The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-06-18

the face of the coming competition
of this country in supplying the great
commerce of the world when we re-
move the distractions which we our
selves have set up? So much for the
vision which every one may indulge in
who chooses to lay down the lines upon
the map, and who may attempt to
forecast the fortune of the section of
this country Of which l have given the
boundaries. With respect to the re-
sources of the South, it needs only
trip of two weeks, or even less, to
prove the existence ofalmost unlimited
supplies of fre-clays, kaolin and glass
sand, iron ore, coal, manganese and
salt, to say nothing of some Of the
metals of less importance. Coal, ores
and timber exist in such abundance az
to make the question one OF the prox-
unity and of the relative quality Of
the supplies rather than of their abun-
dance and of their existence. The
competition is no longer to find coal
in excessive abundance; it now consists
in friendly rivalry among those who
possess the coal as to which will make
the strongest and richest coke. 1t is
no longer question Of the existence
of iron ore in such masses as to make
the number of tons a matter Of no
present consequence. The pending
question is which ore is the richest or
the purest or the best in its situation
for immediate use. In respect to the
high-grade ores, which may be suitable
for conversion into Bessemer steel, it
is no longer question whether they
exist or not, but whether they exist in
pockets only or in great veins; in either
event there is enough in sight and in
close proximity to coal to assure the
immediate establishment of the man.
ufacture of steel at many points. 1t is
no longer question whether or not
basic steel can be made in the southern
part of the iron section; it is only a
question whether the right men have
taken hold of the matter or not, and
whether the right method is being
adopted, and of that there can be
little doubt. The surface only has
been scratched. The supply of hard
wood timber is endless, and in the
limestone country as soon as the trees
are cut away the bluegrass comes in.
In Virginia we saw the largest herd of
registered short-horned cattle that
there is in the world, whose progeny
are being scattered throughout the
bluegrass country. The potential in
wool on these plains and mountains
rests not upon protection against the
wool of South America or Australia,
but merely upon the protection of the
sheep against the dogs.
1t may be deemed extravagant to
suggest, but one cannot help believing
that when sufficient population, en-
dowed with thrift and intelligence,
shall occupy the valleys and plateaus
OF this section, the potential in wheat
production of this section may be
equal to the supply of all the wheat
that the people of this country now
consume. One needs only to view the
valleys ofthe Shenandoah, the Roanoke
valley, the $1,000 square miles of the
so-called "blue-g grass in Kentucky,
Powell river valley, and the many
limestone valleys and plateaus which
are traversed in other parts of this
section, to accept even this forecast as
only perhaps little too sanguine or
roseate in its terms.
Mr.. Atkinson says that the natural
resources Of the plateaus and noun
tains are SO great as to actually con-
stitute disability which may for a
time stand in way Of the arts on which
success depends upon the savage of
a fraction of cent on each pound or
each yard and in which very large
capital must not only be expended,
but constantly maintained or in order
to set one man or woman at work. In
closing his paper, he says:
When each Southern boom town
begins with the foundation of public
library and an art museum alongside
the iron furnace or the workshop;
when each principal city provides CEN
tiers for technical, manual and univer-
sity training coincidently with the up
building Of the factory and the steel
works, then we OF New England may
begin to feel some distrust OF our
ability to set up two new establish
ments for the conduct of the finer
industrial work for every one of the
cruder branches that is transferred
from US, or that is set up elsewhere.
from which we may procure our neces-
sary material. We are now engaged
in friendly contest, in which each
community, each section and each
State may attain the greatest measure
of prosperity by the exchange Of ser
vices in that commerce in which both
parties make profit.
Mr.. Atkinson believes that the
speculative town lot operations of ire
sponsible companies has passed away,
and that the future development Of
this section is to be on solid, conser-
vative foundation.
Happy HOOsiers.