The Evening critic., 1885-02-23
rHRouoH npIxIE,s LAND,


over Fifty years Of age" said resident of
Birmingham, Alabama, to CRITIC repre-.
sentative on a short business trip not loug
since. Birmingham is a city of 10000 in
habitants, and tho most RSouthern town,
60 to speak, in all tho South Every one
who followed Mr.. Randall on his trip South
during the holidays will remember that
this picturesque city is a hot-bed of protec-
tion from the simple fact that its chief aud
IN fact only industry is manufacturing iron.
Birmingham iron is sold in Philadelphia
cheaper than Pennsylvania iron, aud while
other Southern cities are suffering from the
fearful business depression prevailing
throughout tho country, Birmingham is
booming.
1t is a veritablo Leadville on civilized
scalo. Five years ago tho place numbered
about 5000. Iron has brought about tho
revolution. The town is full of young
men. Its ablest lawyers are young men
under 30. All the town officials arc young
men. In fact, the population consists OF
nothing but young men full of fire, enter
prise and push. There are but ono or two
sidewalks in town, and the streets are II
sight to behold Beside a tumble-dOwn
sbanty one may see au elegant building,
and all through tho place the sublime aud
the ridiculous Join hands.
The finest opera.house in the State has
Just bcen built there nearly opposite the
railway station and the latter consists of
two or three freight cars lifted from their
trucks and placed down beside the track.
One might travel days TO fnd so intelli-
gent population. The youthful element
runs things completely, and In order too.
In few years, IL its present prosperity
continues, the town will be so changed with
paved streets and walks rs to astonish the
most crodulous man himself.
To my mind birmingham was interest
ing for its possibilities. 1t is tho entering
wedge which shall split tho solid South. II
it ever is divided.
So long as the white population of the
South are united, that region will always
remain as it Is. Divide the white vote aud
the problem Is solved, but the question
remains, Upon what issue will you divide
that vote? Birmingham furnishes tho
answer. The whites Of birmingham are,
to man, Democrats, but Protectionists
also. They are more loyal to protection,
because their bread depends upon it, than
to Democracy. If ever it comes to choosing
between the two, Democracy will go to the
wall. If the Republican party wishes to
break the solid South, let it continue to
WELD the protection club, aud the break
will come in that way, IL any. Alabama
will respond sooner than may be thought.
Only in this way will the solid South be
shattered, and the Republican leaders
should not miss their opportunity.
The commercial depression throughout
the country is unusually severe in the
South, and the further South one goes the
worse it gets. Texas is far duller than
Virginia. In the former the crops have
been failures for the last two seasons, and
the. coming year Is looked forward to with
considerable apprehension. Business seems
completely at standstill. The unusually
severe winter has also increased the suffer-
ing, and tho whole land not only seems
poverty stricken, but doomed to eternal
| poverty. There is hopeful feeling though
| but it is based upon the feeling that three
crop failures in all probability will moi
| come in succession. 1t is easy enough tC
| pick out commercial travellers from ordi
nary tourists tho former invariably return
with long face.
"Did you notice that large country stor
q mile or two back ?" asked q conductor OF
the railroad from Charlotte, N. c., to Au
gusta, Ga. "Well," said he, "that is th
centre for twenty miles They PRACTICAL.
supply this whole region. Their busy sea
son is Just beginning. Getting rich?
should say so. Let me tell you how theI
do. The darkies work these plantation
about here ON shares. After engaging tn,
land the laborer goes to the storekeepe
and gives what we call 'lien' on his shar,
Of the crop in order to get trusted for good
to live on till the crop is gathered. Th
stoTekeeper not only charges norma
profit, but also adds sixty per cent. for trust
An article which you could buy there for S.
is charged up to the poor darky at $l60
Swindle? OF course 1t is. The result il
that when the season ends the poor, hard
working slave--for such he is-has nothing
1 laIN aud n oat xfia ala ha mn uu him
self for the coming year. Now, that stor
there sold 100000 worth of goods last year
Maybe they're not getting rich, chi Th
only way to stop this terrible swindle Is h
pass a law forbidding these sharks to chsrg
more than certain profit whenever q lieI
is given them. That l suppose they woult
get around in some way. They practicsll,
own every black man they trust. And the.
are the only ones getting rich IN the agri
cultural districts of the South.
"I'vo travelled this road for twenty year
and know what I'm talking about" Hi
story was undoubtedly true one. Tn
laborers in the South are most wretched il
all their surroundings. Their houses
clothing and personal appearance do no
much look as if they belonged to free meu
Every one has heard of the average South
ern railroad-how negligent they are G
time schedules, what miserable road bed
they have, and how slowly they travel. Th
report is not one whit exaggerated. On
feels-unless he is on through road e
route for New 0rleans-that 1t is a specla
dispensation of Providence If he ever arrive
on time. In trying to solve this myster.
] found some queer facts. A conductor oil
one of the most prominent roads in North
ern Georgia told mo they had positive in
stTuctions not to make up lost time. Upo
pumping him further found they had ful
liberty TO lose as much time as they chose
/ remember a stop made in Central Ala
bama. The freight and passengers had al
been slowed away, but still the c0nducto
fingered. A committee was appointed b.
the drumAers on board to hunt him u
and suggest to him that we would like {
start. He said he would 60 in a few mir
utes--as soon as he got through telling th
story he was relating. II took him so Ion
that party of us visited neighborln
graveyard, composed of dozen or NOR
graves. We were interested TO learn froI
the finest stone that Mr.. and Mrs. Jack
son had lost last year "their only daughter
Thomas Lizzie, aged II years and
months
Then followed verse of homemad
poetry, whose chief merit was tina
it brought out the fact that the sal
Thomas Lizzie was,now In place wher
he or she, as the case might be, had "he
angel plumage on"
From Selma to Montgomery, Ala, th
distance is exactly fifty miles. Two train
day are run between them, one an ex
press train and the other an accommoda
ti0D. l chose the former, and was bumpe
along over the whole distance in the un
pTecedented quick time of four hours, a