Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-12-10
AN ENTHUSIASTIC GOVERNOR.
He Evidently Believes In the Natural Ae-
vantage of HIS Own state.

| more prO1l1c response De daQ from Inc
soil to the intelligent cultivation of
man. Nowhere can purer water, a
more genial climate, or summer skies
be found to bless contented homes"
These words were spoken of Alabama
| by her enthusiastic governor, Joseph f.
Johnston, in his recent inaugural adj
dress, and one not living there, is tempt
ed to believe it all when that one fol-
lows Goy-Johnstona as he enumerates the
resources and capabilities of his state:
With an area of but little more than
$4,000 square miles," says Mr.. John
ston, there is no territory of like size
in the known world so prolific in the
variety OF its resources; were a wall
erected around our state, cutting OFF
all access, we could produce within our
borders everything necessary for the
comfort or convenience of man. Great
veins of iron ore and seams of coal put
at our command almost boundless re-
sources in fuel, iron and steel. Spleen
did forests of yellow pine here stand
ready to build homes for millions of peo-
pie. Building stone and marble, fire
clay. kaoIin and lime exist in great
abundance; walnut, maple, oak, cher
=
hand of man for manufacture or the
adOrnment of our homes.
IN the production of pig iron we
take rank as the fourth state in the
union; in iron ore, third: in coal we
stand fifth; in the production of cot
ton, fourth, and in its manufacture,
fourth.
''In lumber we are near the head of the
list
1T would be unjust should fail to
include in our minerals copper, lead,
graphite, mari and gold; indeed the
only mineral that we seem to be with
out and to want most is silver.
Leaving forest and mine and coming
to our fields we find that they produce
generously cotton, corn, wheat, rye,
oats, tobacco, rice and the grasses, and
here is the home of the pear, the peach,
the grape and all small fruits. Vege-
tables are grown with great success.
and this industry is steadily develop
ing Our splendid rivers, the Alabama,
Cossa, Tallapoosa. Warrior, Cahaba.
Bigbee and rhe Tennessee are the liquid
arteries of the commonwealth, fed by
innnmerable creeks. all fruitful in pow
er to convert our raw products into
articles of merchandise.
Over 1000 miles of railroads ira
verse our state from north to south, and
east to west, furnishing quick transpor-
tation to market for our products.
when we come to our climate we
find that the Giver of all good things
has not stayed His hand, and that He
has blessed us with opportunity to Ia
Dor IL months in the year without det-
riment to health or comfort. indeed,
we can scarcely appreciate tie bless
ings we enjoy in this respect when
compared with less favored regions, for
even now we are seemingly unconscious
that roses are blooming in our gardens, |
and the fragrant air is sweet with their
perfume.
THE Piedmont region of our state
shows that it's average thermometer in
summer and winter corresponds almost
exactly with that of Berlin and Hamburg, |
whilst Mobile and the lower part of the
state correspond largely with the CHI
mate of Main, and |
Carlsruhe. The average temperature
for the whole state shows about 40 de- |
grces Fahrenheit for January, IS for |
July and 60 degrees for April and Oc- |
tober.
"Ourstreams abound in fish, our woods |
are fragrant with flowers, and our |
beautiful seaport supplies an abundance |
of fish and oysters for all our people. |
Nowhere in all the republic can more |
prolific response he had from the soil |
TO the intelligent cultivation Of man. |
Nowhere can purer water, more genial
climate OF SUMMER skies be found to |
bless contented homes.
"These are our opportunities, these
the substantial groundwork upon which
a great commonwealth can be erected"
OF course all of this was not said with
out a direct object, and continuing he |
pointed the way in which his dream OIL
a great commonwealth could be re-
allied. This for citizens of the state /
both actual and prospective. We wonder
if the same, or similar, wise things |
might not be said of many another
state, highly favored by natural re-
sources and dormant wealth, Of our
great union.
This is the age of industrial de-
yelopment, and to that task the legisia-
tor and citizen should bend their ener-
ries and weary not in well doing When
we consider that we are now cultivating
end utilizing less than one-third Of
these resources, and that the other two
thirds produce taxes only, it behooves
us to invite to our borders and give gen
erous welcome to men and money to aid
in awakening these dormant re-
sources.
"Our pig iron should be melted and
our cotton spun ard woven at home,
thus giving greater employment to Ia
Dor and establishing home markets for
our agricultural products.
''The smoke of our factories should
be found rising in every county, and
our furnaces. like pillars Of fire. should
light the night.
''lThe production of grasses and the
raising of cattle should be stimulated
until we become one of the great beef
raising states of the union.
There seems to be no good reason
why our productive lands should not
become great center for the manu-
fEcture of beet sugar, and by its ex-
portation to sister states and further
store to an increasing income; canning |
establishments should utilize fruits and
vegetables that now too often rot on our
farms.
behind these splendid resources we
have a patriotic and hospitabIe people
equal laws and an incorruptible judi
ciarv securing to those who NAV coms |