The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-02-15
A NEW BUREAU IN PROSPEcT
Ms

The Governor GfEcs its Estaplish-
ment at Once-The United States
WI, Ajd in the Work. J.,
The Governor Aas sent to the Con,
eral Assembly th8 following message
in reference to':the formation Of . ego
State: ~. ~,
Gentlemen efMo General Assembly
While South Carolinians may Justly
be proud of the activity manifesIed'in
the State today in cotton manufacture,
vet when our eyes are turned to other
spheres Of industrial activity we find
the contrast between them and cotton
manufacture quito marked. In no
other lines may tho State be said to- be
doing what shs might easily do. yhe
great need Of the State today along in
dustrial lines is q proper realization
and appreciation of the wealth of un.
developed resources which she has
within her borders. Some OF these arc
unknown to the vast majority OF the
people Of the State while Others, If
known, arc not appreciated by her own
people, and are unknown to outsiders,
and, moro than this, there is at pre-
sent no means by which either tho
people of the State or the people of
the rest Of the world may become &C
quainted with the opportunities for in
dustrial development that lie idle IN
the State. Thel Q is need Of. some
direct means OF properly Investigating
these resources and calling the atten
tion Of the public to them. An organ.
lzatiOn with this special obje in view
is one of the greatest needs of the
State to-day. Prof. Holmes Of North
Carolina has very recently called our
attention most fOrcibly to what our
sister State is doing to systematically
develop her resources, and has also
shown Us how successfully this work is
being accomplished. a similar State
bureau shol,u be established in South
Carolina.
The objects OF such u survey would
be quite varied, and w0ultt'include not
only determination and invcStiga.
ton of tho mineral resources Of the
Statc, such as her deposits OF iron,
gold and other mir Eerals, because these
arc probably of comparatively small
value, but would give its attention
much moro largely to number OF
other lines OF work that would mean
far moro to the State than. she devel-
Opmcnt OF her mineral resources alone
One OF the most pressing questions
before the peop.e Of the State today is
that of securing better roads. a
bureau Is neede, to determine the dis
tribution of road building. materials in
| the State and to make tests of the dur
baiiity Of tneee materials before the
counties in blind way go ahead and
spend probably thousands OF dollars
putting the suitability Of such ma
tcrials for road building purposes to
the test.
Further, systematic guidance will
be needed III methods Of road cOnst.uc.
ti0n, and these can best be furnished
through u central State bureau.
| With the Development Of our indus
tries, there is coming yearly greater
demand for building stone, and quar-.
ries are being developed that are lndl-
cative Of an !Ldu:try that should soon
be OF large proportions. In many Dor =
lions Of the State there are dou ubtless 8
beds of exec .lcr! building materials,
while there tro doubtless also many
Others OF poor qlality. a study Of the
distri uIu qualities Of building
,tones then wuutu come properly with. :.
in the scope OF such a survey.
The clays of various .l,inds within
the State form one Of her most valua bic
natural resources. There are large
deposits Of fullers earth, some OF
which may be found valuable for in
dustrial purposes, while fire clayS and
ka0lin arc known to exist in various
parts vi t.!c state and are being mined
today in few places.
Recent developments in the study OF
the soil show that by'ssaeAnS, of me-
chanical analysis the adaptuBility of
+ fagtMp SOILS to certain crops may be-.
| Very Accurately determined. Tobacco
is especially sensitive to tho texture of
the soil, ana by means OF a soil survey
in the loss country it could DC deter
mined whether or not. the culture Of
tobacco WAS profitable. In Darlington
and Florence, and othcr places in that
section Or vi: State, il Is found to bu
very p,efh tmtle.' atfd IT. might be ex.
tended over large portions o2tht State,
especially the low country, with equal
profit; if SO this would mean Increased
returns TO tht' farmers OF that section
OF hundreds OF thousands OF dollars an
I nuaily. -. ~
The p!.osphates and mariSf !-bf the
State wUuld be very properly made a
subject OF study by the State survey
that more might be known. Of their
real distribution and qlaffcieg:',/ 49,.
In all tho lower portion OF the State
the question OF getting pure water is
one Of tho most vital ones the inhabi
Lants ofthc regiOn must grapple with
Artcsian wells, when Obtainabe, are
tho solution OF this question. They
arc readily obtainablc, as Is already |
known, in many parts OF the State, and |
careful investigation as to the possibi- |
lily Of obtaining them elsewhere would |
Il most desirable feature OF the State
survey work and would result in say
ing money by preventing their being
dug where there is no chance OF sue
cess, and in saving lives by leading the
people TO dig them in places where |
they now do not, but might.
Fisheries along Tic coast are CT con
siderable economic Importance, and,
If properly cared for, the culture of
the oyster, for instance. would add
materially to the wealth Of this sec.
tlOn.
The great pine forests Of the North |
have become almost exhausted, apd for
somo years past Northern lumbermcn
have boon buying and cutting to pieces
great tracts Of South Carolina timber
lands, their lum Der being obtained, in |
many cases, with much useless de-
struction of young timber, and means