Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-05-20
THE OLD DOMINION.

A Richmond, Va, correspondent of
che Louisville Past, writes: Virginia
looks hopefully TO the great west. With
the overthrow of her system of eiviliza-
ION man, thought the ruin which had
enrulfed so many OF her best people
would never pass away. Virginia was an
agricultural state. Her towns We're
small. and before the war did little
business. Now, after twenty years of
change, social and political it is well to
look about and take note of the sur
roundings, and inquire what of the fu-
ture and upon what premises can one
sneak hopefully? The whole American
people (Anglo-American)hay a wonder
ful power of adapting themselves to cir
cumstances. War is 4 cruel game and
should never be engaged in without a
fixed purpose. We played the game
manfully and well, and when we lost,
accepted the inevitable and returned TO
onr ruined homes to DO what we could
toward providing for our families
Twenty years is short time in the life
of a people, but is half tine average
mans life. One-half the armies which
survived that contest have since been
borne to peaceful graves, and with them
the passions on both sides which caused
the conflict have been buried. The old
men have died off, and estates have
been divided and sold, The necessity
Of the surrounding conditions has COM
PEELED 4 change. Our cities first began
10 build up, with many new employ
ments TO occupy labor and capital; then
by degrees farmers, rs they accumulated
capital. began to use labOr-saving ma
chimes and turn their attention to Il
greater diversity of crops. The geolo-
Gist and mineralogist have examined
our mountains and have found them
full Of such mineral wealth as would
have seemed impossible to our fathers
The young men who know nothing of
the old system of labor are turning
their attention to various pursuits. We
have railroads running north and south
and west. connecting us with the cen
tiers OF activity throughout the country
We look to the west, with the great
Mississippi binding the country together
from north to south, us n great country,
where in few years will be settled on
it and its many thousand miles of trib-
utary streams one of the dCnscst popu-
lations of the most active people the
world has ever seem The river Nile,
running through u narrow strip of fer
tile land, without tributary streams, the
land dependent on the annual rise of
the river for It's life-giving nundation,
was the seat Of one of the oldest and
wealthi1st civilizations of ancient times.
That river commenced its flow far south
OF the equator, and cmptied into the
Mediterranean sea, | think, in about
the Both degree of latitude. The Miss
isSippi by lis main streams and trbu-
tarcs commencing far north, cmpties
into the Gulf of Mexico north OF the
tropics, and has life-giying rains its
whole length. Who holds the mouth of
the Mississippi rules the continent.
During til. heat Of summer the
mouth Of the Mississippi is not q good
way for the shipment Of many OF your
products. Daring the winter the routes
to the far north are liable to be cut off
by the extreme cold. Here in Virginia
is q line not liable to either objection
q prominent route neither affected by
the heat of the mouth OF the Mississippi
nor by the extreme cold of the northern
routes.
What seemed an irrecoverable disas-
ter, the manumission of the slaves, is
proving blessing in disguise TO the
generation Just growing UP. hayo no
tear of the success of our people, the
white race Our people are Of English
and Scotch ancestry, and though for
many generations they have lived in a
southern cline they have retained in
large measure their ancestral pluck and
resolution. Twenty-Five years have now
passed away since the war commenced.
Our children know nothing OF the IN
stitution that seemed necessary to their
fathers. and pursue any calling with the
same native-born pluck their fathers
followed farming, and they are succeed
ing in their efforts. There is lie in
the old land vet