The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-01-26
A Louisiana Letter
Alexandria La.
T-- .c~

{ Most q the readers OF your mos
! valuable paper will remember tina
the writer Of this letter left you
/ city on the 4th day Of Oct. last 70
St. Louis, Mo.
After spending one week in til,
great Worlds Fair and democrati,
convention city embarked on The
Iron Mountain railroad for the
sunny South. Ny first stopping
place in Louisiana was the city Of
Pollock where my son has made his
home the past ten years, where he
has been engaged in the lumber
trade. Owing to the locating Of
their headquarters at Alexandra
my son Guy moved to this
city.
will try totell all my old friends
of Chickasha something about the
this town and surrounding country
Alexandria is not a new town like
your territorial towns but dates
back almost one hundred years.
Alexandra has been sleeping more
years than did Rip Vanwinkle, but
/ am glad TO note that she has at
last wakened up and is making
rapid strides toward a metropolitan
city. We have about all the mod
ern and up-to-date improvements
Except street cars and they will be
installed here in the near future.
Alexandra is a town Of about ten
thousand people located on the Red
River, steam boats of considerable
importance arrive and embark from
this town Red River is spanned
here BY a fine iron structural bridge
connecting this city with our sister
city Of Pineville on the opposite
bank Of the river.
We have several printing offices
here Of which the Morning News is
in the assendency. Although we are
only one month old today otF op-
erations for the future are large. /
A few words in regard to street
paving. Alexandra is outstripping
all the other towns in this country
and also your town of Chickasha
Alexandria has abcut five miles
Of asphalt paving done and still
more TO follow,
sevenlines Of railway center here;
a $50, 900 opera house just compIet-
ed, one $50, 900 High School build
ing, also the court house has just
been completed at a cost Of one
hundred thousand dollars. We
have three oil mills, three cotton
and five lumber mills.
Aud for climate, it is out Of sight,
It least / have not seen any winter
lere So far. Ice frezes here in No
iemher about II an inch thick.
We have alittle cool spell here about
,uce a week and I hear the old
ettlers saying its sure cold to-
lay
What the south most needs now
s an influx Of sturdy northern
arrers and gardeners. We have
colony Of Belgians near the city i
hat is proving what may be ac- a
in the sunny south in ]
ii agricultural way. We can pro- {
luce in this country everything ]
rodtably except wheat, The 4
taple crops are corn, cotton, sugar
ane, hay, rice and sweet and il
rissl potatoes and all other kindsof !,
that grow in the Chick d
saw nation, The cotton crop b
ever fails and would be muchbetter A
controlled By more industry {
The labor on the farm or plantation f
J done almost exclusively by ne i
roes and, by the way, I must say n
hat the negro Of this part tof the \
outh certainly has all the rights q
hat any other citizen has except v
he right Of franchise. The negroes il
ere are seemingly the happiest n
iortals ] have ever seen i'll any n
ountry The servant girl ques- Il
on here isa long way from being f
olved. It gives many Of our good t
nd aristrcratic ladies much trouble d
wish | had time and space to tell d
Il you people IN Chickasha some 3
iing about the beautiful magnolia r
nd several other species Of ever d
reen trees that abound in Alex- ii