Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1909-04-20
Praises south's Vast Resources.

years, at the recent meeting of the South
ern Commercial Congress in Washing
ton City. He Sid
Less than a century and half ago
our forefathers were subjects of and this
country was governed by Great Britain.
We are now great and powerful nation.
equal. if not superior to Great Britain.
I'VE all know that In 1916. for causes
so well stated by Jefferson IN the Deciara-
ton of independence, we declared and
by war won our independence. Since
then we have grown more rapidly In
population, wealth. intelligence. and all
that goes to make great nation than
any people, ancient or modern, ever did
We have passed all history. Then we
were 5000. 600 of people scattered along
the Atlantic coast. At present we have
about 90. 900, ooo reaching from the At
lantic to the Pacific. from the Gulf to the
Lakes, and. as people. probably none
in the world are SO happy and prosperous
as those in the United States.
eve are. perhaps. the greatest nation
now upon the globe and why? 1t is
probably because the people govern the
country. and the people are generally
right in what they do.
when the civil war closed this coun-
try's national debt was about So. 900, 900,
ooo. today II 10 lasc than Or ooo ooo oon
Nearly So, 900, 900, 900 of that debt has
been paid. In interest upon that debt
there has been paid 81. 500. ooo, 900. and
in pensions since the war closed there
has been paid Sc. 500. 900. 900, making
the enormous sum of So. 900. 900, 600,
Who paid it? The whole country, of
course, as it should have done. The
South has paid Its proportion of the ex-
penses of running the government. as
well as its proportion of this $S, ooo 600,
600 of money. How much has it got
back, especially in pensions? Not much;
not much. And yet you have done your
duty as you should have done and as you
should continue to do.
Il was somewhat surprised a day or
two ago when l obtained from the Stats
teal bureau of the Department of Com
merce and Labor the condition of the
South as to its prosperity compared with
the rest of the country. 1t shows that
the South today has about 30 per cent.
of the population and wealth of the ma
ton, and that is the proportion in which
you pay the debt and the amount necss
sary to run the government Ii the
figures l have given are correct. the
South has paid So, 400, ooo. 900 since the
war, and nearly all of 1t has gone to North
ern and Western portions of the cJunry;
certainly very little to the south. And
yet 1t has been cheerfully and properly
paid, aud you deserve great credit.
In addition to this you have taken
care of your sick and wounded soldiers,
as you should have done. Your country
was wasted, your negroes were freed, and
yet the statistics show that from 1870 TO
the present the percentage of increase of
wealth in the South has been greater
than that OF the balance of the country.
have the figures here.
Statistics show that the South since
1870 has gained in wealth 800 per cent;
that the remainder Of the country has
gained 3I2 per cent. So. you see that,
Notwithstanding the payment by you of
81, 100. 900. 900. you have outstripped the
balance of the county in the increase OF
wealth in the last 40 years. Gentlemen,
go on in the course you have chosen; 90
on with the work you are doing and you
will reach the results for which you are
striving.
Another thing In miles of railroad
constructed IN the South the percentage
of increase has been 3S2, while in the rest
OF the country 1t was 3f2 Think of 1t
The population of the South has gained
not quite so much as the balance of the
county. but has done very nearly as well.
have here the statistics of the imports
and exports of our country, and, to my
agreeable surprise. for the last five years
the average of exports and imports has
been about $500. 600 ooo-that is, oar
exports have exceeded the imports by
about $500, 900. 900 annually. almost the
entire amount of which is covered by the
exports of Southern cotton, VIZ: S44o-
900, 900 year. So you have country
down there which, if it continues to pro-
gress and you give it the care and atten-
ton you have done. will be perhaps the
richest and most prosperous section of
the Union.
MIR. President you and your distin-
guished guests have my hearty good
wishes in your endeavors, and bespeak
for the enterprise in which you and your
associates are engaged the triumph of
abundant success and usefulness.
ut occurs to me. we should adopt the
sentiment of the great commoner, Henry
Clay, as expressed in mis- memorable
speech on the Missouri Compromise.
when he referred to the great country,
begged our people to remain with it, and
said. in closing: Let us know no North,
no South, no East. no West-the Union,
lnseparab!e now and forever"
The congregation of the FIRST Baptist
Church of Winchester has extended a call
to Rev W G Rosser of Radford, Va. to
succeed Rev E E Northen. who resigned