now brought into the
presence of an opportunity glowing
with promise of the greatest results
1t is an opportunity presenting itself
too clearly to fail 10 be recognized by
every intelligent mind; and IT needs
only to be earnestly accepted and util-
lied to the fullest extent Of all the
capabilities it unfolds, to enable the
South to rise, very soon, to plane Of
solid prosperity unsurpassed by any
region at any period in the. llssE5pf
the world,
As long as the institntion 81 slavery
existed in the South, the cultivation
Of the soil was naturally, almost nees
essarily, the one engrossing occupation
of the great body Of the Southern
people; and as long as that condition
of things continued little sasseation
was given to mining, to manufacturer,
to commerce in its. broad comprehen-
sive sense, or, indeed, to any of the
many Invaluable resources Of the South
outside Of the regular crops from the
fields. So soon, however, as slavery
disappeared and the Southerh mind
was set free from its own thraldom
under the influences Of that institu-
tion, immediate necessity eonspired
with what seemed to be the impulse
of new and more vigorous era every
where, TO turn the eyes Of the South
ern people inward, upon natural adj
yantages unimproved all around them,
while at the same time Northern cap
ital and enterprise were also attracted
to recognition of the vast storehouse
of material wealth and strength wait
ing for the wand of progress TO open
it in the South. 1t was in this way
that the old slave States, after ceasing
to be slave States, were shown to the
world almost in the light of new
land tecming with everything that can
be made contributive to thrift and
prosperity, and more Inviting to men
Of energy, whether rich or poor, than
any Other part of the American conti-
nent.
The soil of the South ia so varied
in quality as to be suitable, some-
where, to the growth of almost any
thing within the desire of man, and
in productive capacity its real value
is, everywhere, far in excess of the
prices at which it is held. The min
eral riches of the South embrace
everything Of value in the kingdom of
minerals. The forests of the South
are filed with all sorts of timber, aud
it may almost be said there is no limit
to the extent of them; the rivers, aud
bays, and harbors of the South may
be confidently compared with those of
any other land in the world; the man
ufacturing advantages of the South are
probably not equalcd, certainly not
surpassed, in any other section of the
Union; and the climate of the South
is indisputably the most agreeable and
the most hcalthful within the bounda-
ries Of this country, With all these
things to be said, and said with entire
truthfulness, in favor of the Southern
States, and with almost the whole
civilized world on tiptoe fornew fields
for investments, the opportunity of
the South for a magnificent develop
ment of her extraordinary capabilities
has certainly come, If it had come
sooner it would have been less bright,
less fruitful of material profit than it
is; for the capital the intelligence and
the enterprise of the world are more
ripe for appreciation of the resources
of the South now than they ever we're
before. -..