The Green Forest tribune., 1894-01-18
BUSINESS AND FINANCE.
GOVERNOR FISHBAcK REPLIES TO POINTED
QUESTIONS IN REGARD TO
Their Present and Prospective Conditions in Ar.
kansas-Discusses His Railroad Scheme.

The Age of Steel some time ago ad-
dressed the following questions to many
leading men OF the country:
l. What is the financial and busi-
ness outlook in your state?
2. What measure or measures apply
ing to money, tariff, bounty or trans
portation which, if embodied in feder-
al legislation, would, in your udgment,
conduce in the highest degree to the
prosperity of your state and the South
as a whole?
3. What has been done in your state
by legislative action and private inter-
est to encourage immigration, the in
PRODUCTION of outside capital and the
establishment of new manufacturing
enterprises And what new undertak-
ings would you suggest or recommend
as calculated to advance the welfare Of
your state along the lines indicated
In the issue of January 6, Governor
Fishback, among many others, answers
as follows:
STATE OF ARKANSAS, EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. Dec. b 1883.
l. In response to your inquiries, will
say that both the financial and busi-
ness outlook are good in Arkansas. In
several of our larger cities there Was
not single failure during the panic Of
this year.
2. Let the federal government carry
out the pledges Of the Democratic plat
form in regard to tariff, bounties, and
money, and the South will prosper as
no other country ever prospered be-
fore.
3. Nothing has been done by legis-
lative action to encourage immigration,
except our exhibits at the World S Fair.
Private parties are doing much in all Of
our towns and cities.
A railroad system having Its main
line from st. Louis in an air line to the
southwest corner of our state, and
thence through the long leaf pine and
iron region of Eastern Texas, would
traverse our mountain timber belt, our
zinc field, our marble beds, our coal
field, manganese, chalk, antimoDy,
iron, copper, mari, gypsum and slate in
the counties of Baxter, Searcy, Newton,
Marion, Pope, Johnson, Yell, Logan,
Scott, Montgomery, Pike, Howard,
Sewer and Little River.
Branches from St. Paul and Eureka
Springs, intersecting main line and ex-
tending to the manganese beds of In
dependence county, would traverse
zine, marble, white sand, iron, timber,
lead, copper and manganese, as well as
one of the finest apple regions IN the
world IN the counties of Carroll, Madi-
son, Boone, Searcy, Newton, stone, IL
ard and Independence. Another from
Little Rock to Fort Smith on the south
side Of the river would traverse seven
tv-three miles of our coal field and the
natural gass region Of Logan county, as
| we'll as one of the best farming valleys
in the state. Another by the way of
Hot Springs to the southwestern cor
ner of the state would traverse the
great timber regions of Grant, Dallas,
Bradley, Drew, Cleveland and Ashley
counties, also one of the greatest ochre
and clay beds in the United States.
The timber alone of the counties
through which such system would
run would sell for more than every acre
of land in Kansas or Nebraska at THEN
assessed values.
Any kind Of manufacturing industry
of which timber or cotton is the raw
material, would yield large profits il
this state. Respectfully,
WM nj. FIsHBACK,
Governor of Arkansas