The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-10-26
DoF MORE IMMIGRANTS
north Carolina Opens Wide the Doors.
of Welcome

A141G4 AOSSSAAN ta%eNAseIHH -ss
Recently The News commented upon
announced purpose OF Senate,
Overman to work for the creation OF
an immigration bureau in North Caro-
lima. At the time we stated that, as
we understood the matter,l there rs
a law providing for such board. Funds
in the agricultural department are
sumcient and the work proposed is
of SUFFICIENT merit to call for action
The one great need of our State
today is of more worthy settlers to
Join with us in developing our resour
ces. In.this connection the following
from the Baltimore Sun is of inter-
est:
<aTheimportance OF attracting a good
class of immigrants to the South is
under discussion ina number of South
ern newspapers just now. The Sun
quoted at considerable length from an.
editorial on the subject in the Atlanta
Constitution a few days ago and sug-
eested that Governor Crothers should
call d conference of Southern gov
ernors and railroad presidents to be
held in Baltimore during Maryland
Week to consider the question and
adopt some general plan of dealing
with it. North Carolina, like Georgia
and other Southern states, realizes the
necessity Of attracting desirable inn
migrants, and is making efforts to
them. Commenting on this, the
Raleigh News and Observer says:
From the last census there were
something like 100000 people born in
North Carolina and living in other
- 1-Ir -oro14hsn1r 1fKn m
or SO, 900 born in other states we're liv-
ing in North Carolina, That sort OF
swap, now that North Carolina is get
ting rich and prosperous. is not a
condition that the state is proud OF.
In the last 10 years this tide of Inn
migration has ceased and young men
are staying at home. Now that the
tide has changed and North Carolina
boys are staying at home, the next
step is to get back as many as pos
Sible of those who went away in the
days when the state was poorer and
when they thought it offered fewer
advantages. This is what is meant by
the Back Home Movement which has
been much advertised and stressed in
the recent months. 1t eliminated last
month in the big convention at Char
lOte which organized a home seekers
movement with Senator Lee S. Over
man as president and representative
men as officers from all parts of the
State. We need more folks in North
Carolina. How shall we get them?
The Back Home Movement points the
way. 1t is but the nucleus around
which gather all the sentiments for
securing immigration. 1t is based up
on the right idea. The State of North
Carolina and the railroads and the
great corporations as a matter of self
interest should get behind this move
ment and utilize it's enthusiasm and
organize for the effective work neces-
sary to secur for North Carolina it's
share CT the trend of population which
is o coming towards the South.
NThe conference which The Sun
suggested the other day would be in
line with what individual states have
been doing on a small scale, and could
be made to serve as the basis for an
organized scheme that would produce
results. In the matter of immigration
the West is living largely upon its
past reputation, which the sturdy,
hustling people out there know how
~ - GA OA40GAAS d00CI LII IuO way
Of ADVERTISING. Conditions in that
section have changed very greatly in
the last decade, and the land of prom
Use for the immigrant and the farmer
Is no longer the West, but the South.
As the Observer points out, the lands
In Iowa and Illinois and every west
ern state which were once given away
and which naturally attracted many
Southern people are now selling at
such high prices that no home seeker
can buy unless he has a great deal of
money. Every day farmers in these
states r selling out their high-pric-
lands and buying cheaper lands and
coming to xas and Oklahoma. If
they knew of the great advantages in
North Carolina, many of them would
come here. 1t is the D OF the
Convention to make
familiar with what North Carolina Of
and tell them Of it's great pro-
gress in recent years and to open wide |,
the doors of welcome"