The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-03-11

80 @%+4Nt N1EA~ 5ifEt arr more y l4te
North Carollnlats LIVING III the gnost pop
ulous OF the Northern aud North Western
states than there are people of all colors
lmen. women and children in New Bcrne
y umin2ton, Raleigh and Charlotte The
' IaukeelEed white Caroliniaus ar.
enough 10 double the population II all
three OF these cities, and le,,r a god
many over.
Let us turn again 10 the whole great
army of the scattered abroad. There are
29a 5o5 of them. The nine counties IN the
State that have the largest population are
Wayne, Wake. Orange Mecklenburg
Granville. Halifax. Warren. Robson aul
Johnston. in 1850 they contained 262 S0a
inhabitants. IL, therefore. We could have
kept AT home all our folks who have gone
abroad, ana put them IN these nine great
counties, they would have doubled the
population and let 81, 296 ovcr-enough
over 10 have more than doubled the iopt.-
lation Of Wilmington with two or three
little towns thrown in.
Draw line North and South through
Statesvllle, and there are, YOU Will see -
counties which lie wholly to the West of
1t, including the populous counties Of Bun
combe, Cleveland. Wilkes. C,.tawba and
CASTOR. But in all these - c.1unties in
1880 there were only 2.6 POI people II, r.
244 less than had gone away from the
State.
There are 20 rich and the most Of them
reasonably populous counties which lie
wholly East of the Wilmington and Wei
don railroad. Their population in 1880
was 22l, 9o5-which was Il 900 less than
the North Carolinians who have gone away
The North Carolina railroad and the AT
lantic road from Goldsboro TO Beaufort,
run from Charlotte to the sea through the
following Counties Mecklenburg, Cabar-
rus, Rowan, Davidson, Guilford Ala
nance, Orange, Durham, Wake, Johnston,
Wayne, Lenoir, Craven and Carteret. In
all these counties IN 1880 there We're 292,
o4l people-nearly a thousand less than
the army of the scattered abroad
If we had kept our folks at home, there
fore, we could have doubled the popula-
ton IN all the counties along the railroad
from Charlotte to Beaufort; we could have
doubled the population of all the counties
that lie wholly West Of line North and
South through Statesville; we could much
more than have doubled the population of
all the counties that lie East of the vii
mington and Weldon railroad, and much
more than doubled the population of nine
greatest counties III the State; and five
times As many white North Carolinians
have 'GankeeiZed" themselves as there are
- ankeeS' who have come to the State,
and more than twice as many a. the South
Carohnlans and GeOrglans together who
have gone North. Yet our State is much
less densely populated than South Carroll
Ma, South Carolina having 33 people to the
square mile, while we have only a little
more than 2S. Tennessee, Virginia and
Missouri are all much more densely popu-
lated than North Carolina, and yet our
folks keep going to those States.
There are other reasons, too, and the
strongest of all reasons why our people
should stay at home. They have history
they are proud Of; they love their kinsfolk;
they have plenty of elbow room, Il climate
better than they 90 To, land richer, and
everything that nature can give more boun-
tiful. More shan all this, they all love the
old land, and none of them except the
mere adventurerS such as 60 to the Terri
tories and some of those that 90 to Texas,
wish to go away.
Why do they 90, then There is but one
explanation left There is an intolerance
ii North Carolina that is oppressive. Men
do not have the chances to rise in life that
they have elSew thereto learn trades, to
pursue professions They are not allowed
to express differences of opinion from the
narrow dominant opinion without having
their motives questioned or their charac-
ters itssalled This reason will explain
why so many of them have gone to North
ern States; and this same reason will cX-
plain why SO few people meanwhile come
into North Carolina-why our own neigh
bors show a greater tendency to avoid us
than we have to seek homes among them.
There is another curious fact There are
23, 934 more women than men IN North
Carolina; and The ratio Of men to women
is smaller than in any other Southern
State. In counties and States from which
there is a constant stream of emigration,
the women come at last to outnumber the
men, always. 1t is SO in New England
But Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Con
nectlcut are many times more densely set
tied than North Carolina; but the excess
of women over men is a greater percentage
in in our State than any other Southern
State, or than any State in the Union, ex
cept these few New England States. This
is proof that greater proportion of young
men,-men without families-have gone
away from our State than from any other
Southern State-gone away not because
our girls are not handsome but be
cause the men needed an atmosphere of
freer opinion and better chance to succeed
in the arts and scieIfces and professions
than they had at home.
There Is another absolutely conclusive
proof that this is the reason why our peo-
pie 90 away. The tradtionalsts who sup
PR s. free speech and dwarf public opin-
ion have not had The same grip on the ma
teria development of the State that they
have had on It's intellectual development.
The result is, the material development
has gone forward with great rapidity. We
have built towns by the score, made new
industries forward all along the
line of material growth in spite Of the
Tradit!onalists.
Is it not time for a change of public
opinion in North Carolina The stagnant
say not. But it does seem time that men
who really love North Carolina had the
courage to stand up and show their love
for by pointing out the cause Of the
States backwardness and trying fiiially to
r. move it. Every man who does this Will
for a time, of course be called a traitor
and .-5landerer' and even his private
life will not be held sacred BY the falling
gods who curse when they are 10 longer
adoTed. But should we ali not love the
State enough to smile at this mummery
1t is time for free opinion III North Caro-
lima and broader thinking must be done.
Is it not every mans duty, in the light Of
these facts, to do his utmost for the growth
of all Iiberallty in work and in thought
to encourage the useful arts, and all broad
learning, and especially TO make public
sentiment in the State tolerant enough to
welcome difference of opinion instead OF
StInureSSIn0 II on peril of personal abuse