The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-05-14

live by II. except the iaborer. Inc sn S.
sa-mer Who works with his own nanus,
and whose children do the same. ~
n living. But his emoluments are: A..
all. not large; and his success 10
not 1ess 10 the smalIncss OF MS eaPe,,
ture than to the energy OF ms ia" .aa-
he has ambitions beyond the most mous-
rate physfcal wants ne must seen o'~
fields OF enterprise. ,,..,,on-
Agricultural products have unquesu ~,
ably increased, and are ipcreas"s, -
that the net returns from the",
creasing is not certain. Inc .et
would appcar from the returns 10 nav
reached the point OF overprooucuon,
and the expenditure increases as W.T. q
the income. The outlay In thc o'"o.'
item of fertilizers Is simply enormous;
The fact is that, after having ua'eieo
throughout the South, am conpeneu ~
admit that speaking from ths asIlIul-
tural standpoint, and, speaking eeherai,y'
she is not rich, che is poor her wealth.
has TO come In the future from o'hel
sources or course. certain por,io.s are
rich; but her present conditions 20 ~.
r.rr,,t her IA obtain the full benefit from
even these.
The Valley Of Virginia. three or -FOUR
or half a dozen of the Piedmont counties
and the entire section known as the
Southwest" are not merely rich, Dut are
the most beautiful country nave ever
seen On the American continent Inc
residue of the State is poor, WIN the eA-
cfption Of the bottom laLds along .he
rivers, certain trucking sectiohs Sh"e
uitbi,, the influence Of the great warm
inland basin of the Chesapeake. ana GER
tain bright tobacco sections scattered
throughout the southside; that u.s. apoue
one-third of the State IS rich ana Two
thirds poor. Some Of the other southern
Atlantic States POSSESS an even shaiie'
nronortion of fertile soil. Kentucky, Ten
nessee. Mississippi Arkansas, Louisiana
and Texas have a larger proportion OF
rich land. but in three Of these States the
danger of overflow at present impairs the
value of a great deal Of the most ierule
land. Texas, more than any other state
I'm the South, gives one an impression OF
strength and wealth. There Is inuch
sterile land even in Texas, but there Is
still an empire left which seems mex
haustible The low prices or agricultural
products has, however, for years past al
most nullifed this and the farmer on
poor land has been but little worse OH
than his neighbor who owned the richer
soil.
What wealth there is at the South has
sources Her natural resources are great;
her mineral districts are enormously ex-
tensive and rich; her timber has oHered
and still offers in almost every state an
immense field for enterprise; she must De-
come the great fruit and VegetaDle pro-
ducing section of the country, ana manu-
facturers must continue 10 seek In the
future as they have already begun to do,
the immediate neighborhood Of the raw
product. Upon this as upon an improve
ment in her agricultural conditions the
South must depend for her future pros
perity and advancement. Up TO the pres
ent the sparseness OF her population the
distance between the towns, the charac-
ter OF her roads and the competition OF the
richer lands OF the Northwest. coupled
with greater facilities for reaching the
market, have prevented the South from
securing even that which was due. or
this. however, / shall speak In another
letter. My object In this has been 10
show how the class which carried on ag-
riculture has changed in the South.
The younger generation has gone on
10 other States or other occupations which
insure better returns. I saw somewhere
not long ago a computation showing that
about one-third of Nirginia's native born
population live outside OF her borders
1t is a source Of pride TO those VINO re-
main to know that many OF them nave
achieved a high degree Of success, ana
not a few the highest in the place they
have chosen for their homes. Through
out both the Southwest and the North
west have found them filling the highest
Offices of trust and honor. Many Of them
are repres entatives of the old Virginia
families And the fact that so many
struck out for themselves and. beginning
at the very bottom as brakemen on rail-
ways, cowboys on western ranches, miners
in northwestern mines, clerks in stores,
laborers In machine shops and factprfes,
have risen to the top. Is proof or The
falsity OF the charge that the old face
was effete. All they wanted was oppor-
tunity, and often when 1t was wanting
they have made II.
The courage with which the people OF
the South went to work after the war
10 build up their waste places is the most
heroic chapter in their history. Grants
concession to Lees stipulation that ne
should let his men take their horses home
to pillow their fields. gave most of the
remnant Of Lees army the only plow-
horses they had on their arrival home.
My friend. DR.. Todd. of greensboro. Ky,
had two; he gave one 70 his negro SER
want and he took the other, and so both
began the new life together. From an
extensive acquaintance with this class.
/ believe / am within the bounds of fact
when l say that probably nineteen-twen-
tieths OF the professional men in the
South to-day. over the age of forty.
plowed with their own hands for the first
year or two after the war. l know II is
so In Virginia. They plowed, but they
were not plowmen. They plowed and
labored because II was necessary at first;
but their brains were worth more. and
they shortly found better use for them.
THOMAS NELSON PAGE.