The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-01-28

There are two ways to run
mining district. They are strik-
ingly exemplified in Southeast
Missouri and Southwest Missouri,
respectively.
In Southeast Missouri the great
lead mines are owned by so few
corporations that you can count
them on the fingers Of one hand.
Nobody knows how many inde-
pendent operators there are in
Southwest Missouri; but their
name is legion. Southeast Mis-
souri, is a rich mans district;
Southwest Missouri is poor
mans district. Yet it is South
west Missouri that shows us
thriving cities, net work Of in
terurban railroads, good roads
which are the admiration Of the
NATION, schools worths Of the old
States of the Atlantic seaboard.
1t is Southwest Missouri that has
thinning camp" Of 10000 to 30
900 people, with million dollar
hotel, stately churches, dozens of
miles of pavements, five and seven
story commercial buildings and
certain elm-lined residence streets
that reminded at least one recent
visitor of portions of Spring.
field, Mass.
These things have come out of
the "poor mans camp" But the
best camp in Southeast Missouri
is still struggling to exercise its
right to form municipal cor
poration, that it may install ma
terworks, lay sewers and operate
its own lights!
We do not mean to imply that
Southeast Missouri could have
produced another Joplin district.
its disseminated lead deposits re-
auire the use of large masses OF
capital for profitable production,
while in Southwest Missouri many
a poor fellow has started q mine
on a capital of secondhand
pick and shovel and a few dollars
worth of provisions bought on
credit, and taken out shallow lead
enough the first week to carry
him on until he struck the "jack"
zinc blend-which was the OBJ
iect of his search. But we do as
sert that Southwest Missouri has
grown in wealth as only a dis
trict can that makes opportunity
universal, and this for other rea-
sons than the simple fact that the
region is almost universally min
eralized, with many rich and shall
low deposits.
The Joplin district has had
wealthy men for more than
quarter of century who could
have converted it into a district
of wageworkers had they been
so inclined. But these men would
not have felt at home in such a
district. They would not have
felt that it was "fair to the rest
Of the boys" The Joplin of thir
ty years ago was frontier COM
munity, with frontier communi-
tvs rude vices and glaring de-
fects. Its leaders had the defects
of their qualities-but their most
iaundiced critic must admit that
they believed in equality Of hu-
man opportunity, recognized the
fact that, in mining, at least, in
dustry often goes unrewarded,
and took a keen pleasure in keep
ing open to their old associates
and the Young men of the "dee-
strick" the same road to success
that their own feet had trodden.
The thriving cities and prosper
GUS villages of the region today,
with the most democratic society
in the United States, are monu-
ments to the instructive way in
which these men of an older gen
Grafton held to the idea Of equal
ity of opportunity as fundamen-
tai to community and social well
fare.
The recent intensive develop
ment of the zinc industry in
Southwest Missouri is an indus
trial story Of absorbing interest
But in looking at that thriving
region the outside observer ought
to take first things first. The Jop-
lin district affords a great exam-
pie of the profitable production
| Of zinc; but that fact yields y
Importance to the fact that it at
| fords great example Of the de
velopment of human society.
The region is self-developed
| self-taught. 1t invented its owl
machinery, originated its owl
mining methods and developed its
own leasing system, unhelped b!
| the technical knowledge and finan
j cial experience of other regions
4 It's leaders today are chiefly th'
sons and daughters of its owl
people, and its miners and mil
hands have been born and bred II
the district, without even
! sprinkling Of European importa
tions. -.
A single fact tells the who'll
stroy of the direction of devei
opment. Thirty years ago tn
schools of Joplin graduated n
!, students; the boys and girls Jus
quit" Today Jasper county send
more students to the State Uni
| versity than any other county i
NJ. -. 81