The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-01-11

labor OF the South was demorallred. Tn,
negroes had been accustomed TO idlenes
/ except when work was compelled by
master, Freed from enforced labor, III,
iirst impulse OF the negro was tcwar.
complete leisure.
Another grieyo,ts burden fell then up3I
the South. Under reconstructicn legisia
ton many OF the best whites were dis
iFanchised, Martial hw could havo hee'
tolerated Reconstruction LEGISLATION
was FAR worse. The negroes were en-.
lfranchiscd. DESIGNING men with no ioca
interests dominated them. Tse neg %:
were restless and impatient at ihs
thought az labor. Ever tnose who wer,
unable to read asptred to leadership
Inc ignorant riave sought to lcsislsts
Tor his intelligent former master. he
problem was serious II required all
the brains and force Of the sc tion tC
handle 1t. There was no time for South
ern men TO plan the development ol
Southern resources. Their very exis.en Z
was at stake But during the period 81
sfyery confidence had existed between
the negro and his masler The Instances
o. strong affection and extreme Kindness
had been more numerous than these 81
cruelty and harshness. In time the
white men regained local control aud The
intelligence Of the section began anew IN
about 1880 the werk OF rebuilding the
South In the meantime the losses frcm
the war aud the reconstruction period had
been terrible
The total wealth of tie South depre-
ciated from 1860 to 1850 So, 400 000. 600.
This depreciation did not stop with the
war, but continued almost uatil 1880,
$500, 10000 being properly chargeable TO
the period from 1870 to 1880. BY 1850
the political conditions had so changed
that good goverGment had been restored
in every State in the South and IN IL
most every county and municipality The
minds OF the people were then turned
with zeal and energy to their maternal
interests. The progress made in he
South from 1880 10 1890 is indeed remark .
abe. The census of 1890 showed an In
crease in assessed values during tie
period OF ten years OF S1,Sl5, 900 900. while
the Increase In the true value was
SS,S9S coo GOO In ten yeats the value OF
the products OF tho South increased from
$500, 900 to $1,000, GOO. eco annually.
Tae percentage of growth during these
ten yeais in che Southern Safes was
about twice that Of the Eastern and Mid
die States.
The census report of 1890 shows in the
Southern States an Increase from 1880 10
1890 of 50.76 per cent in the true va lua :
1850 per cent in the value of manufac
tured products; OF 1905 per cent in the
value of farm products, and of 1928 per
cent In the expenditures for public
schools, The contemplation OF these ilg-
ures DISC oses at once the general grow h
and healthy development, not Of an old,
but Of new country. The development
of the South prior to 1860 had been swept
away by the war, and by the subsequent
conditions incident TO the recons ,ruction
era The resources CT he South In 1880
had been scarcely touched, and the mar
Yellous percentages of growth, which |
predict for the next ten years are due,
in large part, 10 the fact thst the devel-
opmant of natural resources Is still in
Its infancy.
Perhaps one of The NEST noticeable in
dicatlons OF progress is the enormous in
crease OF public school expend lures. All
tue people OF section must be free and
must be educated TO insure progress. The
people of the South have determined that
illlteracy III their section shall cease. and
that every child shall receive a fair cdu
cation. | can not now give with as3url '
the percentage of Increased apyro9, ~
lions for schools during Ble past ten
years but in Georgia. where the per
centage was 4S.07 OF increase from 1sSo
TO 1880, the increase from 1890 to 1909
VII run loi St4y uNeT lUU per cent. IpP1-
holo2ical schools have been establigaed
in Norta C4rolina South Carolina Ala
blma, Georgia and Mississippi and 1000
young men are preparing in taem or IN =
dustrial work. The equipment for cot =.
ton textile training in the school at Al
lanta is not surpassed and probably not
equalled in any school in the world.
The story OF the growth of she south
from 1850 to 1890 will not approximate
the story which the census OF 1900 must
tell. II is true that from the latter part
OF 1891 rapid general development was
checked for several years The panic,
resulting in part from natural causes
due to overtrading, and in mart to an
unWise imitation of our currency with
deprecated coin affected the South as
well rs the balance of the country. but
think II is safe to say that the South
suffered less and had fewer failures
thsn the other States One line of In.
dustry thrived even during the panic
me exisnng cotton factories, aided by
me advantage of location, continued IN
tull operation, earned large profits and
doubled up their capacity from profits
The most marked Progress of tho
South In all its history has been that
OF the past two years. The farmers
DO not now rely upon cotton as AN sx-
elusive crop. In 1898 the South pro.
duced 55,351 2i6 bushels OF wheat: 400,
S2o,9N6 bushels of corn, ana 5gl, u2Z. DOC
pounds of sugar. In 1897 the South fur.
nished ~ per cent OF the hogs raised ia
the United States. In one locality N
FloNd the freight upon the vegetables
grown from $4,000 acres amounted Il
SoS5,0OO in single year; in a single day
from one locality in Tennessee 1853 cst
loads of strawberries were shipped
which paid in cash over 100000. A IL -,ge
county OF Georgia is given over slnost
entirely TO the peach culture, ana the
pro9ts of one orchard Owner durin.
the past year were 100000 The name
of the Georgia watermelon Is almesl "a
familiar as that of the negro who ga
much delights TO eat IL. The truck
farmers around Norfolk alone ship an
nually over s6.000.O00 worth OF vegetables
and fruit TO New York and the East,
In 1893 A lumber company In South
Georgia planted in sugar cane fifteen
acres Of land watch had cost 81 per acre
The land was ordinary pine land The
cane crop was gathered and ground into
syrup, The syrup sold for SI400. In
fye years the net profits from the fifteen
acres was $1,000.
Between the lofty elevations of tho
Piedmori, region. furnishing climate
similar to that OF New England. ami the
lowlands of the gulf. suited to semi trop-
teal productions is found every character
OF soil and the farmers choose their 10,
cality and raise what they please.
Tho rrn.Nth In, m, "a ttr-f,,,,