Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1890-09-30
NEW SERIES, VOL. XIV, NO. 80.


brain OF those fathers. aud from them we all
inherit those valued gifts that MI up the full
measure of our lives
But this is not the time OF the occasion to
look into the Past; into the Present and toward
the Future We bend our busy glance. A Pres
eut full of marvellous activity; a Future replete
with promises ofrenarkable advantages.
5 It's not my mission here to-day to enter into
detailed discussion of any subject In tue
line of the purpose for which 1 came need
only voice the sentiments of the managers, In
whose keeping are the affuirs of this society,
and to say to you that the doors are open; all
things are In readiness; and to bid you as In
Vited guests to enter and partAke. But these
are subjects that will not be suppressed; there
arc hopes and capabilities that thrust them
selves upon our attention, and like BanQuO's
ghost will not down, no matter who commands.
| speak OF hopes and capabilities-they are the
precursors of labor. prosperity and progress
sion. As In the afuirs of men, SO in those OF Q
people, there are tides which taken at the Hood
lead on to fortune, and in the signs of the times
he who runs may read the evidences of great
industrial movements, from every quarter, to-
ward that section of our country TO which by
law and location we belong and In whose des-
tiny our welfare Is indissolubly woven.
l allude TO that sudden and unexpected
change that has turned the channel of enter
prise toward the resources OF the South, That
our people shall reap from it new aud richer
harvests we have reasons for abundant hope.
That we have here. as a free gift from Natures
God, superior facilities to enable us to light
these fires Ofindustry anew, and to give to them
q permanent and enduring glow, none but tho
skeptic and pessimst can doubt.
The great county of Jefferson stands as a
massive and luXuriaut gateway to the immense
garden of the prosperous South. Across the
Potomac in the sweep of territory to the Cana
dian border are the mighty energies of thrift
and the greater potencies of aggregated wealth,
while as we turn and follow with the eye yon
noble mountain range. onward DER peak and
hill and undulating valley, there stretches from
t1,,,rr -n,G,,r
even to the confines of the Gulf that marvel
Gus and undeveloped Southland, teeming with
untold and undiminished wealth. The great
trunk lines, that are the arteries OF commerce,
starting northward on their journey there pass
through our hills and wind along our flowing
streams. The SHOWS of winter and the sum-
mer sun are tempered here, and each changing
season comes to MS in moderate foTn With
in our elevated atmosphere no pestllcuce can
live; the deadly germs of dire disease, 90 fatal
in extremes of climate, are strangers to our
life-preserving air. With fertile and respond
ing soil, a temperate and selnbrioub CLINE, with
wooded hills and watared dales, this fair conn
try lies midway between. 1t is not North, II is
not South, but border land with extending
empires on either hand.
With these advantages, Is il not peculiar that
in the last thirty years our population has in
creased hut little. that our wealth has kept but
q tagging pace toward accretion, that our Rg-
ricultural interests, If not depressed have been
sensitive and uncertain? / cannot stop to in
QulTe INTO Ine causes lot LnCSe existing IuClh-
some one else will doubtless perform that task
before this Fair is over. This condition of af-
fairs is not peculiar TO u.s. bnt to every agricul-
tUral section, and reasons for II arc plOin and
abundant: The rapid settlement OF the great
public domain and the cultivation OF new and
extended areas; increased transportation facil-
tiles decreasing distance and increasing snp-
plies for glutted markets whose rapid develop
ment on sea and land has altered existing con-
ditions of trade throughout the world; the pas
sage-and retention of class legislation and of
iniquitous laws that bear with heavy hand on
agricultural pursuits-each of these a subject
me to say, that heretofore our advantages have
not been noticed our agricultural and mineral
resources have not been scrutiBized. The
sweep OF emigration the tide of industry ,BOme
years ago set westward; their trend was like
the course Of empire toward the setting sun.
The triple sisters. Agriculture, Manufacture
and Commerce, reaching ont from where the
waves of the rugged Atlantic sing their hymns
to the morning. moved swiftly and with eager
rush onward across the high Rockies to the
slopes of the distautPacific. The great West,
under the pressure of this immense and uncon-
querable tide. suddenly fairy in the
night to wealth and prominence. The centre
of population was changed. The source OF
competition in all industrial pursuits came
eastward and great cities spTang up with mar
velou1 ropidity. During the period that mark
ed this sudden growth on the western slopes
our career has been uneVentful. No sudden
changes, no rapid development, NO wonder
and quiet tenor Of our ways. But We have
progressed, not retrograded; VIC have increased
not diminished. We have not worked mira
cles, but we have lived honestly and In COM
fort. Our growth, though small, has been GER
tain, not volcanic; sure, but not phenomenal
Within the last year, however a new era
has suddenly dawned. The tide of acti yities
now tread Southwark. The eagles of Manu-
fGcture the birds of Commerce, are seeking
new feeding lands. They wish TO live under
serener skies, where raw materials without the
cost Of transportation arc present to the touch
and the flowers of profit hang in pTofusiOn
seek a resting place in the valleys of the South
Every breeze that blows from there brings new
hdings OF increRsing activity. That favored
land arises like strong man after nleeu
tentiou OF wondering world Her hitherto
uupenetrated forests resonnd with the wood
mans axe. In the bosom OF her secluded wales
the hardy miner delyeB and brings forth with
haustess mines. Her hills are growing reso-
nant with the Bhir of machinery and the noise
of loaded trains. and on the faces of her farm
ers hitherto depressed, comes the hFst faint
dawn of smile, that is destined 10 broaden
into the laughter of prosperity. This is but
the beginning OF great and glorious era
The current that sweeps toward the South hath
not yet received the many streams that trend
toward il. In the immediate future we may
expect TO experience the fulluess of lts power.
There are solid reasons for all great business
changes, as there is for every phenomenon In
nature. lncxorable law governs every fndi-
yidual as well US every national development.
Three weeks ago when on q visit TO Albany
and Troy, in the State of New York, / had
shown to me their great EtOve works, their
iron works and the yariouz industries of those
wealthy cities, but the citizens of Albany who
so kindly pointed out those varied sources of
former prosperity frankly said lyon see all
these manufactures, all this busy hive. say
to you that their prosperity is threatened;
the glory hath departed from this Israel We
are too far from raw material. too far from
the sources OF supply. We cannot compete
with the West and South: they undersell Us
but one redress, and that is 70 eungrate.-
We mean TO come South. The fat has gone
forth, and we have only to obey the command
of pressing and permanent necessity"
Two great thinkers for the North Mr.: sher-
man in the United states Senate and Mr. Win
ans, of New York, In effect have said that ow-
ing TO the great resources OF the South and
the competition of that section aud the West
the only salvation for New England and the
North in annexation of Canada.
These are but stray voices in the mighty
chorus that sings OF u rejuyenated land. On
ward to the Sonth. ia the cry. Onward to the
South She is the queen that holds within her
fair domain the choicest jewels Of national
wealth. In her cotton and her wheat. in her
iron and her coal in her pasture lands and in
her climate. she is mistress over all, and ae re-
spousive to thif song of praise, We behold arise,
as if by magic touch. her new born cities, vii
lagos and towns. From HagerstoWn TO Bir-
mingham comes from out of swamp and forest,
and country solitude and court-houBe square
the thrifty forms of Middleburg. Aun.ston,
Chattanooga. Radford, Salem, Roanoke, Buena
Vista. Basic City and q host of others. From
the frost line up andintO the great shenandoah
Valley hath the mighty movement swept with
rapid pace.