The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-11
Gen. Tom Brady's Virginia Home.

10 the Editor OF the Indianapolis Journat:
In recent number of the Muncie Times I
find copied from the Evening News of your city
an interview with some unknown" concerning
myself, my home, and Westmoreland county
i What is said concerning myself and home
does not matter, but bespeak your good Offices
to let me correct some statements regarding this
old and goodly portion of Virginia
The county is one of the oldest in the State,
having been organized in 1868. and was ever noted
for its production of great and good men and fair
women. In earlier days it was also famous for
its crops of corn and tobacco, but the average
life of the richest of soils is only about 200
years. you can readily imagine that this
long-worked land is somewhat impoverished
Not more 80, however than under the usual
exhaustive system of cultivation prevailing
throughout the country To-day, and under a
wiser system and more generous use of fertil-
izers, this old country is looking up, and bids
fair to regain its olden Importance and richness
And it seems to me that, with its cheap lands
and easy access to some of the best markets in
the country, Horace Greeley's advice
to young men should be- reversed.
and the tide Of immigration turned
eastward and southwark. What have said Of
this county applies to much of old Virginia
scattered over which are many rare bargains
and great opportunities awaiting young men of
1t is fact that the houses of Westmoreland
are poor and the fences generally out of repair
It is purely agricultural country and was sadly
harred during the late war by the troops Of
either SIDE that at the close of the strife
there was scarcely dwelling left or rail to be
found But it is recovering and each recurring
year will add to its prosperity. In spite of the
destruction by war, the county of Westmore-
land, or rather the women Of the county. have
set "a noble example that even patriotic Indiana
could profit by, In erecting beautiful monu-
ment to her heroic dead fallen in battle. 1t
stands at Montrose. amid humble surroundings
a silent witness to the heroism Of the sons of
Westmoreland who fell IN lost cause. and of
the devotion of the living to their memory.
But the revival of agriculture is not all that
makes this section as one likely to take q new
lease of life and become prosperous Here
upon the banks of the Potomac not far from
its junction with the Chesapeake bay, is build
ing up one of the farest summer resorts at
tide water A small but elegant hotel, and
many cottages already exist. and many more
of the latter will be erected this fall and win
ter. while the hotel will be considerably
enlarged. For the OVERLOOKING populations
of Baltimore and Washington it is already a
popular resort for the summer months, and will
undoubtedly increase in popularity as it becomes
better known
Mosquitoes. ticks, chiggers ~, feas, horse
t1ies and other insects do not abound" here to
any greater extent than in two-thrds of Indiana.
In fact there were no mosquitoes at the beach
the past summer.
The country is not t'malarious" and "chills
and fevers' do not prevail throughout even a
portion OF the year, let alone the whole of it,
The News informant has evidently been misn-
formed. 1t is fact, as healthy a section as any
portion OF the Atlantic seaboard.
The News informant is correct in praisiug the
universal hospitality of our people. something
for which Virginia has been proverbial since the
days when Captain John Smith invented the
festive mint ulep theresways and where it is
still found IN all its pristine deliciousness; but
he is wholly wrong and ISLANDERS us most
grevously when he says we prefer ''qusntity to
quality" The fact is we prefer both quantity
and quality, as the undersigned will be glad to