The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1888-03-30
Ernm The sunny south.

DECATUR, Ala, March 2Gth 1888.
EDITOR OF MONITOR, DEAR SIR:-ln
order to fulfill a promise that ] made to
many of my friends to the effect that
would let them know something about the
South, beg the use Of your columns for
that purpose You do not need to go very
far South before you see a difference in
some matters. For instance, as soon as
you pass the District of Columbia, or in
fact before, the ''colored man" is not
known, but in his stead there is an indi-
vidual known as the negro spelled with
two g's, or ''nigger" for short.
Before you get half way across the State
of Virginia, and from there onward, you
will see a great prevalence of one-story
houses, which to the people OF New Jersey
would appear very strange. As you pro-
gress Southwark the houses are less nu-
merous until when you reach this part of
the country, the neighbors are long dis
lance apart. To one who has been used to
travelling through Jersey it would seem
that the country was uninhabited. 1t is
certainly one of the greatest of wonders
that such should be the case as the climate
here is very delightful and healthy, as it is
through all of the northern end of this
State.
This town is situated on the south bank
of the Tennessee river, beautiful stream
that never freezes over, and never overiiows
its banks, the banks being from ten to fifty
feet higher than the water. 1t is naviga-
BILE about two hundred miles to the north
east from here, or as far as Knoxville,
Tenn.
The town is now enjoying grand boom,
having only about one thousand inhabi-
tants one year ago aud now the population
is about eight thousand, with prospect
that amounts almost To a certainty Of hav
ing population in less than a year hence
Of twenty Thousand. While this growth
is not equal To Pit Hole in the oil regions
of Pennsylvania, yet, to say the least, it is
wonderful. You cannot spend five min
utes in the day without hearing the loco
any time in the day that you cannot count
q dozen or more locomotives III and about
the town.
There is great difficulty about hand
ling the freight that comes to this place.
Any one receiving freight cannot get IL
from the car for three or four days after its
arrival. There are about eight hundred
cars standing about here most of the time
loaded with freight. The Louisville and
Nashville Railroad and the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad rnn through the place,
and there are other roads building that will
be completed within a year, The Louis
Vile and Nashville Railroad has in course
of erection here their car and machine
shops that W i'll cover fifty acres Of ground
The United States Rolling Stock Company,
OF Urbana, O., are removing their works to
this place and they also will cover more
than fifty acres oi ground. When these
two large shops are done they will have to
bring from twenty-five hundred to thirty
five hundred skilled laborcrs here to run
Jacnl, DeSiueS Tie common IaborerS VIII ich
will be necessary to wait on them. If
these men bring families with them, which
no doubt many Of them will, you can read
lily see where that immense population is
coming from to make tho increase which /
spoke of above.
| spoke about one story houses. Hun.
dreds Of them have been built here within
the last year and many more are going up
every day. A good double house. such as
are built in Jersey at cost of $500 or
$1,000 rents here for 5000 per year, or thirty
per cent on the cost OF the house and lot.
1t would seem that such profits would
soon overrun the market with houses but
such is not the case. The demand for
them is ahead of the supply and will re-
main so for at least three or -four years.
While there is a great demand for capt
tai here and good mechanics (there is now
an overstock of poor mechanics), there is