The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1907-04-18
JOHNSON TENNESSEE THURSDAY APRIL Is, 1907

where he came from, so that the results
of this work are cumulative and are
yearly becoming more and more appar-
ent.
The interest taken by the southern
states in securing desirable immigra-
ton is welcomed by the Southern Rail.
way, and we stand ready to cooperate
In this work to the extent of our ability.
In our cooperation with the states, as
with individuals, it has been and will
continue to be our uniform policy to
try to induce only the character of i'm
migration desired by each locality to
go to that locality. 1t never has been,
nor will it be, our policy to endeavor
to settle in any community class Of
people not desired by those who are al
ready there. In this work the manag-
ers of the road are not thinking of the
immediate returns from the transporta-
ton of the families of immigrants, but
of the permanent upbuilding of homo
geneous and prosperous communities.
To the superficial observer the most
noticeable result of the work of coop
Grafton between the railway and the
communities in attracting new capital
and new population may seem to be
the building up of industrial towns and
distributing centers, but the work done
for the farming communities is at least
equally important, especially when the
interdependence of town and country
are considered and it is remembered
that a well-settled rural district is q
constant source of labor supply for the
town and furnishes customers for itE
shops and that a prosperous town af
fords home market for large proper
ton of the products Of the neighborine
farms.
In this connection, may we'll refer
to the revolution in southern agricul
ture that is now in progress and tha'
has been made possible by improved
transportation and by the development
of industrial centers depending upor
improved transportation. Most of III
here tonight can remember when one
crop agriculture prevailed almost ex
clusively south of the border states
and when few farmers thought of mar
keting anything but cotton. Th
southern farmer still has almost com
plete monopoly of the cotton produc
ton of the world, but he is turning hi
attention more and more to diversifie,
farming. The southern towns are sup
plying him with constantly growin
home markets and the railways ar
placing his products in markets tha
were formerly beyond his reach.
generation ago Florida orange was
luxury in many parts of the Unite
States and early fruits and vegetable
for northern markets were grown j
lighthouses and sold at prices that pu
them beyond the reach of all but th
wealthy. Today Florida oranges ca
be bought all over the north, and earl
southern vegetables and berries an
Georgia peaches and watermelons hay
: come to be regarded as almost necess'
ries of life and can be bought by tt
working man of Boston or Chicago |
Q freely as the more prosperous ma
Q could buy the hot-house products Of
Z few years ago. The result is that Il
8 north is contributing millions Of dc
+ lars each year to the farmers, gardene
: and fruit growers of the south. Th
result has been largely brought abo
! by the development of through RI
n transportation, and If there is one mi
: who, more than any other, is vital
Q interested in everything that will co
n tribute to the improvement of the ra
!, way systems of this section he is
g farmer.
! 1 have spoken at length Of the CO
n nection between railway developwe Q
g and of the character of a railway in
70 dealings with buyers of transportati
'r Southern Railway Company SO full
n because I believe that the interests
n the railways and Of the public are
Q, intimately interwoven that the me
ID important work that can be done tod
is the bringing about of closer relatio
y of mutual good will and cooperate
M between them. ] believe that tits 4