The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-03-21

settled upon as homestead or purchased
from the railroad companies will become
valuable: but the head of the family will
and enterprise, while the probabilities are
That owing to lack of education and Gull
ture, the younger members will not be in
position to reap .any solid comfort or
satisfaction from the independence finally
secured at such n mendous sacrifice
Many men who have gone West and
finally succeeded in gaining competency
will frankly admit that if. they had re-
mained.in Virginia and exercised the
same thrift and energy they would have
done as well if not much better pecuni-
arily, while in the enjoyment of the real
comforts of life all the advantages were
on the side of the home. which they aban-
doned. The fierce cold of the Northwest,
where the terrible blizzard reigns supreme
large part OF the year, is enough of
itself to determine the undecided citizen
Of this State to remain at home; but
when the spring begins, it brings along
with the budding trees and succulent
grasses the deadly cyclone, which is liable
at any time to sweep down upon the set
tier, and in few moments destroy the
labor and denominations of years, along
with the lives of one or all of his family.
Here in Virginia we have no such
dreadful visitations. The spring with il s
genial sunshine and bnlmy breezes comes
NicI cruiIaS n r1 M xx-ith
farmer plants his crops, and, il he cult.
Yates them properly, he is sure to reap
his reward. No plague of grasshoppers
is liable to eat up everything green upon
his farm, and no extended drouth is Il
constant menace to his success. All the
grains. grasses, fruits and vegetables of
the temperate zone will grow in profusion
in Virginia, if given the needed attention.
Here man and beast reach their highest
state of physical development; while, in
tellectually, rs the past history of the
State shows, the men of Virginia are the
peers of the bes5 minds anywhere else in
the world.
The social conditions, too, cannot be ex-
celled. The church and the school house
stand side by side, and morality and cul-
ture go hand in hand. The creeks, rivers
and bays abound in fish and oysters. The
lands are we'll timbered, and the mineral
wealth practically ineXhaustable All
that man needs is an ordinary start IL
life and due exercise of judgment and
energy to build up for himself home of
comfort and culture. In the West and
Northwest the struggle for existence is II
hard one, and the resultant condition is Il
great overestimate of the power of the
almighty dollar in contributing to stand
ing and responsibility. In Virginia man
may not have dollar to his credit, but
If he is honorable and honest, he will he
measured at his true worth alongside of
his rich and more successful neighbor
Let the great railroad corporations send
their gilded coaches here to catch the un-
wary with'their fairy tales of promise: hut
do not I've deceived by what they say or
show. Stay at home and help develop
the resources of our beloved State, and ms
soon as possible let us send agents to the
Northwest with books descriptive of our
climate and productions. Then instead
of Nirgininns going to Dakota. thousands
OF strong and enterprsing men from that
and other Northwestern States will he
pouring into Virginia in search of homes