Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1893-07-24
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Uncle Sam, His Dominions and His
People Discussed.

character and brought clearly to light
many individual defects, without, how
ever, doing exact justice to the many
strong points which we, as people,
possess. The writer, above referred
to, in his pen picture Of American
life and character, in the course of his
article, says:
"The notion prevails in this country
that we are very practical people.
We take credit to ourselves for being
sensible, shrewd, and at least mindful
of our own interests. This quality
gets a harsher name from our foreign
critics. They say that we are ma
| terialistic, grasping, and in fact sordid,
as the thing we most care for is mon
| ey, and that which we are most alive
about is our material interests. They
admit that we are "smart" but say
that we are mentally commonplace
and unimaginatiye. The critics are
mistaken, and our own estimate Of
ourselves is more compIacent than
correct. We are very imaginative
people, and in many ways the most
impractical. The old stage cOncep-
ton of Uncle Sam as q good-natured
rustic sitting in rocking chair,
whiting, was not altogether out Of
the way. Whiting is not remun-
erative occupation, as rule, although
this quaint waiter on Providence,
who seemed to imagine that if he sat
at ease, all good things would in the
course of time pass his way, OCCASION
ally did whittle out all invention that
would save him from labor. lie an
sWered the gibes of his critics by
pointing out the fact that the chair he
sat in was a self-rocker--a little inven-
ton of his own. lie was man of
vague dreams and imaginations.
"No; brought to the test in the COM
mercial struggle Of the modern world
for supremacy, the American is not
practical. In rivalry with other ac-
tive nations he shows himself a bun
gler, and lacking in practical wisdom
and foresight, An inventor, yes; but
is lacking practical shrewdness. He
very ingenious, He has gone on
doubling in the past few years the
great world staples Of corn, cotton
and iron, and he seems confidently
to expect that Providence win market
them for him; especially as he has
cheapened the cost Of all these pro-
ducts, it would only be fair for Prov
idence to attend to the selling part.
He knows that one per cent Of the
arabic land in the cotton states will
produce all the cotton the world can
use, and he knows that the product
of cotton and iron and grain increases
in an enormously greater ratio than
the population, and yet he neglects
, many of the most obvious means to
profit by this bounty of nature and OF
, his situation. lie looks on and brags
, about his greatness, while his indus
trial and commercial rivals occupy
: the markets of the world. Now that
he is in rivalry with them for a fair
share in SO plain prize, his conduct
shows HIM to be the most impractical
, Of men,"
f This may seem rather a harsh way
|, Of putting il, as the picture is made to
: stand out boldly, in an unlavorable
, light, without shadow of relief from
comparison with some Of the stronger
and more favorable elements Of nat.
ional character. But the truth Of the
4 charge can be, only too easily, demon
strated. Nor need we seek at dis.
tance for the proof, as it lies right
here at our own doors. Arkansas
as u State, and each fractional part
! thereof suffers today from condition
of affairs, especially in agricultural
> pursuits, which a little foresight and
;, inventive genius on the part of hei
: people might have wholly prevented
or failing that should and could, long
since, have remedied. Texarkans
suffers today, as does every other city
in the State, from continuous over
a production Of cotton and this, too
in the face Of the fact that our sol
: and climate, both, conduce to and per-
nit d wider range and greater diver
sity Of agricultural pursuits and pro
q ducts than any other given territory
Of equal extent, in the United States
8 and, perhaps, in the world
Congressman and Senator Fight.
r News has been received by wir'
I, from Columbia S. g., concerning ,