Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-26
The Curtis Letter.
How Alabama is Managing the Drink Question
by Means of State Dispensaries.

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road station.-one Of the best in the south
and forty-five trains a day run In different
directions.
The city has needed hotel badly for
years. and is rejoicing in the prospects Of
having one. The lack Of hotel accommoda-
lions is Its weakest point. The ancient Elk
change Hotel. a stately building with a
lofty Grecian portico. which was famous
half century ago, and was the scene Of
intrigues, became fntolerable and was torn
down. A handsome new steel and brick
structure Is going up on Its site. and a year
from now strangers who visit Montgomery
win have comfortable place to stop.
There are several good hotels in the south.
They are beginning to appear where they
have been very badly needed. much to the
qualification of the travelling public, And
1t is the invariable rule that they pay hand
some profits to their proprietors.
Newspaper Improvement.
The southern newspapers have improved
immensely also. In almost every city there
Is one or more first-class newspapers. full
of news and ably edited. I have not in
vestigated the subject, but am told that
the Atlanta Journal has the largest circu-
lation outside OF New Orieans-an average
Of about $1,000 daily, while the Memphis
Commercial-Appeal comes second and sells
more than $1,000 Of its Sunday edition. But
l fear the brethren will not agree upon
these or any other figures. The Birming-
ham Age-Herald and Post. the Atlanta
Constitution. the Montgomery Advertiser.
the Mobile Register, the Charlotte OBJ
server, the Charleston News and Courier,
the Savannah News. the Memphis News
Scimitar and other papers that I might
mention are all well edited, prosperous and
influential n M
liar circulation In the north. People take
printed matter more seriously down here
than they do in the northern states. Per-
haps that Is because the newspapers as q
rule are more accurate, careful and con.
sentative.
Heavy Investments.
Manufacturing industries are beginning to
find their way to Montgomery. and about
$3.50 900 has already been invested In such
enterprises all of It local capital
There are two cotton mills. three cotton
seed oil mills, one cordage factory, eleven
woodworking plants. four foundries. one
fertilizer plant and various other smaller
establishments growing in Importance and
prosperity. There should be more cotton
mills in this section, however. The people
seem 10 be blind to their own interests
They are organizing associations and send
Ing agents around the country to induce
the farmers to plant less cotton when. to
disinterested observer, 1t would seem
much wiser aud more sensible to keep on
planting cotton. and to build factories to
work UP the raw material and employ the
women and girls about the state who can
find nothing to do. Nearly every yard Of
cotton cloth used in this section is brought
from the north. Consumers pay the freight
both ways and three or four profits to the
manufacturer. the middlemen and the mer-
chants: Notwithstanding the fact that man.
ufacturing can be done cheaper here than
anywhere else in the country. There Is
plenty OF unemployed labor, cheap fuel and
all kinds of material.
Great Possibilities.
Nor do these remarks apply to cotton
alone. If the people Of Alabama were wise
and prudent students Of political economy
they wouldzmanufacture their Iron and
their furniture also. Nearly half the car
goes sent outso this state in the form Of
raw material-cotton.= iron, lumber partic-
ularIy-ought to be worked up on the
ground. There Is q large variety OF hard
woods-hickory, oak, ash. gum and cypress,
as well as yellow pine, which are not only
good for cabinet making and house finish
ing, but for wagons. carriages, tool handles
and other purposes for which such woods
are used elsewhere.
For several years far-sighted, practical
men have been talking of a scheme to fur
nish the city of Montgomery with enough
electric energy to light Its streets and
houses. run its street car lines and furnish
power for all the manufactures that are
likely to be established here for the next
generation. This power can be obtained
from the Talapoosa river. thirty miles
away, which now furnishes about 5000
horsepower, but can furnish as much more
as may be needed at a nominal cost. And
only the capital and enterprise are needed
An Old State.
Alabama stands among the list Of the
older states. Few people realize that 1t is
only partially settled Out of a total of
So 600 600 acres less than 100000 are un-
susceptible of cultivation, but less than
100000 are now productive. This leaves
nearly ree-fourths OF the entire area
practically untouched and 2,OO0.O0O acres
Including some of the richest soil in the
worlds going to waste. The state gov
migrants and develop Its resources. Every
thing Is left to the railroads, which have
done a great deal to increase the popu-
lation, introduce factories, develop the min
Woodworking, honest citizens upon the va
cant soil. The lack Of enterprise on the
part of the legislature and the state gov
eminent is painfully apparent There Is no
immigration bureau, not even an agent to
give information to would-be homeseekers
and those who are searching for lands. A
small sum of money spent annually In ad-
vertising would bring profitable returns to
the state, and IL authorized agent were
placed at Ellis Island to give reliable in
formation to immigrants 1t would be easy
to attract thousands Of settlers In this d.
rection.
There used to be a prejudice against for
eigners in Alabama and other parts of the
south. AS consequence there are less than
1900 people of foreign birth in Alabama
today. But that prejudice. with many
others, has expired. and the thrifty, indus
trious, orderly families of Italians. Hunga-
rians, Germans and Swedes which the rail-
way companies have brought in have DEM
onstrated that many valuable citizens can
be obtained from that source.
: WILLIAM e. CURTIS.