Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-24

elected president of the Southern Com
Inercial Congress and was recently given
a complimentary banquet by the business
men of Washington.
! Mr.. Parker isithe originator and chief
engineer Of the Southern Commercial
Congress. which has purchased the site OF
| old st. Matthew's church In washington
and proposes to put up a million-dollar
building there with a fund OF $1,000 cor
| tributions from 1000 southern men. This
| building Is to be national headquarters
for southern interests at the National cap
| ital-a rendezvous for southern men.
museum of southern resources, an infor-
nation bureau concerning everything
agency for southern enterprises: with re-
liable expert advice concerning invest
ments of every variety in the South AS
Mr.. Parker himself expressed 1t not long
| ago:
Aim Of John n. Parker.
I'VE realize the backwardness OF the
south, and we want to wake things up
and get a move on our section OF the
country. We propose to place the south
ern people in closer touch with the re-
mainder Of the world. and will try to 90
| il without delay In the most practical and
| efficient manner. We want to correct
false impressions and create new ones; we
want to have a lighthouse here to throw
| its rays upon all matters OF southern In
terest in and out OF Congress and give
our people a chance with the rest OF the
world"
already announced. is to contain an as
! sembly hall for conventions relating
especially to southern affairs which II Is
proposed to hold regularly In Washing
1 the purpose OF waking up things. as MT
/ Parker has said. And TO quote him again :
! The south as a whole enjoys benent
every time a new enterprise Is started.
!
every time new farm IS openeo, every
| time a settler comes in. and We want 10
| make such events more frequent IN the
| future than they have been In the past
i We want to induce northern capital 70
! take advantage OF the marvellous uhoe-
| veloped resources Of the south. We want
better schools and better roads; reciprocal
trade with the north, and all that Is
meant by modern life in America
To End Sectionalism.
| The fundamental idea of this movement
as explained by it's promoters in a circu-
lar is Ito cure the curse Of sectional
ism and place the southern states upon
! a parity with the other states of the
union. There is no denying the fact that
the people of the south have persistenly
stood in their own light, and have thus
lost many valuable opportunities. The
| character of the laws enacted and the
attitude of the people In the matter OF
legislative restraint upon enterprise have
i u
material progress and advancement.
THE race question has unfavorably
affected the more desirable element of
immigration.
| ploying Industries have preferred north
| ern to southern locations.
Water transportation, which might
have given the south the lowest freight
rates in America. has all but been aban-
doned. and that, too. without proper
tional compromising benefit through rail-
road construction, because the isolated
proportion of the south is yet many
times larger than is that Of the north.
Marvellous Southern Resources.
Southern resources are marvellous in
extent In Louisiana a greater variety
of profitable crops can be grown than In
any other state of the Union. Here are
! the greatest salt and sulphur mines in
the world. Natural gas in abundance has
| recently been discovered. There Is plen-
| ty of fuel oil. Natural 2avigabie water
ways penetrate to nearly every parish
| in the state. Governmental waterway
improvements will ultimately connect the
Mississippi at New Orleans with protect
ed channels from the Rio Grande In the
far southwest to Boston in the far north
east. while the Chicago ship canal to the
NJ ississipp' and the improvement OF the
Ohio. Missouri, Tennessee. Red and other
rivers will give practical waterway ac-
! cess from all parts Of the country to
almost every section CT Louisiana. Low
| freight rates and transportation facili-
ties IN abundance, together with the fact
that New Orleans Is 800 miles nearer the
| Panama canal and the great markets Of
the far east and far south, will give
| olisana and Louisiana products almost
every conceivable advantage in reach
ing the markets Of the world. providing
| Louisiana citizens are wide awake and
doing things to attract the investment
money urgently needed for tho develop
|
| Theee are not my words. but they are
quoted from the announcement made by
the managers Of the movement in the
+, Times Democrat OF this city. And from
! them you will perceive that there are
| men who understand what is the matter
! with New Orleans and the rest of the
selfish, provincial feeling that prevails
here is not profita bic. and II is to be
holcd that Mr.. Parker end his patriotic
associates may he able TO broaden the
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