New-York tribune., 1896-10-05

II is tho suhiac, NJ the oil fields Of West Vir-
ciria however which mos, stirs the magna ion
Of this man Of figures and gives his ingenuity
f,u r,av From, ,he first mention Of the intrepid
and determined Kanawha citizen who failing TO
r.ach calf wafer at the depth expected, declared
by xhe Great Horn Spoon that he would reaeh
the water or bore into HI and who ended by
striking gas and oil 10 the struggling church IN
the SistersviIle region which leased its property
for an oil we'll and now derives enough revenue
from the well i'm its back yard Ia pay the clergy
mans salary and run a school besides IL Is an
array NJ fgures and statistics that dehes the
crasn of the Law mind and would make the own
ars even Of a Kaffir circus pale with envy. AFTER
that the praises sung Of West Virginias blue
grass region equal if not superior. to that or
Kentuckv: The census of the sheep that Craze on
each hillside: the number Of horses ana cattie
browsing in mountain meadows, and the wealth.
of the crops raised among the valleys-aH shh
into comparative insignihcance
Making due allowance for exaggeration. stiH'u-
lated by State pride and the record OF Pa''
achievements the fact yet remains tha' III Po''''
OF wealth, developed and undeveloped, West VIZ
ginia ranks. II 1t does not outstrip' most o' '"e
States Of the Union.
st,onT B'T SIGNIFICANT HISTORY.
Ifs history both political and industrial. covers
loss than The third Of a century. In that short
n.riod however il has accomplished more thah
many nm older and stronger community IL ac-
connIished IT, too under conditions and amid sur
rnundinps far from IA aVOra ble Or encouraging -"
Stale certainly. started in life under more IN
auspcious circumstances. Born In the midst of
civl strife the early days Of West Virginia were
scarcely conduciNe to rapid Advancement In 'he
old State from which the new coininuhit! WAS
torn that part Of IT lying in the midst of the
mountains had always been looked upon more az
a wilderness than anything clse.- Its peopl" were
permitted 10y Virginia To do practcalN no'hihs
excep, 10 pay taxes. fiampered and held down
by the Mother Of Presidents" the future state
gave little or no promise ~ the destiny mat was
IN store for her. Her wealth was not even sus-
pected The immense value OF her timber forests.
The almosf ineXhaustible deposits ~ her coal the
flowing wells Of oil and gas. the richness 0f her
iron ores. tho grea fertility of her hills and val
levs. we're never dreamed ~. No wonder that.
aside from the desire 10 have the state pay
The state debt Virginia cared little for the loss In
VOWED In the separation
For more than a decade after securing au-
tonomv West Virgnias great resources re-
mained hidden from the eyes of investors "
was only In 1876 that the country was made 10
realize by means ~ the Centennial exhibition
what wealth lay undeveloped within the BORDERS
Of TN, new Allegheny Mountain state It's ex-
hbii Of coal ana iron and timber resulted NJ
once in attracting capital from all parts of III"
world New mines were opened. new sawmi's
were built, new people came In IA settlers ana
railroad construction was begun M rate
which. increasing every year. reached poih'
AT the end Of 1897 where no other state In the
Union exceeded West Virginia in railroad mile
age completed during the preceding twelve
months The Industrial development of the
state practically dates from that time
To-day II may be said. in more senses than one
| 10 have come "out Of the woods.