The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1889-12-06
Iut,rsutln Lstte- From Texa,.

In Il
pleasure to tell anything of interest to my
people, but il is a difficult matter at this dis
tance to judge what would be of interest to
them. 1t has been my custom to write
letter to the TINES in the fall, and it may
be that the Editor appreciates the little news
the letter contains. if no one else does; but
must confess cannot say much this time.
The burden of this letter will be extract from
n letter written by young North Carolinian
living at Waco TO the Stdtesciile IN. c. Land
mark. He says: ~ have now been in this
country some time, and have made it my |
business 10 look about and inform myself rs
to the condition of the working people
do not suppose there has ever been State |
that has had the lies told on it that Texas |
has You meet this and that enthusiast back |
there at home, who, if they do not tell you |
money can be made here without cxertion, |
will at least paint the advantages of this |
country in such glowing colors that the poor |
uoung fellows arc dazzled and strike out for |
Texas; and are very sorry they did so. L
say nothing about moneyed men, for, indeed
if man has capital to invest, here is good
place for him, but speak of the farmer, the
day laborer, etc, who earns his bread by the
sweat of his brow and he will sweat too, If
he comes to this country.
Tho working classes in this country arc
poorer people than L ever saw before in my
life Go out on any public road and you
will meet on an average of every 10 minutes.
n wagon load of these miserable creatures,
father mother and nearly dozen children
for children are the ony crop that don't fail
here-all packed up on top of few bed
clothes, and such lide articles; half of them
shaking with chills, and all the color of
North Carolina pumpkin. These people. are
poor. Allthey have in the world is in the
wagon; and they look like the picture of de-
spair. Ask him were he is going and the
| man will tell you he does not exactly know;
| but his crop failed down yondcr and his
family was all sick, and he just thought he
| would move somewhere clsc Ask him if he
| is a native. No. He came from Tennessee,
North Carolina or some other old State.
GLOW do you like the country?"
Don't like it ALL
"What makes you stay hcrc?'
cam not able to get away. This is all Eve
| got, and these horses can't take me far, nei-
| ther will this old wagon hold up long"
lie will further tell you: al was we'll
| fixed back yondcr. getting along oil right,
but everybody said Texas was the place to
| make money. so L came"
| The young man goes on to tell how much
dissatisfaction exists among these from the
| older States who are financially in better cir
cun,stances; and he cites instances of many
who would prefer going back East if they
| could only go back with rs much as they
| brought West.
Speaking of the cotton crop here he says:
| ,"Thc average crop of cotton is half bale to
the acre, when the season is passing fair.
If good, a bale, but this happens only once
| in twenty years" "Corn," he continues"
can be made i'm abundance; but from 10 to
| 15 cents per bushel is all it will bring.
have not yet seen farmer who is not in
debt to at least the extent Of one crop, and
have been in good position to see and talk
to very many of them" The stock business
| is worth nothing. He continues: ''The
young man who comes here to make his for
tune with his hands or his brain is sadly dis
appointed to find that with all the begging
Texas docs for more people to come, he can
find no situation. He is even passed by be-
cause he is stranger. All positions are
given to Texas, if they can be had and for
every position there are dozen applicants
The day in when fortunes could be picked
up in Texas is past, if, indeed, it ever existed
| anywhere but in the brain of some cauting
| enthusiast"
The young man has told about the SoutL
in his letter to the Land Marx, am sorry to
confess, and persons and newspapers criticise
him severely, and il is hurled at him "we
don't want snch men,"
hold that il is the basest ingratitude for
State to invite, in every imaginable way it
can, people within its limits and treat them
in such way. And if the young man had
said that there were many who only wanted
such men to come here as could be gulled
and swindled out of the little money they
may bring with them to Texas, he would
have hit the key note to a truer situation.
Corn is n little better price here than at
Waco, if he has quoted it correctly. 1t is
worth 20 to 20 cents per bushel here. Eco
nomical farmers do pretty well here.
The city of Dallas has grown to be large
one a recent census given Dallas popula-
ton of 81 1855 inhabitants, and the city is
growing rapidly. The Ncrs, of Dallas works
hard and increasingly for Dallas. 1t is by
the way, pretty good daily paper, and has
some recent improvements; but there are
many specials, by telegraph" which have
been telcgraphed right out of some other
daily with a pair of scissors. 1t is a fact,
just like tell you.
Old Mr.. Wolfe a South Carolinian, the
founder of Wolf City which has grown to be
quite large town. being at the junction OF
the "Cotton Belt and Santa Fc Railroads,
says he has lived to see his town grow lar
ger proportions than he ever expected to see
it and is willing to die and got Heaven"
Miss Alice Lttlejohn of your county is in
Texas, and will leave in n few days to visit
her cousin, Mrs. Jas. s. Crawford. C.