Omaha daily bee., 1895-10-27
ELDORADO OLA GREAT NATION
An Enthuoiastio Son Of Georgia Lauds His
Native State.
A CHAT WITH HON. HoKe SMITH
Development of the south and It's
Agricultural and Mineral POSI-
biIitics-Tbe Color Line and
the Silver question.

copyrighted. 1895. by Frank q. carpenter)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24.-Hon. Hoke
Smith, secretary OF the interior, has made a
number Of visits to Georgia during the past
few weeks. His eyes have been opened by
the Atlanta exposition and he overlows with
enthusiasm about the south and its wonder
full development. He thinks that Georgia Is the
coming El Dorado OF the United States, and he
paints its prospects in such glowing terms
that they make you think OF the Indian
chief Of that name who smeared his body
with oil and then sprlnkled 1t with gold dust,
no that he became an animated golden statue.
This chief took his baths in a sacred lake,
which was bedded In gold and omeralds, and
by his extrayagances made his country a
synonym for the golden goal Of all fortune
hunters. Well, Hoke Smith thinks this goal
is now located in Georgia. / called upon him
at the Interior department yesterday, and
was straightway admitted to his sanctum
sanctoruln. I waited there a few moments
while he disposed OF such dignitaries as a
congressman or two, an Indian chief, Buffalo
Bill and department chiefs. and then, with a
single question, formed the siphon which
brought out enthusiastic information about
the south from the secretary's mouth in a
steady stream. My question was as to
whether the exposition showed that the
south was advancing, and whether there was
any chance there for a poor man to make q
fortune. The secretary replied:
THE south is full Of possibilities. From
now on 1t will grow like Jonah's gourd. 1t
will become an agricultural and Industrial
empire. and it is only on the edge Of its
development. I believe the lands upon the
southern Appalachian chain form some Of
the best fields for investment today. There
is no place where a man can make money
nnipkpr nr Cprpr. Thprn Ia no land mora
healthy. Take the upper part of Georgia.
The lands there are nearer heaven and the
sky than most other agricultural parts Of
the union. The air which blows over them
IS loaded with ozone, and the average height
is about 900 feet above the sea. Atlanta
is LOO feet higher than Washington, and
1t has a better climate than you have here.
1t is warmer in the winter and cooler In the
summer, and 1 have never suffered there
from tho heat as 1 have here at the capital"
GOLD IN II GROUND OF GEORGIA.
The climate may be all right, Mr.. Secre-
tary," said l, "but l have heard the land
Is not. They say the soil is worn out, and
/ have heard wicked people say that the only
things that could be raised upon it were sheol
and Christmas trees"
THAT is not true replied Secretary Smith,
Indignantly. 1--WE have millions of acres of
good lands, and the WORKOUT lands need only
a little cultivation and care to bring them up.
1t is out Of these very lands that poor men
can make fortunes. All that they need is
Tvs e"A N'hNAf o''iit eAh VAN N"C AZ
dition of a little manure they can be made to
blossom like the rose. These lands you can
now buy at from So to $40 an acre. After they
have been cultivated a few years they be-
come worth from s25 to $50 an acre. Take
the man who has 81 500 to invest. He can
buy 100 acres for 81 900 and have $500 to
stock his place and to help him along for a
year or so. He will put a part Of his land in
wheat and oats and another part in grass for
his stock. The third portion he can put down
In cotton, which will bring him in all the
cash he needs from year to year. The profits
OF his farming will pay all his expenses and
give him a surplus. At the end of five years
his 100 acres, If he uses it rightly, will be
worth SO 1000 instead OF 81, 900, and he ought
to be at least So, 900 richer than when he
bought the farm. There are men who are
doing this In Georgia today. A great many
nre making money off of fruit. There is no
such land in the world for peaches, apples
and grapes. We sent hundreds of carloads of
Dur peaches to New York this year. The high
altitude makes them sweeter and juicier than
the average peach. and when they come in
they drive the others out of the market. We
are producing grapes which make good wine,
and the state is changing in that the people
are now diverslfying their crops"
You used to raise nothing but cotton?"
Yes. But we are now raising all of our
own corn, and we make our own pork In.
stead of buying 1t Of the big packing com
panies of the north. l have just gotten a
case OF hams from Georgia which l expect to
% ph III NuSullStUn ldDlt. lHIY are, L
think, equal to the Smlthfeld hams, and they
were made on the highlands OF north
Georgia and cured with smoke from hickory
and oak"
How about south Georgia."
at Is equally fertile, but as you get down
nearer Florida you have different kinds OF
crops. In the northern portion of the state
wheat, oats, barley and corn can be cult
waited with good results. The cotton belt
begins a little down, and as you get near the
Florida line you find that oranges can BIT
grown at a profit. Other kinds of fruit can
be cultivated almost anywhere, and there is
scarcely a crop of any kind which cannot be
raised in some portion of the state"
You speak only, of Georgia. How is the
rest OF the south?"
81 believe the south is growing generally.
I do not know the other states so well as
Georgia. l think Georgia is the best state of
the south. l know every inch OF 1t, and ]
can speak better about 1t than l can about
the other states"
NORTHERN IMMIGRATION SCHEMES.
IF what you say is true, why don't the
south encourage immigration? Why is it
that the west gets all the emigrants?"
THE tide of emigration has been toward
the west on account Of the public lands and
the railroads. The big western roads have
had large tracts OF land to sell, and they
have Disseminated in favor OF that sec
ton. This is now somewhat changed. The
public lands of the west have been largely
taken up, and our western railroads are help
Ing us. AS to our not wanting immigrants,
that Is not true. We are now doing all we
can to get them. Ex-Governor Northern Is
now at the head OF an immigration bureau for
Georgia, and he is pushing the interests of
the state in all parts OF the world. Colonies
are being formed all over Georgia, and we
are bringing people there from Germany and
Switzerland. One scheme Is to organize a
colony OF union soldiers in the southern part
of the state. Hundreds of thousands of acres
have been set apart for it, and l am told
about $1,000 old soldiers from Indiana and
Illinois are going TO settle upon these lands"
BETTER KEEP AWAY FROM BLACKS.
How about the condition Of these immi-
grants when they get there? How do you
treat them? VIII they be your equals So
elally and politically Can they vote as
they please?"
Yes" replied Secretary Smith. 1--WE will
be glad to welcome them and to fraternize
with them. They can vote as they like, and
no one will disturb them, AS to social
equality. any respectable man will be treated
well in Georgia, and the hospitality OF the
south will be thrown open to him. OF
course we draw the line on the negro. II
q man asks negroes to his house and to his
dinner table. and makes his friendships en-
tirely among them; IL he visits the houses
Of negroes and fraterniZes with them as his
social equals. YOU can't expect this to be
overlooked"
"How about the negro problem. Mr.. secre-
tary?"
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