The Forrest City times., 1898-10-21

considered moreover that every water
power lays open the way for a railroad
connecting with one of the trunk lines
now in operation. No mill which may
be established at one of these locks
will be in isolation. Indeed. it may be
said that the way to give impulse to
railroad construction is to open navi-
CATION on the rivers by q system of
locks and dams, for every dam will
produce power to generate electricity
to operate car lines, and by this means
every mill site will be placed in touch
with other avenues of traffic than the
stream upon which IL may be located
Cotton manufactures are not the only
ones likely to avail of the splendid op-
portunities these mill sites present for
location. The pure waters of ssine of
the tributaries of White river are sd.
mirably adapted to the manufacture of
paper, besides the textiles used in paper
making abound throughout the dis
tricts drained by these streams. Ma
terial, too, for the manufacture of bag
ging and cotton ties exist in various
parts of the state and this material can
be wrought into finished product with
in state limits. Wagon factories, farm
implements and machinery, furniture
factories, foundries, etc. will spring up
at each point where lock is estab-
lished.
As stated, each lock will yield to the
state a volume of revenue in the form
of tolls and every manufactory will
contribute its rentals, part of which
sum will be apportioned to the sew
eral counties.
The article of paper alone consumed
in Arkansas yearly amounts TO hun
dreds of tons, every pound of which
should be manufactured here. All the
elements needed in the production are
now either wasted or shipped abroad in
raw form. Popular qualities of news
paper are made almost wholly from
wood pulp from species of pine and
other trees which grow in profusion in
various parts of the state. Straw and
varieties of swamp grasses are also
used in paper making, which materials
will become articles of commerce the
moment paper mills are put in opera
ton. 1t is therefore seen that the idea
of forming connecting link between
points where streams are unnavigable
carries with it the idea Of expanding
facilities for manufacturing. 1t is true
that high engineering skill is inferred
in the enterprise, but even that can be
obtained when it is called into use.
Confidence in the future of the terri
tory lying between Missouri and gulf
ports is manifesting itself in practical
ways. The trade interests of st. Louis
demand increased transportation facil-
tiles to tide water. Kansas City is ex-
pending vast sums in permanent i'm.
provements and has an eye to the min
eral fields of Arkansas Expansion Of
trade interests in these growing COM
mercial centers will give impulse to
business affairs in all territory lyinp
between them and the Gulf of Mexico.
Every dollar expended in the interest
OF commercial expansion by st. Louis
and Kansas City will have bearing on
the future OF Arkansas. Surplus money
is accumulating in these cities. and the
low rate of interest is causing invest
ment in bank stock to become less
profitable than it was in time passed,
which causes money lenders and specu-
lators to look for other investments
which promise a higher rate of interest.
Money will drift into manufactures
where high dividends are assured when.
ever conditions are favorable. 1t is
safe to assert that the prairie regions
of the northwest do not present the re-
sources for manufacturing that are to
be found in the territory lying between
the Ozark and the Boston mountains,
and it is equally safe to say that the
eternal fitness of things demands that
manufactures shall be established at
the base of supplies 1t is therefore
natural to assume that when sites for
mills are established at the numerous
points on the rivers included in the
projected scheme for river improve
ment, capital will gravitate to these
locks and dams as readily as water
seeks its level
The spirit of business is healthy
There is naught in the industrial re-
vival savoring Of reckless speculation.
All ventures in new investment are in
keeping with the general tone of mod
Grafton which shapes enterprises. 1t is
not intended or desired that a boom
period shall be instituted in carrying
forward the project to open to naviga-
tion the rivers of Arkansas. Indeed, it
is preferred that the plan suggested
shall be taken up carefully and dis
cussed dispassionately. Being emin-
emily feasible, in no sense visionary. the
plan is legitimate and within the grasp
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