The Opelousas courier., 1893-02-25
1he 1mmig ration Convention and
the Inducements we Can
Offer to Tmmigrants.

A great deal has been said recent,
by the press Of the State regarding i'm
migration. and lately it has been sug
gested that the Governor call Stat,
Convention for the purpose of promnl
eating some plan by which the atten
ton of desirable class of home-seek
ers may be drawn to this section Of the
country. We are informed through
the press that the Governor has lent A
willing ear to these propositions ana
contemplates, 10 the early future, is
issuing call fer the assembling oil
such a body.
This assembhge, if composed of the
right sort OF men, can exert power
full influence for good. 1t can operate
as the application of an ineipienf force
IN the elevation of Louisiana in the sis
terhood of States, and finally result in
rendering her opulont and powerful.
These desiderata can be accomplished
provided, the personnelle of this con-
vention is composed of class of in
telligent citizens, methodieal, progress
i've business men, who have the gene
raj welfare of the State at heart, and
who assemble not so much for the
promotion of personal ends as for the
advancement of the interests of Louisi-
ana. In other words we want con.
ventIon composed of men who repre-
sent something, either 10 property,
brains or social standing and moral
character. The possession of these at
tributes in the delegates will give
might and tone to the deliberation of
the convention, and will rend er its eff
forts more impressive than if, on the
other hand, it has majority of it's
membership set of conseienceless land
sharks and INSCRIPTIONS politicians.
From convention held under such
auspices we can expect the realization
of some good. So we can say let the
cali be issued, and let the convention
be assembled at any point central and
accessible, and let the people see that
neither themselves cnor their interests
ale nfisrepresented through the selec
ton or appointment of their delegates.
We of Southwest Louisiana occupy.
probably, one of the most favored sec
tions of the Uuioa both as regards eli
mate, The diversity of our agricultural
products and natural resources gen
orally. We have valuable and large
bodies of virgin timber, very acces-
sible to market and so intersected with
water courses that it can be cheapIy
handled, and out of which several
branches of industrial art could be
developed, and operated on a paying
basis. We import all of our agricultural
machinery from the west, the wood
work and all, while we have better
timber at home, aud are as near the
coal and iron fields of Alabama as
these people are to Pittsburg, and if
different order of affairs existed aud
we made those things at home, we
would build ourselves up, and cur
country up-frst, by utilizing and
turning into money a species of prop
erty that is to day relatively vaIueless,
viz, our swamp lands Second, we
would give employment to our home
people, aud thereby increase the circu-
Iatien of money in our midst, while
the employment of large portion of
our population in the Industrial arts
would create demand for increased
in some of the smaller
TENS on the farm, viz: truck farming,
poultry raising, fruit growing, etc; and
.hns we see that q general social bene
it would result. We can manufac
sure all our agricultural implements,
,ar buggies, our wagons, our paper, for
We have au inexhaustibIe supply of pa
per stoek-our cotton goods, our cotton
iced products, ETC. All that is now
needed is TO make proper pFesenta-
ion of these advantages to capital
Ieeking Investment and there is plen
" of it-and offer it inducements for
investment here, and it will not be
ong before our waste places will be
lbsop bed and the developments of our
'esourees began So, we say all hail to
he immigration convention. Let it
come, and let each and every good
,itizen use his best efforts to make it a
,uecess