Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-03-24

A great deal of commendable work
along industrial lines is being done
by the patriotic newspapers OF the
State. No agency for good compares
with the work done by newspapers,
| and too often they are poorly encour-
aged and receive scant remuneration
for their pains. AS an evidence OF
| this statement, an extraction from the
Yazoo Sentinel, one of the best papers
\ In the State is herewith reproduced:
Mississippi is just now in the midst
| of the greatest era of industrial de-
velopment in the history OF the state.
Last year was a record-breaker. 1t
was thought that the high tide OF the
States prosperity had then been
reached, but succeeding events have
contrived to swell the impetus given
the industrial development of the
State by the high price of cotton and
1 other favorable circumstances which
have combined to place Mississippi
in the very forefront of the South's
! advancement.
! dispatches from Jackson, publish
| ed in the daily papers during the past
| several weeks, have contained daily
mention of from four to ten charters
approved by the governor. A careful
| count of these has been kept by the
Sentinel office and the result is as
founding. During the months of Janu-
| ary and February alone more than
| eleven million dollars has been invest
ed in chartered institutions, Industrial
| and commercial-and this does not in
/ clude the vast sum which has been ex-
pended by individuals and concerns
that have not availed themselves OF
corporate protection.
From every section of the State
| comes the news that farmers are i'm
proving their places, putting in new
ground, repairing and building their
| homes, erecting new barns and out
houses and otherwise improving their
| surroundings.
| Whether in the towns and cities,
on the farm, or in the factory-no mat
ter where you meet the man-suffice
| it to say, that nine times out OF ten,
he wears a happy smile on his face
There are no pessimists in Mississippi
now. The knockers have ceased to
knock, else passed to more con-
! genial cline.
Here in the delta, where prosperity
! is most manifest, strangers are seen
almost every day Men from the
! North and East, from the middle West
from everywhere-are coming to wit
ness with their own eyes the devel
opment of section which is destined
to become the veritable storm-center
of the worlds activities, and that with
in the period of few short years.
Again announcement is made that
the matchless advantages of Missis-
sippi will receive substantial recog-
milton at the hands of our brethren
from the North From Chicago it is
learned that a body of Union Workers
will purchase 10000 acres of land in
Lincoln county and establish colony
thereon. e. P. Dwyer is the author of
the scheme and promises that it will
be put through to a successful termi-
nation. The scheme is to divide the
land into small tracts and place a
family on each tract. The mild eli
mate and healthful surroundings at
tracted the attention of these people,
and, after investigation, the decision
was made to come here
Property is to be sold to the Union
members on the easy payment or in
stallment plan, and provision is made
for the return of the investment if,
after trying farming. they prefer the
strife and turmoil of city life.
IF 10000 Union workers buy farms
in Mississippi" said Mr.. Dwyer, "the
men now forced to be idle can get
work. Competition for jobs will be
reduced, and the law of supply and
demand will force wages up. The fact
that thousands of idle men can be
found in Chicago at any time is proved
by the newspapers every day. 1t
makes no difference how many men
strike, there are always enough men
idle, but willing to work, who are pre-
pared to take the vacancies, even If
some risk is involved.
in the country many fixed expenses
of city life are at once eliminated.
There is no car fare to pay, no milk to
buy and cabbage does not cost 20
cents a head. A simpler life is pos
sible There are no demoralizing d.
versions to take the money from the
pockets of workingmen. Husking bees
in a neighbor's barn and picnics with
out beer, family visiting and local poll
tics enliven life without being ex-
pensive and degrading.
MANY things thought necessary in
Chicago are found useless on South
ern farms. There is no reason why
any rational man or woman cannot
live in good neighborhood upon the
products of few acres of good land"
The purchase of large body OF
land near Ocean Springs for planting
a pecan orchard again calls attention
to the possibilities of this industry in
the State. There are thousands of
acres of land especially adapted to the
culture of the pecan and interest in
their culture is increasing. Mississip-
pi will exhibit at the st. Louis fair
as fine pecans as can be produced any
where in the world and there is no
reason why our people should not lead
in this industry.
There are numbers of incredulous
persons who would smile if told that
there were in the State a number of
farms for the propagation of salt wa
ter terrapins. But such is the case,
however. At Biloxi there are two of
these farms and they have proven re-
munerative to the owners. There is
demand from the higher class hotels
for terrapins to make soup, which is
considered a great delicacy by those
with epicurean tastes. The supply has
heretofore been secured by fishing in
the waters of the coast and luck played
a great part in the amount placed on
the market. Several parties with an
eye TO business and ready to grasp
the opportunity when presented, have
engaged in the culture of terrapins on
an extensive scale and find a ready