Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-07-14
Mistellaueous Readina.
THE SOUTH CALLS TO ITS ExILES
Its 100000 Wanderers Are Needed at
Home.


In his address before the convention
of the South Carolina Press associa.
ton at Gaffney recently, Mr.. R. H. Ed
monds, editor of the Manufacturers
Record. after emphasizing in striking
manner the wonderful natural advan-
tages possessed by the south said:
Who can measure the possible infiu-
ence of the south upon the worlds
progress and industry and commerce
Who can measure its possible infiu-
ence in shaping the destinies Of man.
kind by reason Of it's strategic advan-
tages for becoming a centre Of indus
trial power, of commerce and OF
wealth? Upon this section the AL
mighty has placed a burden Of respon-
sibility for mankind's highest advance
ment, as great as Is the opportunity
for limitless material progress. Surely
then we need the help Of the million
and half southern born whites who
are living elsewhere. What a mighty
host! Mighty in brain power as well
as in numbers! They are leaders in the
pulpit. at the bar, in education, in fl
nance, in railroads and general busi-
ness operations. A northern pulpit
scarcely becomes vacant before the
congregation begins to look south for
pastor Southern men are filling
many Of the most important pulpits
IN New York, Boston and other lead
Ing eastern cities. If you would poll
the vote Of the country as to the most
conspicuously able university presi-
dent in America, it would be well nigh
unanimous for Woodrow Wilson, of
Princeton, a Virginian by birth. In
medicine you would find southern
born men at the head Of the profess
sion in New York and other great CEN
tres Of medical education, surgical
skill and hospital work. The legal
profession would show up equally as
strong. Engineering ability is ex-
pressed in the great Isham Randolph,
of Virginia, head of the Chicago
Drainage canal, one Of the most i'm
portant undertakings Of modern times,
while three Of the five engineers re-
sponsible for the construction Of the
Panama canal are southern men. The
Worlds Fair of st. Louis, vast in pro-
portion and wonderful in its results,
was due TO the executive ability Of a
Kentuckian, David r. Francis. now a
st. Louis millionaire. Two Of the most
successful commercial clubs in the
country. working out marvellous re-
suits for Pacific coast cities, are OFF,
cered by southern men. A few months
ago the United States Steel corpora
ton bought the Tennessee Coal, Iron
and Railroad company Of Alabama.
This company has iron ore and coal
sufficient to justify the expenditure Of
many millions of dollars. No sooner
was the purchase made than the Steel
corporation selected one Of its ablest
men-a man regarded by many ex-
uerts as the ablest steel maker In
America-to take charge OF the i'm
mense plant already In operation and
to direct the outlay of the millions to
be spent in it's enlargement. That man
was George G. Crawford, a Georgian
by birth, who left the south Is years
ago, at the age Of 21, to seek broad
ed field in the metallurgical world.
Now he returns as the head Of $50,-
600, 900 company and his work will
lift the whole Alabama iron region to
a higher plane. The Steel corporation
Is building at Cary, Ind, a $75,O00,OOO
plant, the greatest industrial under
taking in the worlds history. The
president of this Indiana plant, who
Is also president Of the Illinois Steel
company, is likewise young southern
man, hailng from West Virginia. And
thus the story might be spun out to
interminable lengths, showing how
the south has enriched other sections
1T her own cost. Think Of the 1900
900 southern people-men of energy
and force, men who have wrought
marvelously in every line of human
endeavor-and estimate, If you can,
what their leaving has cost the south
Estimate then what their return
would mean to southern advancement
in science. in industry, In education,
in religious work. What mighty up
lifting power they would be. and how
their educational and business train
ing would help to broaden the hori-
zon of the whole south. How can the
south progress while drained Of Its
life blood to sustain and enrich othe1
communities? If stated in terms OF
dollars on the basis Of political econo-
mists' estimates as to the value of mer
to a country. these wanderers would
because of their experience, thell
knowledge, their energy, easily be
worth $4,000 each. This would be a
total Of $7,500,00O.000, or nearly as
much as the assessed value Of proper
ty in the south. Surely we need such
men. In a nations balance sheet mer
are InlSIlleE asset lildil NOehi civ - -
and cotton. Then call them nome
and, like George Crawford, they vii
come when the opportunity is present
ed. Massachusetts has proved tha'
brain power beats natural resources
Shall we combine resources and brair
power? If we do, then the south has
room enough for every wanderer tc
come home and take part in the up
building of this Heaven favored land
Upon the press rests the responsibility
of whether many thousands of these
people shall hear and heed the call OF
the south to come home. or whether
they shall continue to give the brair
power and energy inherited from
southern sires and southern mother:
to the advancement Of other sections
Bearing upon this question OF exile
from the south is fiction still cher
ished in some parts Of the country, tina
southern newspapers are prone to car
ry to the point of ostracism the perse
cution of individuals who may happel
to antagonize by word or deed tina
vague influence known as public opin
| ion In the south The fiction Is essen