Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-12
The Southern Immigration Conven


The Southern Immigration Convention
met in Music Hall, at the New Orleans
Exposition, on Tu esdsy. The attendance
was not as large as it ought to have been,
nor as large as was expected. There is
reason for hoping, however, that there
will be a much better attendance before
the convention finishes its work.
When the Southern immigration Society
was organized It excited considerable in
tarest in this city. A meeting was held
and delegates to represent this section OF
the South were selected TO be present at
the first meeting Of the society at Nash
vile.
Nothing has ever been done, however,
to keep alive that interest. The existence
Of the Soushern immigration society ap-
pears to have been forgotten In TINS To-
cali,v. This is all the more strange, be-
cause this port was talked of as CHEERING
better advantages for the reception ana
distribution Of foreign immigrants than
any other Southern port.
The fact is that outside OF the news
papers the advantages of immigration do
not appear 10 be appreciated in the South
as they are in the West, and. hence, it Is
almost impossible to bring about such a
concert OF action, and such constant and
persistent efforts as are necessary to in
fluence immigration in this direction.
We saw that We want immigration
and capital TO flow into the country,
but we do rot exert ourselves to Sc
cure either. We have convinced our
selves that we have very good country
aud we are confident that it offers very
superior advantages to those who are
seeking homes. We are satisfied that the
way to make it rich and pOpulOus is to
get it filled up with people from other
States and European countries. The
stems we take, however, to influence i'm
migration this way are so feeble that we
are ashamed OF them, or, at least, ought
to be.
4 few days ago Joaquin Miller printed
a letter in a widely circulated Southern
paper in which he pointed out how the
West was built up. That letter would be
good reading matter all over the South.
1t would furnish the men who hold the
destinies of the South in their hands, and
who pretend to be the SOuth's friends,
ideas that might lead them to pursue a
course Of action very different from that
which they are now pursuing. They
would be made to realize that they are
not such good friends of the south as they
consider themselves to be, nor as good as
they think they are considered.
The policy pursued by the Illinois Cen
trail Railroad Company years ago, when
Illinois was little more than wilderness
ami the railroad was hardly paying ex-
peuses, could be adopted by the managers
of some Of the Southern railroads with
profit. Tie Illinois Central Company
went diligently TO work to fill up the
country along the line of its whole route.
Every immigrant that settled in the ter
ritOry tributary 10 the road and every
acre that was brought under cultivation
added TO the business and, consequently,
the prosperity Of the railroad company.
The thousands and hundreds of thousands
Of dollars which were spent in getting thc
lands settled were repaid III the shape Of
increased business q hundrediold. The
Illinois Central is one of the greatest and
richest railroad corporations in the world,
and its greatness is largely due to the
policy of encouraging and assisting i'm
migrat' on.
The Southern immigration Society may
not accomplish all it aims to accomplish,
but If it is controlled by the right sort of
men it will do a great deal towards build
Ing up the South. The New Orleans Ex-
position is giving the world a new idea Of
the resources of the South. The fact is
being discovered that cotton is not her
only source Of wealth, that there are vast
possibilities in her forests, mines and fac
tories. The exposition is doing great
work, although that work may not be i'm
meliately apparent. What the people Of
the South must do is to take up the work
where tie exposition leaves it ard en-
delvOr to reap a harvest from the seed
which it will have sOwn 10y the time 1t
closes. The purpose Of the Southern I'M
migration Society is to gather the harvest
OF immigrants and capital, and 1t and all
other organizations in the South like it
ought TO receive the great st encourage
meut.