The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-02-18
ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT.
Arkansas Bureau of Immigration.
AN ADDRESS.


 To the People of the State of Arkansas:
 The undersigned, composing the ex- ecutive committee of the Arkansas Bureau of Immigration, organized by the convention held at the state capi- tai on January 31 and February 1, 1888, take this method of calling the attention of the people of the state of Arkansas to the importance of the work begun by the convention.
 You have state second to none in the Union in it's natural resources.
 It is the equal of any state in adapt ability to raising cotton.
 It's fruit has carried off the first prize wherever exhibited.
 It has no superior as country for vineyards.
 It has almost boundless fields of the finest steam and heating coal.
 It has lead, zinc, iron, manganese, antimony, silver, gold, gypsum and other metals in prOfusion.
 It has more miles of navigable riv- CTS than any other state.
 It has every lay of land and variety of soil that can be found anywhere.
 It has two millions of acres of land belonging to the state, one hundred and sixty acres of which it will do- nate to each actual settler.
 In it the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway company own one million acres of fertile lands, ex- tending diagonally through the state from Missouri to Texas, for sale at low prices on long credit.
 In it the Little Rock S Fort Smith Railway company also has choice lands, extending from Little Rock to the Indian Nation, which they will sell on leng time.
 It is about two hundred miles in length, north and south, and it pro- duces every kind of crops, commonly raised in the temperate zone, as we'll as many of the semi tropical fruits and crops.
 It has fine and rapidly improving public school system.
 It's rate of taxation, limited by con- stitutional provisions, compared with that of many of the states, is merely nominal.
 It has vast forests of pine, oak, ash, walnut, cherry, hickory, pecan, gum, cottonwood, and other varieties of timber.
 It has numerous healing fountains, among which the Hot Springs and Eureka Springs have, by the cures at them wrought, already acquired a fame extending over many distant parts of the world.
 It has a salubrious and healthful climate.
 It has railroads traversing it in every direction already in operation, others building and many more pro- jected.
 It has cheap and good building ma terial.
 It has splendid building and paving stone.
 It has cheap lands of excellent char acter. In short it has everything that could be asked by the earnest immigrant seeking home where his labor would be fairly remunerated.
 Notwithstanding all these advan- tages, your state has not made that advancement which she should have made because her citizens have failed to present these advantages to the public and make them known to those seeking to better their condition by changing location.
 The convention above referred to agreed upon plan of action, which, if 1t receives the hearty support of the people, will turn the attention of the country to Arkansas and give it fair start in the race for prosperity.
 The railroad companies operating roads in this state have agreed to issue excursion tickets to any part of the state, semi monthly, at half the usual fare, good for thirty days, and will commence as soon as the committee notifies them that the people are ready for the work to begin, which will be when the county bu- reaus are established, the necessary funds raised, printed matter ready, and proper committees appointed, charged with the duty of showing them over their respective counties
 The convention selected one person in each county, whose duty it is to organize 8 bureau of immigration in their respective counties, to gather statistics, and raise money to carry out the plans arranged by the conven- tion. These men will call upon you to organize and to raise fund of $50,- 900 in the state, in the proportion in each county that the assessed value oi the property in the county bears to the aggregate value ofall the property in the state, third to be spent by the executive committee in advertis- ing the state at large, and two- thirds fn .hA aYnAndAd hv fha roaneefiux