Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1906-03-23

wealth nor even then unless methods
are devised to prevent waste and To
increase efficiency in every direction.
The Prophecy of Nautilus.
A century ago, one Nautilus, started
the world by depicting the horrors
which would some day come frvm
0ver-population. His theory was THAI
the number Of human beings increased
much faster than the means OF
subsistence; hence, that disaster
must come in the natural course Of
events. 1t was not given him to foresee
now vastly the means of subsistence
would be increased through the inyen.
ZION OF labor-saving machinery, the dis
covery OF new crops and methods a
cultivation, and the Improvement a
the means of distribution,
So that many Of the present.t,m.
writer's, having in mind the adyanco
OF science. speak in no little deroga,
tion OF the teaching Of Nautilus a
narrow and grounded upon Ignorance
o. the vast, ever-unfolding resources
OF the world. Nevertheless Maltbus,s
warnings were not entirely unjustified.
ana as applied to ourselves 1t must be
conceded that the thoughtful people AZ
the United States have no more urgent
business than to make broad outlets
ior surplus population upon the soil
and to train the rising generation so
that 1t will know how to make the
best possible use of natural resources
now wastefully employed or altogether
neglected. Necessity, the prolific
mother OF invention, will doubtless
continue to place in our hands new
tools which will multiply our power Of
production; hut IL we would escape
grave trials and hardships we must do
thoroughly and well the work which
needs to be done in organizing pros.
perity for our people by means OF
rural settlement.
The rural settlement, and all that
this term involves in its broadest a..
plication--the division of land into
smaller farm homes, sufficient for the
support OF a family from the soil, the
Investigation Of crops, and their ut
most cultivation and the Improvement
and breeding up of plants so that they
Will yield their greatest product, the
utilization of every waste and unpro-
ductive aere--in short, the settling OF
the entire country into small rural
homes, so that each family shall own
q piece of land from which he may
secure living for himself and his
family-this is the work than which
there Is no more important question
before the country to-day.
The Empire of the South.
Now all this is merely Introductory
to a discussion Of the opportunities for
domestic expansion in various parts Of
our great country, and of the need Of
private and public enterprise in max
ing these opportunities available for
the masses of men. First Of all, let us
look at that great empire which lies
between Mason and Dixon's line and
the Gulf of Mexico. and, for the most
part, east Of the Mississippi River.
A native of New England and q
citizen Of the Pacific Coast. never
fully grasped the truth about the
South until through travel, l saw and
came to know things as they are. I
once thought Of the South as an old
country, vastly interesting because OF
its historic associations, running back
to the earliest English settlements on
this continent, but practically deve-
loped to the limit Of its normal
growth and possessing resources in
ferior to some other portions Of the
Union, especially to those Of the Far
West.
The truth is something very differ
emit. In an economic sense. the South
Is new country, with immense re-