The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-08-15
THE souTH,s oppoRruNIrY.

THE SOUTH'S OPPORTUNITY.
Some Admirable Advice rendered the
south by the Manufacturers Rec
ord.
Disasters that are entirely without
compensating features are rare. Ever,
calamity that befalls mankind carries
with it some element of advantage
Thus the present business depression
and distress in the West present tc
the South an opportunity for self ad.
vancement such as has never been
presented before. We read daily OF
the thousands of unemployed, the
losses of business men, tho distress and
dissatisfaction of the farmers, the idle
ness OF the mechanics, in the West.
Our first thought is one of sympathy
and pity; our second should be of the
relief that these thousands could find
in the South. In this situation lies the
great opportunity for the South
to help the unfortunate and at
the same time benefit beyond meas
ure every interest in the South.
There has been an infinite amount
OF talk, argument and theory about
getting desirable immigrants for the
South. There is now an opportunity
to accomplish this result In q simple
and certain manner.
We ere not advancing theory, but
stating facts that can be substantiated
when we say that little expenditure
of money and we'll directed effort at
this time will start a movement South
ward from the afflicted portions of the
West which will give the South thous-
ands of settlers of the classes most de-
sired. There are thousands of farmers
in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and
other Western States who are dissatis-
fled with their lot, with the climtae,
with crops and prospects. They are
ready to go anywhere, if prospects of
better conditions be offered. They
own farms or have sufficient money
interest in them to give them small
amount of capital upon the disposition
of their property in the West, and they
can go to the South with money, energy
and skill. They are ready and willing
to take any steps that promise to bet
ter their conditions and any section Of
the country that can secure these peo-
pie will have u most valuable addition
to its population and industry.
Here, then, is the tremendous oppor-
tunity of the South a chance for prac-
tical work that will be more productive
of results than a perpetual convention
OF Southern Governors in Richmond.
If the people of the South are in
earnest in their desire to increase the
population of their section by immi-
grafton of the most desirable charac-
ter, here is u chance to fulfill their
wishes. The stimulating of foreign
emigration Southward is q big under
taking, requiring time, money, work
and the cooperation of several import
ant forces, but the West offers an
opportunity for securing immediate re-
suits by the expenditure of q minimum
of energy and cash.
AS regards the practical features of
the situation, we have only this sug-
gestion to make Tell the people of
the West what the South offers them
cheap lands that will raise wide
range of crops, a delightful climate
that is unsurpassed by any section of
this continent, and ready market for
all that is produced. Tell the West
not mere generalities, but definite in
formation about what is being done in
the South by thesNorthern and West
ern people who have emigrated thither
There have been books and books
about the resources of the South and
statistics beyond measure, but what
the people of the West now
want to know is what fruit lands
are for sale in Georgia, at what price,
and what they will yield in dollars and
cents under average conditions. They
want to know what opportunity there
is for planting rice in Louisiana and
everything about it that is nocdful for
a beginner to know. They want to
know what an orange grove in Florida
| will cost, and what its crop is worth to
the grower. They want to know
where in the South cattle can be raised
to best advantage, what the pasturage
| costs and what the cattle will bring.
In short, the people of the West who
now are dissatisfied with their lot want
| accurate, specific and detailed in
formation about Southern opportuni-
| ties, down to the exact price and loca-
tion of lands now for sale.
Put these facts into the hands of the
Western farmers and merchants by ad-
| vertisement in Western papers, by
carefully prepared pamphlets, by per-
sonal missionary work in the West If
possible, by correspondence with every
| one in the West whose name and ad-
| dress can be ascertained. Fill the pa
pers and magazines of the South with
such facts as we have suggested and
scatter them by millions in the West.
Get the cooperation of the railroads in
this work, and secure reduced rates
for prospective settlers. Pay the ex-
penses of train load of Western peo.
pie for an excursion through the
South, and the cost will be repaid q
hundredfold. Do all of this and as
much more as the united ingenuity ol
the best Southern minds can suggest
for this is an opportunity not to be
neglected or wasted. 1t is the op
portunity of a century, and If used wise
ly and fully it will benefit the South tC
a degree beyond imagination. But il
is necessary to act now, not next month
or in the winter.
The solution of the immigration
problem is in the hands of the people
of the South. they realize the situa
tion and act at once they can accom-.
plish stupendous results. .-Manufac
turers Record.