Hattiesburg daily news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1907-1908, 1907-08-30

The Southern people have long been /
in the habit Of boosting Of the vast
natural wealth of their section, and Of
the extraordinary natural advantages
it enjoys in the way Of climate and
position.
Endowed with conditions Of soil and
climate that make the Southern
states Of the. American Union the
source and seat pr the worlds cotton
supply, and possessing resources Of
timber, coal, iron and other indispen-
sable articles of daily consumption In
practically unlimited quantity, and
comprising great tier Of common
wealths lying upon the shores Of
sea which is foremost in affording I'M
limited facilities for foreign and coast
wise commerce, the South is destined
to be the richest country on the
globe, but the people Of the South de-
pend too much on their natural ad-
vantages and take too little stock in
their own enterprise and activity in
developing the rich. resources and the
remarkable opportunities they enjoy.
They are disposed too much to sit
still and wait for strangers to be at
tracted by these conditions.
This peculiar neglect of their spe-
cial advantages is not confined to the
people of the Southern states, but is
shared by most of the people of the
Mississippi Valley, the great rich heart
of the continent It is seen in the
fact that the Mississippi river has
been practically abandoned as high
way Of commerce, as least from the
great city Of st. Louis down to the
mingling of its mighty current with
the Gulf of Mexico, and this has hap
pened at time when the railroads,
although working even beyond their
capacity. have confessed their inability
to carry, the vast and constantly In
cresaing commerce of the country.
1t is at such time as this that the
steamboats, that, once beat its turbid
waters day and night with their i'm
mense and busy wheels have disap-
peared from the river the people not
ceasing, however, TO keep up with a
continuous cry for deep water, al
though it is difficult to see what sort
of trG1e it is proposed to carry If boats
] J! :! :; !
Transportation g 10x|
list today, but on ~
there are boats 50 impro
the demands of economy Of
and advantages in handling cargo that
1they are as much up-to-date as are the
best constructed railroads with the
most improved equipments.
But we are waiting for strangers to
discover these facts and to engage
Y their enterprise and capital in the very
t. undertakings which we discredit and
n depreciate by neglecting them.
3 Just now the South is being serious
r ,rSeproached for its neglect Of its
, mapn ficent resources Tor the produc
n 49,, akron and steel. With coal and
, iron in nMsactfcally unlimited quantities
S and q ia closest proximity, the
/ south can axe iron and steel cheaper
nil thar thev o.S be produced elsewhere
II on the continent or upon our sloDe
II and for time Il was supposed ina
n wa would CON- oltstrip all competi
# t;on hut ,Dsort,r, tely high hopes
. when they are larry oAseu ~ ~ ~
< talk, are often dor "eu !" ia''u,e :,
n Iron Trade Revi'w'4a pup''ca'lon 10
d voted to the g. eae iron INTERESTS = =
g the United str .es' CANS a''en'ion :
the failure Of the South to make 1T
a boasts good md to realize what tn
i world orl.sentiy expected from !
N proner development of the grand en-
h dowr snts. Says the Review:
y while iron production in the Soutl
II las been growing, it has not kept pac
sslwith the growth in production by tn
n country at large. The state of Ala
bama made ga pre- cent. of tn
le total production of the United State
g in the first half of this year. althoug
- no special conditions interviewed, Will
le in 1890 1t contributed 8.9 per cent. Q
a the total production. The five states
is Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabam