The Opelousas courier., 1888-06-09
Who Should Come to Southwest
Louisiana.
Lake Charles American,

that people can DO well nere, anu Iaf DeJoHu
their expectations, provided they have
means to start in business and the requisite
capacity to conduct it. We fear too many
are coming who have barely sufficient means
to reach their destination, depending for their
future upon work to be obtained of strangers.
This is not wise. Occasionally such a person
will be successful and more than realize all
his expectations but this is not the rule. 1T
a man has means, he can afford to wait till he
can find or make a business; not SO with the
man who must win his bread and butter
every day or go hungry. lie may succeed
and he may not. AS a rule q new country IS
a poor place for day labor.
Lake Charles is an exception, to some eX
tent, on account of her extensive lumber inter
ests but it is safe to say that there is an
abundance of labor of all kinds for the capital
invested in Lake Charles. What is needed is
the man who has capital 10 start some enter
prise that can give employment to labor. 1t
may be some simple industry and require bnt
a small investment, OF it may be the extensive
factory there is room for it. We tnuneratc
a few lines of industry in which there would
be- success, if capital and intelligence were
combined.
!. The growing of broom corn and the man
%ufacture OF brooms.
70 IN Va IN''''y "'AN S6'f -y
families could engage in this probably.
3. The manufacture Of soap. This does not
require larg" capital at first, as all the mattel.
rails are here and can be purchased cheaply
We understand that the ashes Of hard pine
will answer. Ii 80, thousands of wagon loads
can be had for nothing.
4. The manufacture OF wagons, Tor which
there is All unlimited supply of the best tim.
Der at a nominal cost
The manufacture of wooden ware from the
gum trees
G.. The manufacture of cabinet fdrniture
from the cheap and beautiful lumber of this
region
7. The growing and manufacture OF tobacco
The best varieties of tobacco can be grown i'll
unlimited quantities, from, superb chewing to
Connecticut wrappers.
3 The sheep industry-shrrp will not only
hive, but do we'll the entire year, without any
food but the natural grasses Turnips are a
wonderful crop in this region, and grow amaz-
ingly all winter. With a good tu,nir patch
fat lambs can be placed ON the market III May,
at a round price. Sheep are perfectly healthy
and wonderfully prolific Five thousand farm
ers are needed for this industry.
8. The raising of good dairy cows and the
manufacture of butter. AS long as milk com
mands in all the cities of the south ten cents
per quart and butter an average of tflirty.fiv"
| to forty cents per pound. there is no danger
of an over supply. One hundred farmers
should engage in this business the ensuing
year, and be prepared to conduct winter dali
rying another season, Sweet POTATOES make
all excellent food fnr the dairy.
10 The fruit industry fifty thousand pep
pie are wanted for this line of investment.
Each family should possess a few thousands
so as to purchase the land aud plant th,. OF
ciards aud be able to wait for the mGduct.
Figs, peaches. pears. English walnuts ALL pc
cans are sure crops and very profitable.
Canning factories Will be established upon
a large scale as soon AS sufficient fruit is pro,
! mced J. B. Watkins and the North Amrri-
can Land and Timber Co. have set 50 acres
of orchard this winter, principally figs, peaches,
pears, plttms, English walnut and pecans
Other parties have set largely. This is the
native land of the blackberry and strawberry.
Thousands of acres should be planted for can
ming.
II. Garden seeds should be raised on a large
scale, and put up neatly for the general market.
Nearly every one obtains his seed at present
from the North.
II. Cucumbers, cauli1owers, onions and
tomatoes grow abundantly nearly the year
round Why not have a picking establish
ment? 1t could continue active operations
for nine months of the year in the fac tory and
twelve months in the field.
13. The production of rice. corn and sweet
potatoes as general farm crops are very profit
able on account of the price they command in
the market. Corn readily commands at ali
seasons of the year fifty cents per bushel.
Rice now brings one dollar and fifty cents per
bushel. In the season of 1887, the crop in
this parish averaged from fifteen TO fifty bushels
per acre. Where there was plenty of water
the average yield was thirty bushels per acre.
The cost of producing rice Il ter the levees are
made. is about the same as wheat. Ten times
as many sweet potateeS are needed as are now
produced. They should be used extensively
for cattle, horses and sheep A large industry
will eventually spring up in the desiccation of
sweet potatoes for the foreign market.
We have enumerated items enough to shGS
that there are abundance of profitable ind IS
tries awaiting the intelligence, energy and
capital of the immigrant and he must have
all of these to succeed in any country. There
are some people who have failed jim every
country they have tried. No use of Coming to
Southwestern Louisiana; they will fail here.
They are deficient in some element of human
nature, and you cannot produce a crop with,
ont a foundation germ, in brains any more
tiidf IL Soi, CNCu theuSh you utiIS ~ Dtat
the fertile soil, the balmy atmosphere and the
vitalizing sun of this genial climate. We need
men of force. Laziness always floats with the
current, and our inter continental streams un
fortunately flow southwark. Anything that
is too lazy to thaw ont in the north rolls-nto
the current and floats south. This has been
going OIL for many years Bear Il mind, that
the gull of Mexico is south of us, and human.
ity.s drift must stop on this coast, and you will
readily understand that We now have all the
laziness essential to our well-beiug.
We want energy at a hundred pounds press.
ure to the square inch We must have con.
centrated force, sustained and directed by suf
ticient capital. We have called attention to
enough profitable industries to occupy one
hundred thousand persons, but each requires
some capital
Suppose a family brings nothing but labor,
then HE capital already here must be taxed to
provide a house and lot, and the employment
necessary TO feed and clothe that family. If,
OH the other hand, enough money is brought
to build a house and start a farm, labor now
here is employed t" do this work, and it af-
fords relief to capital, 1t ) not for us to die
tate who shall come. All are welcome, and
we will do the best we can to provide for
them.