The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1902-01-08
Alabama.


permitted to copy the following;
For Christmas dinner we had boiled
turnip tops, cold sweet potatoes "corn
dodgers and weak black coffee. Sup
per, have just eaten. also no good. but
better than dinner. These wonderful
southern cooks, as the darkies say are
powerfully no good. shuah." l have
not had square meal since l ate my
break fast in W. L. & n. Dinning car at
Bennington, Alabama.
1t is warm and nice here now, and very
comfortable horseback riding. Tusca-
loosa is town of about 5000 inhabitants
located in the extreme southern edge OF
the great Black Warrior Coal field, extend
ing northeastwardly clear up into Clarion
Co., Penn. 1t is situated on the east
bank OF the Black Warrior River, about
80 miles above its confluence with the
Tombigby, aud is navigable for small
steamers this far for most of the year.
There are two railroads here, the Ala
bama Great Southern, and the Mobile
and Ohio, both operated by the Southern
r. r. Co. under lease.
The main street in Tuscaloosa is fully
l25ft wide possibly 15Oft. wide, and is
flanked by two rows of water oaks, with
third row up the center of the street.
1t is very pretty street, but lacks paw
ing and side walks. There are no side
walks except the natural ground and
some fine gravel strewn over il. There
are few modern buildings and residen-
ces, hut most of the large dwellings are OF
the old colonial style ofante -bellum days,
whose present occupants are too 200: To
maintain the style kept up during slavery
times, and one sees on every hand evil
dences OF decay and degeneration caused
by the white people depending on the
thrifty negroes TO conduct the most OF
the business and labor of the country.
These people have not yet recovered from
the curse of slavery, from which they
were only too reluctantly relieved by
reason Of the civil war, and which curse
they freely admit was blessing when
its removal came; yet the system was so
thoroughly rooted in their social aud
business affairs that the whites were in
capable OF taking up the "burden" OF
ca ing for themselves when the change
came, and still depend, like little child
ren, upon the negros to attend to their
wants and do their work for them. Thus
we see that nearly the whole labor of the
South is the uneiucated, unframed,
thriftless, delatory negro labor, while
the keener Intellects of the educated
whit $, do not labor at all, or if in part il
is only to direct aud not to PEI lorm
hence 1t is easy to see why the North.
with its keen, bright, energetic labor,
which is not only directing but doing, is
fast outstriping the slave cursed, depend
ant South. whose intelligence, as a rule,
is non productive, and whose labor is
uneducated and unframed.
At Birmingham there is to be seen the
most rapid development to be found in
any of the southern States, put why? II
is easily answered. Northern capital and
Northern energy, which has entered here
are developing the natural resources o
the country. Birmingham is the "Pitts.
burg of the South" and comes We y
nearly being its "Sm'ky City," The
tonnage Of Birmingham is larger, au
told than any other city, south of Balti
more; however, with Atlanta and New
Orleans close revivals.
There is au Indifferent public school
system here, which am informed Is at.
tended exclusively by negroes, the white.
being educated in private schools, acsde
mics, boarding schools, and in the gres
colleges of the northern States.
The resources of this section are very
great indeed. Coal, iron, limestone
lumber, plaster, naiura! cement anC
phosphates are few of the easily ex.
| plotted resources. Aluminium clay is
abundant but worthless where il Is. The
coal field has not yet had the top scale
scraped off it; Iron has just beer
"fonnd";' limestone and cement are be.
ing "prospected;" timber is being 'oper.
aied" in an indifferent manner. Agri.
culture is about as backward as 1t is II
Colombia, South America, and Will,
there are thousands of acres of land cap
able of producing over one bale OF crttor
per acre, as it is now managed and tilleC
the average is about one-half, or perhaps
better. one-third of a bale per acre. Blu
little corn is raised, no fruit, no othe
cereal except very little oats, no hay o.
other fodder plants or grasses; only cot
ton cotton till the country is cottor
poor. Crops are never rotated and cottoI
is planted on the same ground year afte
year for the past century has so impover
ished the soul, because it is not prop RI,
titled or taken care Of that it has becoln
too poor and thin to sod self over, ant
being washed away with every rail
and carried down the river TO be de
posted in the Gulf of Mexico, so tina
when every thing here is exhausted ma
ture may sink this section beneath tn
wsyesand raise the continent slowly beint
formed beneath the shallow waters of th
Gull, bringing up new and virgin soil
enriched by the deposits carried from
this vast region throughout ages past an,
thecenturies to come until the time arrive
for the earth to rejuvenate its exhauste
soils through the agencies which the Gre
ator utilities for his workers, water an,
fire. Water. the carrier. leveler aud de
positor; fire, the upheaver.
HOw's This!
We offer One Hundred Dollars Re
ward for any case of Catarrh, that canno
be cured by Halls Catarrh Cure.
+. J. CHENEY Il Co., Props, Toledo, Q
We, the undersigned, have known F.J