Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1885-10-14
A RUN INTO MISSISSIPPI.
What the Towns of Aberdeen, West
Point and Columbus Are
As Delightful and Thriving Places-The
Country Contribut0ry to Them.
To the Editors of the Appsal


ated on the eastern edge of the prairie
belt. 1t has quite number of large and
handsomely furnished stores, representing
almost every line of trade, and during my
stay there they seemed to be doing an
active business. The new Masonic nall
would be an ornament to any city. The
private Residences of Aberdeen are un-
surpassed in architectural beauty, are sur
rounded by ample grounds and the luxu,
RANT shrubbery peculiar to our Southern
cline; and within these elegant homes is
dispensed a hospitality that carries one
back to the days before the war. The
people retain their traditional luxury and
politeness, in which they were the peers
of any people on the earth. The mer-
chants handle about 10000 bales of cotton
annually, and have direct connection with
New Orleans by the Illinois Central road.
/ went to Aberdeen to help the
friends of temperance, and, though
there is sJrong nti-prohibition
sentiment ia the town, they gave 3 polits
hearing to the arguments of the other side.
OF course, great many of them don't
agree with me, and think 1 am a sort of
loose lunatic on the subject; but if they
would put whisky out of Aberdeen /
could easily think it a part of the original
Eden. No mention of Aberdeen would be
complete without allusion to the artesian
wells. They have several distributed
along the main street of the city, and the
pavilions which surround them give il
quite an ornamental aspect. The priuci-
pal streets are lighted with electricity, and
altogether Aberdeen seems to be under a
full mead of progress.
West Point is thriving town OF perhaps
1900 or 200G population, at the junction of
the Illinois Central and Mobile and Ohio
roflp do &C. s,,t tI,..h of 1, -
surrounded on every hand by country
of wonderful fertility, and yet the site OF
the town is itself a sandy soil. This is an
immense advantage, as it gives them
pleasant streets, even in mid-winter. From
the number OF "drummers" that get on
and off at West Point, infer that it is a
good business point. Its advantages are
undeniably very fine, and its outlook is
hopeful. Here again spoke for temper
ance to a capital audience. As in every
other town l visited, the anti-saloon ques-
ton seemed to be the liveliest issue OF the
hour. The lawyers had succeeded in tan
Cling the question in the courts, and of
course when the lawyers get hold of a
thing there is no telling how it will come
out. AS found some of the profession
down that way quite sensitive, ought
perhaps to add that l mean no reflection
by this remark. had nothing to do with
the legal side of the question; | spoke 10
the people who make the laws.
Artesia, where you leave the Mobile
and Ohio railroad for Columbus, is the
travellers paradise. On the bosom of the
wide, wide prairie, a little south Of the
Tibbee swamps, you stop for supper at a
hotel that rivals in eve respect the fa-
nous Relay House on the Baltimore and
Potomac railroad. The polite host, Mr..
Chidsey, will welcome you to tables that
groan with delicacies drawn from Chicago
TO Mobile. The man who will pass Ar
tesla without regaling the appetite on the
bountiful banquet Mr.. Chidsey provides
ought to have a special collection taken
for his benefit.
Columbus lies on the Tombigbee river,
the bluffs of which present a picturesque
appearance as you approach it from the
west. 1t has about 5000 population, many
large stores, several factories, and q great
number of delightful homes. Having
lived in Columbus four years, of course /
felt like getting home. They gave me a
rousing reception at the courthouse,
where l endeavored to persuade Them that
prohibition is the wisest way to deal with
the whisky problem II the law prevails
Columbus has already closed the saloons
for twelve months, for a majority of the
citizens have so decided. But the other
side have large property interests in
volyed, and of course will make vigorous
effort to defeat the movement to close
them out. have good friends on both
sides, though they know my position is
uncompromisingly opposed to the saloons.
There is no finer people in America, or
anywhere e,S,. 10 than the people of Colum-
bus in many respects. The only .."sn 80" q =
in Columbus is that which grows out of
the negro problem, and that trouble is
everywhere present in Mississippi. l
heard good story on one of our Methodist
preachers down that way that illustrates
the point. Brother L. was holding pro-
tracted meeting for the negroes, and was
assisted by brother minister. They were
having lively time, and, as Tennyson
would have said,
The essence turned the live air sick.
Brother L. called them to prayer, and
said: Brother Y, you pray over there
and Pll burn a rag over here" That's the
trouble with civilization down heIe-we
have to fumigate while we pray. Only
God can know the issue of the social
! pp.-ohlems that confront us. Otherwise,
commend me TO Columbus. Everything
| in Columbus yields in interest just now to
the new Industrial Institute and College
for Girls, and we'll it may, for this
magnificent enterpriE, is not only
the ornament of Columbus, but the
visit viewed the buildings from cellar TO
spire. In architectural beauty and the
| convenience end completeness of arrange
| ment, it is hard to equal this institution.
The people of Columbus are delighted
with DR.. Jones, the president, and regard
him as the very man for the place. The
| prospects are that the school will not be
/ able to accommodate the patronage, ample
as its facilities are. In both literary and
| industrial advantages this school will ex-
| Gel, and il Mississippi pursues a wise
| policy toward it and supports it literally,
| its institution will mark an epoch in the
| history of the State. l heard from the
/ Agricultural and Mechanical College, at
| Starkville, that there were nearly 500 pu
| pills in attendance. The Columbus school
| will soon do as well. In g few years al
least thousand of the boys and girls Of
Mississippi will be learning the useful artt
| of life in these two colleges. In this dis
i position to industrial education for the
youth of Mississippi, and the gradual but
| steady awakening of the public conscience
to the evils of the liquor traffic, we see the
most hopeful signs of future prosperity fol
the State.
1 l must not close without reference to the
II
this section of Mississippi. An immense
local trade awaits the Memphis merchant!
throughout all that region. They handle
80, 900 bales of cotton at Aberdeen, from
$1,000 to 10000 at West Point, nearly so,
600 at Columbus, not to mention interme
diate counties. Memphis gets nothin,
worth naming from all this section. The
road that pierces this section will reap
rich reward. Columbus buys coal for s. 81
per ton. This coal could be brought di
rectly to our doors if we had a railroad
through that section. Building railroads
either on paper or on the ground, is no
my business, but it seems to me the re
sources of the region l have described be
long to the trade of Memphis naturally
and could easily be controlled by our mer
I cban,sss g we can get railroad connection
with the country. It Is needless to So,
the people are anxious to reach us. Louis
Vile and st. Louis are too far away-so
4 New Orleans. Memphis is the natura
commercial center OF .srse territory
| rich in agricultural and mineral produc
tions, from which it now derives no ben
| eft.
Success to the men who will link thes
lovely cities of the prairie to the city Of
the bluff with bands OF steel. 8. A. STEEL.