The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-09-25

! anIo I.cis ana contains ll "a snort space
| a sound philosophy. 1.-THE big iron furnace
/ al Bristol is now in fun blast and the
people Of that town are rejoicing South
/ west Virginia is destined 20 become one
/ Of the great iron-prOducing sections or
/ the country. and the newspapers or that
section would do well If they viii stop
/ bowling calamity for political purposes
| and advertise their splendid resources
IL is passing strange that any man
who desires the prosperity OF his section
| should disparage IL by a constant wall
/ OF deDrcss and lack of prosperity. The
writer has for years contonded that
/ Southwest Virginia possessed as many
/ of the elements Of material prosperity
as any portion OF our country Her
abundant mineral springs and balmy cli-
mate invite the hoalth-soeker; her rich
valleys and fertile hills offer a pleas
| ing prospect to tho agriculturist the
fruit grower or stock raiser, while the
| inexhausuble but undeveloped mineral
resources bcspeak wealth undreamed by
| our fathers. Add to all this her bound
| less facilities for manufacturing In almost
| every department of enterprise and we
| shall realize "that our lines have been
cast in pleasant places and ours Us
! goodly heritage
Tho above extract indicates one line I'm
/ (which the coming prosperity OF this sec
/ lion is 10 be built up. Iron enterngi as
/ Il does. so largely into all industrial ac-
tivitles. is the best barometer Of material
prosperity. The recent activity in the
| iron markets. with the advance in price,
notwithstanding the unprecedented OUT
put of furnaces, is the surest indication
| of a genuine revival Of trade. The great
! iron producers Of Pennsylvania and llii-
uols cannot monOpolize this trade. blr-
mmeham has demonstrated that the
! South can make iron at less cost than
] Northern furnaces, and, n ] mistake not,
! Birmingham was the pioneer on large
| scale of the export trade in pig iron from
| this country. and has been sending
/ Goals 10 Newcastle" or exporting IRON
10 GLASGOW What Birmingham has done
so successfully this section can do. Let
our people cease their croalting and utl-
ize the natural resources which q beneh-
| cent creator has placed so easily within
our grasp. and the busy hum OF a varied
| industry viii be heard throughout TINS
section by many Of the older generation
/ now living.
| Newspapers are largely tho moulders or
/ public sentiment, and those VINO cohrol
! them are therefore occupying RESPONSE
/ bic position 1t can scarcely be denied
/ that in recent years they have had 100
! much politics and too little or real pual-
ness. Politics does not often make q man
/ rich If he IS honest When a stranger 10
"a community picks up a paper be would
rather search out in its columns the OPP
| portniuos for business in us LOCALITY
! tban study its political bias through poli-
/ tical editorials: and II ne finds it filed
/ with croakings or calamity howlings, ne
| shuns that locality as he would a pes,i-
! lonce. and turns his face in another direc-
,t,, wv"
When The Congressional campaign was
opened in the Ninth District some of tho
free silver papers began at once to revive
tho cry of 1896, that times were hard
that the people were oppressed and pow
erty-stricken. that there was no induce
mont to- mon of means 20 invest their
money except i'm gilt-edGe securities, and
! in short the calamity wall was again
raised with increased vleor.
| without meaning 10 interfere I'm the
Congressional hght We lifted our voice
I'm protest against this method Of cam
imagining We told the people OF the
southwest plainly that they were more
interested in the development of their
| splendd resources than IN the election OF
| this or that man 20 Congress. We told
them that as they were bidding for capt.
tai. as they were inviting men Of means
10 come I'm and invest their money In dig
eing out of the earth the rich minerals OF
the Southwest and utilizing the coal and
iron and copper in the manufacture OF
useful articles. they could iu AFFORD to
advertise that they were poverty-stricken
and that there was no opening for bus!-
ness in that great section Of Virginia.
We were pleased that some Of the free
silver papers at once expressed their APP
proval OF The Times article. an. said
that while they did not agree with us in
our views on the financial question they
heartily agreed in all that The Times
said in this connection. and lifted their
voice IN protest as well against the ca
lamity shouiers.
Now we have a word from an enter
prising citizen Of the Southwest, who also
points out the folly OF such a course. IN
z special to The Times OF yesterday
from Washington il was shown that the
exports Of iron and steel during the
month Of July, 1895. were S,Oi2sU against
I.9lS,l07 in July of last year. There was
a large increase in the output of sewing
machines, OF bar iron and steel rods, OF
steel plates of locomotives Of cut nails
ana wire nails, ana so on, showing that
the demand for our iron and manufac-
lures OF iron abroad IS growing at an
enormous rate.
Virginia has immense beds OF iron ore
the finest coal and coke In the world
plenty OF limestone, and that we shall
again produce iron as cheaply as any
other section in the North or South soc.
without saying. Foreign capitalists wer'
scared away from the mineVl regions o.
Virginia by reason OF the land BOON
through which they lost vast SUMS o.
money. They are now coming back. how
eyer, and casting their eyes in that direc
ton again But instead Of encouraging
them the free silver people have beer
arguing that Investments are worse thar
thrown away ana that there can be NJ