Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-02-13
JUDGE ]. ". BOCAGE
Submits Few Remarks Through the
 Graphic on the Furniture Factory.

Shall the word Failure" be written over the late effort to erect a furni- ture factory in Pine Bluff?
 There are many reasons why the efforts of the Commercial League should be brought to d successful termination. The past is behind us, to retrospect that which has been, avails little now, except by compari- son with that which should be. While there has been, and yet is, q a moral obligation due to ourselves, we are also due decided moral ob- those who are to come after us. Is it not true that the mercantile inter- ests of this city have in the past about kept pace with the agricul- tural development of the adjacent country, and that development has about reached the eliminating point for the present? Then mercantile profits were great, and a bar against diverting capital so invested, to other channels of profit. Having reached the eliminating point, is it not the proper course to begin our efforts towards paying the obliga- tiOn due those to come after us in building up industrial institutions, erecting factories. The utilization of raw material, now going to waste. The merchants of this city hold the key to the situation. By the will of the merchants the word Failure, as relating to the pro- posed furniture factory, may be plotted out. By their will the effort of the Business League will be crowned With success.
 Why were theforests planted? Why this superabundanee of valuable law material, the heritage of our people in this austral section? Itwas no accident that the greatabundance of raw material of timber and fine woods is present with us; they were planted for a purpose. And now that large profits from mercantile capital are reduced to the minimum, it is well to take advantage of that purpose by converting our timber into mercantile product and a source of profit.
 In the past, forest trees which had no parellel i'll any country or cline were recklessly reduced to smoke and ashes. In that our obligation to our selves was disregarded in a measure and those who are to succeed us can say, you failed to be in touch with the conditions, you failed to see the economic necessity which should i'm natural advantages so lavishly pre- sented ns." The deplorable extrav- agance of the past should cease, the destruction of timber should be con formed to the necessity of the farmer in clearing his land, and is he not in some measure criminally wasteful In eastern Arkansas millions of dol lars worth of fine woods have been destroyed which should have gone into the industrial exchequer.
 The effort now on foot to erect a furniture factory is an effort to trans fer the fine woods from the fire to the machine tool to be transformed into furniture which now isimported to this city and sold ill vast quan- titles. We should have the courage to move along the lines nature has laid for our industrial profit and at once build the furniture factory 1t is proposed to donate a suitable site of five acres of ground While the opportunity is present take ad- vantage of it. Build the factory, elect directors who have success
 written on their brows. Surely you can trust such men as T B. Trulock; J. B. Speers, E. l.. Taylor, k. NJ. Knox, Dave Bluthenthal, Frank Sil- verman. l.. E. Goldsmith and others we may name who, in looking to their own interest, will look well to yours. J. w. B.